I’m sitting here in Maralal.
Just sitting. Instead of staring at
the wall any longer, I’ve decided to write a bit about life at the moment. It isn’t that I have nothing that needs
doing. It is more like the issue that I
have so much I could be, and should be, doing that I am a bit overwhelmed into
not being able to effectively do anything at this precise moment. Except write, maybe. Even that seems to be not going so well. I am in danger of writing in circles and not
actually saying anything of any interest to anyone, including myself. Then again, life can be like that
sometimes. We find ourselves spinning in
circles and making ourselves dizzy.
Though come to think about it, I have been spinning in literal circles
as I have been practicing my Tibetan Rites exercise program almost every
morning diligently for over a month now.
21 repetitions of 5 different exercise of which the first one is to spin
in circles. It is part of my getting and
staying healthy again routine. Eating
right. Exercising. Reading.
Praying. Meditating. Walking.
Working in the yard and garden.
Listening to and playing music.
Petting the dogs. Playing with
the puppies. Sitting with my purring
cat. Meeting with people to talk, laugh
and support them in their lives and be supported in mine. Engaging myself in the world and working on
projects that will improve my life and the lives of those I touch.
Let me focus a bit on this.
Routines are like circles. Around
and around. Same thing over and
over. I have always had some difficulty
with routine. Being regular. Fitting my life into a pattern. Now, I am realizing that routines can be ever
changing patterns yet still be routines.
Like a spiral. There can be a routine
to my daily motions, my comings and goings, my paperwork and projects, my
travels and activities, but even if at times I feel like it is the same over
and over again and I always seem to be seeing the same things, doing the same
things, or staying the same, if I stop and really look at the scenery of my
life, I can see that I’ve come around at a higher point than I was before, again and again. A bit higher each time. A spiral road around a mountain. The different sides always have the same
views, but as you go up the mountain, the views are from a higher perspective. So it
is with my life. Without the routines,
without the path, I get lost and lose track of where I am going. Flailing through the bush with no
purpose. But going in circles, staying
on routine, I am finding myself climbing to higher and more spectacular
perspectives.
Stopping to stare at walls, taking a moment to smell the
flowers, pet the dogs and think about what routine to tackle next probably isn’t
so bad after all. Taking time to look at
the views. What I’m seeing at the moment
is quite exciting actually. I managed to
sign the publishing contract with Story Moja last week Friday. So now I am officially editing and preparing
my book with the Story Moja editors and creative staff to be ready to publish
sometime in the foreseeable, but as yet not exactly known, future. The Rotary Global Grant Project to drill two
boreholes is getting closer to implementation step by step. Our partner is having their funding meeting
this week and then get their donation to The Rotary Foundation. Our donation from Rotary Club of Maralal is already in
the account and waiting. I have been
starting to talk to our community partners and the drillers. Hopefully we will have some on the ground
movement of the project by the end of this month. There are several basket orders in process with the Ngurunit
Basket Weavers. In addition, I’ve received some new inquiries
that I am following up. We have also managed
to get our basket group registered as a cooperative society the last couple of
months. We are hoping this will help us
to partner with the various County and National projects to increase our
marketing strength and to access materials, like beads, cheaply and efficiently. These are a few of the many things I am working
on at the moment. On one level it is the
same old stuff, but on the other, I am seeing it from a higher and new perspective
as I can reflect on my past experiences, envision new ideas and open up new
horizons that enrich my life and the lives of those around. So, now I must stop staring at the wall and
go finish cooking our dinner. One routine
that if I don’t pay attention to, I will end up burning, again!!! Enjoy the spiral of life!!
