We spend a lazy day writing our memoirs in Beira and take in some of the refreshing sea breeze of the long Mocambiquean coast. Such days, spent in the spirit of happy absent-mindedness commonly known as relaxing, give me the strength to go on and on. The Africa part of Charity Travel is nearing its end and I know now that this journey will be a success. Sure, there is a lot of work to be done, a lot of people to be convinced of this concept, of the illusion that is is an outstanding, flashy, brilliant concept. And I will have to address the issue of rewardingness.
Doing, anything, should be re-war-ding for the individual. That’s the law of our culture, deeper rooted than the incest tabu. Many people have told me, “o and a it it must be so rewarding for you.” I’ve heard “you are an individual, so you are doing this just for your own personal happiness. Organizations on the other hand, with statutes and bureaucracies, are able to look beyond this.” Whatever you answer, however subtle you are in reminding them that it is somethin’ good you wanne do, something that is about others and leaves but an ephemeral role for “the self”, that answer is eaten alive by this typical distasteful smile. “Of course”. Does anyone understand the yearning for an existance beyond consumerism?
February 9. Consumerism.
