Be Still

Be still...

Being still is something I rarely do. I tend to fill my days with lots and lots and lots...of stuff. Stuff that seems so important at the time, but in reality...it's probably only me saying so.

Today, I opted to be still. I turned down all adventures, and opted for nothingness. The irony didn't escape me that I don't really have to travel to the other side of the world to make this happen! However, it is definitely difficult to ignore the neverending call of laundry, bills, work, chores and todo's when we are home.

Soooo....after covering myself in insect repellant (being still is good, but also prefer no dengue!) and sunscreen (since I have the coloring of Casper, the friendly ghost!), I took time to sit outside, and try to comprehend some of my experiences here in the Philippines. I am flooded with images: the sights, the sounds, the feelings, the smells, and the tastes. Some good, some not-so-good. It sounds pretty dramatic, but I will not return the same. No way. Although many of the images may sound the same as home, but they are not even close.

The sights -- faces, kids, shacks, traffic, sea, mountains, flowers, destruction, fish, temples, very large spiders, hopeful students, impoverished people, wealth, smiles, glares, drying laundry, caves, skinny animals, darkness, no toilet paper, walking, rockslides, kids bathing in rivers, schools, volcanoes, stares, waterfalls, green fields, street markets, malls, families, karaoke, beautiful nature, heavy rains, kids playing, pollution, manual construction, smoke, our csc team...

The sounds -- wind in the trees, music, religious chanting, storms, laughter, barking dogs, screeching lizards, birds chirping, car horns, thunder, hammering, fast unknown languages, good afternoon ma'am, motor engines, salamat (thank you), music...

The feelings -- trepidation, excitement, the breeze, sweating, heat, large sea waves, fear, joy, adrenalin from spiders, respect, warmth, friendship, motivation, flying (zip line), humidity, faithfulness, nervousness, happiness...

The smells -- durian fruit (think stinky socks! :-), rain, traffic pollution, sea air, cooking food, fresh breeze, lavender, sweat...

The tastes -- Coke Light, Filipino, Thai, Chinese, Korean, pizza, rice and more rice, spice, sweet pineapple, native chicken (mostly bones), rambutan & lanzones (tried both), Balut & sisig (tried? no, maybe next time!), bananas, mango, papaya, durian (tried, but not enough to actually count), pasta, mayonnaise, Pizza Hut, KFC, Jollibee (Filipino McDonalds)...

When I think about all the sights, sounds, feelings, smells and tastes...it all adds up to quite an experience. With my stillness, comes thankfulness.

Be still...