NO PAIN, NO GAME

“I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.”

-Dalai Lama

Yesterday was one the hardest days while here in Sierra Leone. We helped the garbage guys to pick up our garbage. Why we did that, it was because normally when they come, if they come, they just pick up what is appropriate for them. Fair enough.  They don’t get paid and their only income is what they can find from the garbage. The Government is providing this service and they should pay these people. It is not happening. So when they come, they leave most of the garbage in our garbage container which causes some health and smell issues. Not a good thing.

Yesterday we were IN the container, shoveling garbage for two hours, trying to make things better. My hands still smells…It was a crab job.

Which does not kill you, make you stronger! Yesterday was one of those days.

I have been trying to make things better regarding the garbage by calling different people, trying to get things moving and sometimes it has helped but most of the time I got replay that call someone else. Wow, what to do?

I have been trying to talk with the garbage guys and every time they agree to do as I request them to do. Perfect, or not!

Corruption is so deep here that without paying to some one, nothing really happens. So once again, what to do?

Yesterday I tried to find a solution and we fed all the garbage guys and we also offered to help to recycle our cans, that they could get the cans separately to make some money. Once again they agreed to help us, even the manager of the garbage company, who came to visit me agreed. 

The future will tell what the outcome on this matter is…

Trying to find happiness on this feels little bit hard but not impossible. We worked as a team and we had few laughs after all the hard work which brought us together. Challenges and difficulties bring people together and a feeling to be part of a team is one piece of the happiness puzzle.

I was really happy yesterday when I finally got in the shower and got rid of all the dirty, smelly clothes. Happiness is about small things, like a hot shower after a long and hard day or a bed, were you can just lay down and relax after all the challenges.

It’s good to look around and see the small things; the happiness is hiding in and on them. Or if you just listen and you can't hear anything except silence; that is happiness. :)

“Happiness is like a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you”. –Nathaniel Hawthorne