Since I have graduated high school I lived in quite a few different places. I have attended four different schools. I have bounced around quite a few jobs. I know some might not like to move around so much but, I always enjoy the different places and really enjoy all the new friends. Every time when I leave the same feelings occur. I always wish I had taken just a little more time to get to know people. Some I wish I had just taken a few seconds to learn their name. Other I wish I would have spent a few minutes learning about their lives. There were people I worked with that I greatly admired, but never learned what helped shaped them. People I went to school with that I wanted to catch up with and walk across campus but always was heading somewhere else. Then there were a few people that I took time to invest in but wish I would have invested just a little more time. I cherished moments with them. I loved laughing with them and sharing intimate time with them, and I would give a right arm or two for a few more of these incredible seconds.
This last trip I went on was a little off the beaten path from where you typically encounter other tourist. Often times on these trips we throw our lives into the hands of the locals as were ask for food and a cool dirt floor to sleep on. The neat thing about these areas is that the locals do not encounter a lot of tourist. The children will simply stare at you like a calf looking at a new gate. The adults will often nod their heads as you walk by unless you can speak a little of the language. My mastery of the local language still has a ways to go, but I am able to carry on a conversation for a minute or two when the opportunity arises. I often times say hello and then ask them how there day is, but then quickly carry on with the trudging. This last I was stopped in my tracks for a moment though.
There was man walking towards me that looked to be in his 60’s. He had the usual sun worn face, and the slightly hunched back from years of carrying potatoes and bending over in the rice fields. While he looked to be in his 60’s it is quite possible that he could be 15 to 20 years younger. I saw him as he came around a bend in the trail and from a distance said hello as I hoped this would allow me to keep walking and still have my typical hello-goodbye conversation. Once he heard me speak in the local language he became very excited. He stopped me as I approached and immediately began to challenge my language skills. We talked about his day. He told me what he had done and where he was coming from. He asked me what I was doing and why I had came to his village. We talked a little about his family and he asked why a man of my age was not married. I honestly was enjoying hearing this man’s story but I was getting left behind and really wanted to catch up to the rest of my group. I began to bring the conversation to a close and told him goodbye.
The greeting here is done with two praying hands and slight bow, and this also is what is used to say goodbye. I went with the traditional greeting, but as we were ending I went to shake his hand. Most of the people are familiar with this and seem to enjoy it when they get to partake in our culture. They do add a little touch to their handshake. While shaking one hand you reach with the other and give a solid two-hand shake. This is exactly what we did, but then a little extra was added as I was starting to pull away. This elderly worn man started to bow his head and began to raise my hands as he gently touched them to his forehead, but I was back to hurry-up mode and pulling them away. This man was showing me a sign of incredible respect, but I was in too big of a hurry to show the respect back that he greatly deserved. Shame on me and my desire to cut a few seconds off of the six-hour trek I was engaged in.
My life has not been the most stable since I graduated. As I said earlier I have been to many places and worked many jobs. I have made great friends, keeping a few of them and losing most of them. I do not regret losing them though, what I regret the most is that I did not spend enough time with them when they were a part of my life. I do not know how many more places I will live in my life or how many new friends I will make, but it is time to stop treating my time here as if it belongs to me. I need to slow down and not be so worried about making it to the next place. God does not want us to get so caught up in the next stage that we miss the outpouring of his flooding grace and mercy. Are you caught up in the destination or enjoying the journey?
