Keeping a blog is an interesting exercise

                         Keeping a blog is an interesting exercise. It’s daily, or bi-daily writing, a catalogue of thoughts and impressions, sometimes just one off thoughts that you filter through later and change your mind about. You write this stuff down and then you post it up where anyone who cares to have look can read it.

I view it as a conversation, transient and changeable ideas being put out there for consideration, but I think a lot of times when we read things it’s been drafted and edited, then reconsidered and redrafted to the point where it feels like we’re stating that opinion as a personal fact. That’s not what I’m doing here, I’m just talking, about impressions, and feelings that come and go, and change daily, weekly, whatever.

Right now I’ve reached a place in my travels where I’m no longer sightseeing, but I’m taking a look at what’s happening around me and trying to understand it. Reaching understanding is not always an easy thing to do. Anyone who is in a relationship, or has family, or needs to communicate an idea at work, knows there is a lot of back and forth to be done before two or more minds are even kind of on the same page. It can be arduous.

I’m trying to understand a little bit about what’s happening in this country I’m in. I’m here without a guide, I don’t have a home base where I can rest up, or mentors who can clue me in. I’m pretty much starting from zero, and there is a lot to take in. People seem to be getting concerned that what I’m saying is too negative, and I’m not really sure how to respond to that. Should I just focus on the positive? Should I consider my perception inherently flawed, therefore unworthy of discussing? Should I lie?

Today I watched a man kick his eight-year-old daughter in a public square full of people until she ran away crying. On another day I saw a scooter driving by with a 2’x2’ wire cage strapped to the back, that had three full grown dogs riding in it, piled on top of each other, with their legs protruding through the wire mesh, and many similar situations with all kinds of other animals, on many other days. I’ve seen people walking around with their limbs rotting off, and villages with piles of trash higher than the roofs of their houses. This stuff makes me feel terribly negative and frustrated, yes. This is not the kind of thing a nice meal and an icy pop can overshadow.

Maybe it sounds like I’m trying to lay some blame on someone for this stuff. I’m sorry if I gave that impression because that’s not my intention. I think circumstances are they way they are here because of a long series of unfortunate events, and power struggles. It’s left the people who are just trying to survive and live their lives in a very precarious situation. Given the same circumstances, it would be this way anywhere else in the world. Knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to see, and at times I feel helpless in the midst of it. So, what’s the solution? I should shut up? I should just talk about what I had for dinner, strolling through the park, rainbows? There is a world full of kindness, generosity, love, and mutual respect out there, here too, I know this, but right now I’m dealing with what’s right in front of my eyes, and it’s not all happy and fun, sorry.

Learning is a process. I’m learning a lot right now, and I can’t really say where it will lead. I don’t think that should be the point. It’s slightly uncomfortable at times yes, and if you don’t like it you don’t have to participate, but if you’d like to keep reading I encourage you to keep a sense of humor and take it all with a grain of salt. If you have expectations of a sunshiney, happy-go-lucky, always on the bright side blog, leave now. I’m not that kind of person. I never have been. I never will be. I don’t like those kind of people. It feels dishonest to me. But that’s just me, and I’ll be the first to admit that I probably know nothing.