A Weekend with Family

Our Dad just turned 90 and most of the family made it to Wenatchee this past weekend to celebrate him. It was a wonderful gathering spent getting caught up, reminiscing and eating wonderful meals made by my sister Gail and brother John.


At one point in the sharing, talk turned to my trip to Africa and what I experienced there. After reassuring my family that I really wasn't in much danger, most of the time, I found myself trying to talk about the wierdness of being with people who have nothing but a little food, the barest of shelter and the clothes on their backs - and then returning to the wealth that we experience here in America. I try to talk in ways that engage rather than repell; invite rather than reject; inspire rather than condemn but I'm not sure I've found the stories or the language to do so. Inevitably, at some point, I start to notice some of the eyes glaze over and minds move on to another topic. And I get it - it is so hard to stay engaged with the problems of inequity that seem so far away from us. It is much easier to think/dream about the latest technology or toy or focus on the complexity of our lives than to imagine what it would look like to embrace a global lifestyle. I just can't go back to ignoring the problems that we're facing as a global community - I don't want to. At the same time, I struggle with the message we're bombarded with every day: all I need is just a little bit more to make me happy. Think about it - isn't that the lie that leads us on like the proverbial "carrot on the stick?" Can you not think of at least half a dozen things that you'd like to have and that you think would better your life? I can and then I think back to the children running alongside our van, asking us to bring them clothes the next time we return.....


So I think the answer to the pervasive message that "all I need is a little bit more" - is to remember and be grateful for all that I do have. Gratitude fills up my heart and helps me to realize that a little bit more would just cause a raise in my lifestyle and a new level of "just a little bit more" would take the place of the other list of desires. I'm challenging myself to see if I can go the other way - "just a little bit less." If I make choices with my food, my energy usage, my clothing choices, my cleaning products that use "just a little bit less" I can stand against the deception in our culture. If enough of us do this, we can change the trajectory our planet is on. If we look into what we buy, where it comes from, who it impacts and make choices that are good for the whole of humanity (and not just because it's convenient, or cheaper, or touted as the latest "must have") well, I think we all would be better off. Not only would our choices benefit the poorest in the world but we would be actively disengaging from the carrot. And that would be better for us all.