2 Sleeps! Ready-Set-Go!!

Hard to believe!  In about 48 hours, Jim will drop me off at the airport, and the adventure begins!  Actually, I anticipate much of the adventure to be AT the airport! One of the TSA lines is closed, which is making the usual long lines even longer.  UGH!  I love to travel, but I hate the airport experience!  Anyway–my plane is scheduled to leave at 7:35 pm Friday.  8 hr. 15 min. later I’ll be in Amsterdam, with a 2 hr.layover there.  Then 7 hr. 55 min later, I should arrive in Nairobi.  Nothing to it, right?!  UGH!  But then the fun begins!  It will be 9:50 pm on Saturday night.  I’ll be met at the airport and taken to an overnight dormitory–and I suspect it will be past midnight when I get there.

Normally orientation is done on the 1st of the month, but since it’s a Sunday, and since the staff there are Christians and attend church, I will start orientation on Monday.  I’m sure I will be glad to have that extra day to begin to get my body used to the time change (8 hours later than in MN).  I’m not sure if orientation is one or two days, but then I will travel 300 miles to Mombasa, where my actual project is located.

A little geography lesson:  Just for perspective, here is the US, compared to Africa.  I think we tend to forget that Africa is over 3 times larger than we are.  Kenya is 2/3 the way up the East coast.  It is slightly larger than Alaska.

               

Below you can see where Nairobi is, as well as Mombasa.  Also, find Masai Mara Reserve–that is where I will be on safari.  Note–the equator runs through the middle of the country=Hot!!  Mombasa is on the Ocean=Humid!!  The city of Mombasa is actually an island, connected to the mainland with a road.

   

So…am I excited?  You bet!  Am I nervous?  You bet!!  A couple days ago I went through a time of high anxiety!  I was fairly certain I had made a really dumb decision by deciding to go on this venture! WHAT WAS I THINKING??!!  I’m nearly 73 years old, I’m flying halfway around the world with absolutely no one that I know, and I’m living who-knows-where for 4 weeks!!  Every possible thing that could go wrong was suddenly overtaking my brain!  (I won’t share the list!  Very depressing!)  The anxiety was consuming me…overwhelming my usual (fairly) calm self.  I realized that I had very little control over what was going to happen to me in the next 4 weeks…and believe me, I enjoy having some control over my life!  I did the only thing I know to do–I panicked, and then I talked it over with Jim and with friends,  and then I prayed…a lot!  (And I suspect Jim & my friends did also!) I gotta tell ya–talking things over with a husband of 52 years, friends old and new, and God (my really old friend)–has brought about a nice change from panic to a reasonable amount of nervousness!

I’m all packed (check); Jim had the family together last evening for a send-off party, and after visiting with them, I’m adding more books to my iPad, and getting one more prepaid Visa card (check, check, check); I’ve received a ton of well wishes/traveling mercies from friends (check). I really do feel ready to go.

While in my meditation corner this morning, one of my readings had this verse from Hebrews 13:2 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”  Coincidence?  I think not.  A nice reminder of who and what I will experience!

I invite all the well wishes/prayers/good thoughts that you can muster!  And I’ll end this Soul Story with one of my favorite prayers from our Lutheran hymnal:

O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Blessing to all

~~Carolyn~~

 

 

Aging Happens

Like many others, I spend an increasing amount of time, pondering the subject of getting older, as I move along on that inevitable timeline. Am I embracing aging? Do I fear it? What do I have to ‘look forward to’ in the next 5/10/15 years? Are my wrinkles showing more than they used to? Are all my healthy eating habits really going to pay off, or should I just chuck it all and eat all the ice cream I want? Etc., etc.

My closest family members and friends range from their mid-60’s to early 90’s. We talk a lot more about the condition of our bodies than we ever used to—you know the routine—it’s called an organ recital, right?! My kids are all in their 40’s, as are most of my nieces and nephews (and 50’s and 60’s!). I have started to hear them referring to changes they’re experiencing: weight gain, gray hairs, achy joints, going to bed earlier! All of us are on this path of getting older, and we all tend to approach it with some differences in our attitude and outlook.

I recently began reading Thomas Moore’s book: Ageless Soul. I have found many insightful statements that are definitely shareable.

Moore makes a subtle distinction between ‘getting older’ and ‘aging’—particularly ‘aging well’. Getting older is the accumulation of years, but even though a person accumulates the years, that person can still remain immature, by remaining ego-centered, not open to empathy or community, not opening one’s heart to another.

Aging, on the other hand, Moore describes as “becoming more of a person and more you over time”. If we don’t/can’t do that, we only grow old, we don’t age. Taking that thought a bit deeper, Moore says “your very purpose in life is to age, to become what you are; essentially to unfold and let your inborn nature be revealed”. In this sense, aging may happen at any age. We age as we experience life—often the painful parts of life—and mature, learn, and grow from them. Moore again: “To age well it isn’t enough to have experiences; you have to be affected by them.” You have to allow yourself to be touched, to be in pain, to feel total joy…that’s what brings about the maturing and growing…the aging.

And one more quote from Thomas Moore: “If you don’t nurture your soul, you are not aging.” Think about that one! What are you doing to nurture your soul? I’m personally getting a lot better at that. I’m much more intentional about daily meditation…and I have broadened my definition of ‘meditation’. Although I have some online devotions, as well as some meditation books that all nourish my soul, I recognize that deadheading my flowers, talking with a friend, watching the birds at my feeders, going on a date with Jim, talking to my kids, visiting my hospice patient (where I volunteer), and certainly my upcoming trip to Kenya—all of these wash my soul with gladness and create a depth of satisfaction about life.

What I’ve concluded is that getting older is not a choice, it happens! But aging…we have some choices about that. Our attitude, our choices on so many things in our lives…these will determine if we ‘age well’.

I’ve only started Moore’s book. I look forward to more of his wisdom, some of which I’ll likely share with others. Good stuff!!

Now…find something that nurtures your soul, and make it a part of your daily life!! Happy aging!!

That’s my Soul Story for today!