If someone in the rain forest is happy, and there are no advertisements around to confirm this, and they truly happy?
So, I've been back from my trip to Honduras for 10 days or so, and I've completely adjusted back into my soft American life-style. I have seen an amazing world, full of people who are extremely poor (beyond my comprehension) and very happy with their lives. I'm been waiting for the POW! moment, when a life changing thought or mind set knocks me backwards... into a more pure life, or something like that.
I feel so similar to how I felt before going there. Did I miss something?
So - first off, this was a trip to shoot a documentary on sustainable farming. There's a whole level of understanding that has come with that more technical side of the trip... as well as a bit of distraction from where I was: I had a job to do, and it was intense. Maybe some of what I lacked in personal change came from that distraction... who knows.
I lived with people in conditions I had never known... extreme poverty that makes our American poverty pale in comparison. Dirt floors, beans and tortillas 3 meals a day, no electricity or running water. Their homes... well, I could throw a full keg across them, and these are usually families of 7 or 8 people.
I went and taped in a shanty town just outside of San Pedro Sula. This was part of the trip I feared... not from a safety perspective, but from the mindset of being exposed to such intense poverty. I got back to SHI's office in an odd mood. I felt no horror or remorse from the poverty I had in the middle of. First off, the kids were literally climbing on top of me to see the video camera. It has a little monitor on the side, so they could see themselves on TV - they went nuts. There were parents holding cute little babies... talking in groups about whatever... kids playing together... it felt so normal - except for all of the homes build out of discarded wooden pallets, scrap metal & card board.
There were serious, real physical dangers in this world - from a fur-de-lance (an extremely poisonous snake we saw less than a foot away) to sharp rusty objects and excessive lack of health care. You might want sit down for this one - kids do not wear helmets when riding their bikes!
Here's the odd thing: at no time have I ever felt pity for the people I met. True, I want to help however I can, and I gave away many of my gadgets (wind up flashlight, LED lantern, leatherman...) But, my God these people were happy. They laughed whenever they were in groups - they took their time with whatever they were doing. Watches and schedules did not exist, they had no meaning. One curious side effect - time there crept by like a childhood summer.
I started to develop a sense of who was doing really well for themselves - mostly by what they could serve their families for dinner. Fruits and vegetables were the only status symbol I could find... maybe owning a cow. One main difference with this world - these status symbols/wealth were openly shared with anyone who dropped by for a visit. (Hey Bob, you mind if I borrow your Lexus?) There are not actual doors in these homes... just open door frames. Guess they have an open-door policy there. Seriously, it was a constant stream of visitors or visiting wherever we went.
One quick story to bring this back to life here in the US. A woman who was traveling in Honduras with us was showing some pictures from home with several women from the village. She was telling the story of a tree they had to cut down - she loved this tree. She showed them a picture of the tree before it broke - to give them an idea of how great this tree was. In the background of this picture was an dilapidated old shed they they had also torn down. One of the women said: you have a very lovely home, it's very similar to mine.
So - when I try to look back over this experience and come up with some life changing moral or concept... it's almost too simplistic to mention. Happiness exists in very simple lives. Is that starkly different than life here? I live a happy life. But I had an excess of stuff, but I don't think that's exactly the point. Here, in my life of extreme relative wealth, I can still see the things I lack simply because there's a constant field of noise around me - noise from advertisers who will never let me rest from the constant race to acquire more stuff... to never feel good about where I am. Why the hell do we tolerate people who are so consistently suspect and critical of our lives? These people actually have the rudeness and gaul to publicly question whether I need male enhancement!
On the way out of Honduras - my first image of American life inside the Honduras airport was a life size cut out of Paris Hilton, selling some line of crap with her name on it. It filled me with a sense of dread - a direct warning to the mental and spiritual dangers of the world I was about to re-enter.