Beans, Mazes and Wheels

Beans, Mazes and  Wheels

Been a while.

And since I will be going to the states soon, and the heat here has been almost beyond insufferable [we are hotter than most African equator countries……daily] I  have been contemplating a lot…it’s what we “intellection” people do….

And this morning it really struck me as I was sorting beans for dinner.

The difference in my life here and the states is the difference between beans here and in the states.

In Georgia, I go to the store….pick up a neatly packed bag of beans…sometimes with the spices already in them ..OR better yet ,when I am in a hurry , a restaurant’s  pre seasoned can already made , that I can zap in the microwave in the same pack.

Here I have 2 choices…..I walk down the road with a pot or a pitcher. And buy my beans from someone. OR I sit at my table and slowly shift through my beans…it requires my glasses [ humility]…and pick out the rocks, rice, sticks, weevils and bad beans.

In the states, my life is instant. Physically safe and very easy. And requires little or no personal effort, thought, relationship or time for most of my activities.

Here it takes all of these….just to get beans, and almost everything else.

My life here is harder physically. Forces me to consider…think ahead and slow down. Choose what I can and want to do.

One life is a hamster in a wheel

The other life is a hamster in a maze.

I choose the maze. The life unscripted...slower and where I choose the turns and am surprised by dead ends or the happy bit of cheese.

Why?

I have done both. But, here I have to think ahead. Plan. Pick the rocks and sticks and weevils out of myself and my life to enjoy it. To savor it. To appreciate the flavor.

In Georgia. It was WAY more work to do that. The ease, the trappings, the physical comfort , the safety… clouds my view so much, that I believe that these were the point.

Here -I choose the day, the path, and most importantly what I want to put into my life.

Like the beans, I choose the spices and garlic and vegetables…

In my life I choose joy, laughter, smiles, relationships.

I talk to LOTS of people here….I hear a tons of their stories…they all want love, and happiness.

I think I need to tell them that the only way we have this is to choose.

You want love??? Be loving to others….

You want laughter and happiness???? See joy and blessing…

You want a yummy pot of food??? Sift through you beans…and choose what you will put into them.

We get a choice if we want the wheel or the maze…ease and comfort, or choice and effort….and the type of beans we want today.

But I guess in the end, my story, my life depends on how I choose…..