Putting Your Heart and Soul Into It

There is a little known song that goes ‘all the way till my final day I want to live so I can say “what a ride”.’ At this point, I don’t think anything could better describe my mindset after the last 4 months in Ecuador, not to mention the past 7 months of this life journey. Indeed, what a ride it has been. And while I could fill up pages and pages of text with thoughts and reflections on readjustment, I have recently come to believe in the effectiveness of short and powerful messages. Practice what you preach, as they say.

In this same song, one of the verses goes on to say “I want to elevate joy to an art… see with my soul, hear with my heart.” Again the words ring so true with me- how else could I have learned so much and enjoyed life on a new level when I lived in multiple ‘worlds’ that had completely different visual appearances, cultures, and dialects of languages not to mention completely different languages!? Yes, my heart and soul were at work, and when I listened and saw through them I connected with the hearts and souls of other individuals- individuals with nothing visibly in common with me, just the goodness in their hearts and souls to make that improbable connection.

As I was reading Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Will Meet in Heaven, this internal connection we have with others became even clearer to me. He says through one of his characters, “Everybody is related to one another. You can’t separate the life of one individual from another just as you can’t separate the breeze from the wind.” (rough translation from Spanish as I’m reading it in Spanish, a valid attempt to keep up my language skills…) So as you look at the relationships you have now and the ones you will be sure to form, try to see with your soul and hear with your heart, you may find yourself connecting with people you thought you’d have nothing in common with.

Oh, and there one more thing you’re soul and heart can do for you. They may just reveal to you the secret to eternal happiness. Now admittedly, it’s not hard to enjoy one’s self while trying out new and crazy internships in historic cities or small villages, while climbing mountains or lying on the beach in some of the most beautiful country on Earth, or being introduced into the homes and lives of 3 new families! This is what I had to keep me entertained these last 7 months. Yet when I got down to the root of my happiness; when I ‘elevated my joy to an art,’ I realized that I found joy in the little things- the people I surrounded myself with, nights of great conversation and food, and simply the way I lived my life.

I stumbled across this great quote in an email of ‘daily good’ I receive (follow the link to sign up):

“If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden, or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi desert. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator. He will not be striving for it as a goal in itself. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life twenty-four crowded hours of the day.” --W. Beran Wolfe

Happiness is not a destination that can be discovered. However, it is what we find when our destination is discovery.

Thanks for keeping up with the blog! I plan to continue my weekly musings because, as we all know, the destination has not yet been reached and there are still more things to be discover. I look forward to keeping the conversation going!

An Amazing Adventure- The Galapagos, Amazon Rainforest, and Everything In-Between

I just wanted to get some pics up real quick before I entered my final post about Ecuador. These are all from the 2 weeks following the end of my program. My parents came down to visit me and we took off around the country, seeing the famous Galapagos Islands, the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest while staying at a secluded lodge, my place of internship at Yunguilla, the markets at Otavalo, and spending a wonderful Christmas in Qutio. It was a memorable way to depart such a wonderful country!

The Christmas celebration

It was hard to say goodbye to the people at CIMAS (where we took classes)

We went back to visit my Yunguilla families again

Amazon

Face painting!

Our guides and the rest of our group

Yep, that's a tarantula

Galapagos

You can get so close to the animals- it's amazing

The famous blue-footed boobies

Some Final Reflections on Yunguilla

As I now sit in the comfort of my Minnesota home next to the warm fire, sheltered from the unbearable cold, I find it fitting to close out my thoughts on my Yunguilla adventure. A week-and-a-half back in the United States following an amazing 2 week journey with my parents around Ecuador has given me time and space to properly evaluate not just Yunguilla, but my entire Ecuador experience and the transition back to the States (both of which will be covered in a later post, stay tuned). I applaud your patience and dedication for bearing with me through this long break, and I hope you enjoy!

I left Yunguilla more than a month ago now on December 7, feeling guilty more than anything that I had not become more attached to this community. On my last day, as I signed the ‘volunteer memories book,’ if you will, I couldn’t help but peek at what some of the past visitors to the community had wrote of their experience. Phrases of ‘greatest experience of my life’ and ‘can’t wait to return’ along with ‘I have formed lifelong friendships’ seemed to litter the page, putting a sour taste in my mouth. What had I missed about this place that made it so treasured in the minds of those who had passed through before me? Was the language barrier or perhaps the cultural barrier really the source of my frustration? I was starting to think of this more as just a convenient excuse.

One of the aspects of the community I struggled with the most was the value attached to nearly every service. While the local development projects of ecotourism, etc. were a great benefit to the community, they were also apparently coming at a cost that can only really be measured in kindness. In other words, the development initiatives were taking priceless favors- especially larger ones- out of the community. In our last week in the community, we went camping with one of our better friends who is also a trained guide. Even though we have worked as volunteers in the community for 5 weeks, we are still treated like tourists and have to pay him the full guiding fee for 2 days. Later in December, I revisit the community with my parents, asking perhaps for a discount for our stay, only to receive the $25/night national rate instead of the $30 foreigner rate. These examples tear me apart because on one side of my brain, I know this community could benefit from my money more than I can and I should be glad to support their services. On the other hand, though, in my culture I tend to feel disrespected when 5 weeks of my sweat and energy is not acknowledged by a more significant gesture from the community.

Almost as a joke, on my final journey out of the community in the car of director’s vehicle, we were once again faced with the challenge of the road under construction. I was wondering if I’d ever make it out of this place, yet as I did a wave of guilt and humility swept over me. Once again, my occidental way of thinking had kicked in ever so subtly. The ‘other’- a way of life I wasn’t accustomed to, this Ecuadorian mestizo campesino culture- had suddenly become the ‘bad.’ I was realizing that maybe this inner-struggle was for the best- that is if you choose to measure the ‘good’ by the ‘learning.’

In the end, even though this cloud forest paradise may not be on the top of my list marked ‘places to revisit in Ecuador,’ it may sit at the top of my list marked ‘experiences in Ecuador with the greatest impact on my life.’ I’m not exactly sure how this growth will manifest itself in my own life, but I can already start to feel it take hold. Therefore, in all of this lies a simple lesson. Sometimes our struggles in life have hidden within them some of our greatest opportunities for growth. More generally, in every gloomy situation can be found some sunshine. Have a sunny day!

With parts of both my Yunguilla host families