July 29 – Random Thoughts
As we travel from Mbale to Gulu on such poor roads it makes you think about what you have and how much we are spoiled in the western world. We have so much, and many people I know want even more, which I don’t understand. Our culture in the west is so focused on things and acquiring “stuff” when you travel this countryside and see the average person just trying to survive, it makes you think. I have been on this path to learn what is really important in life and what makes us happy and the more I travel the more I am certain it is not the way we look for it in the US.
I have been thinking about the concept of wants vs needs and have thought about writing a book titled “When Wants Become Needs – For very important busy people.” The book would be about how our society has turned wants into needs. When you have a need, your happiness is dependent on fulfilling that need. When all you need is to wake up in the morning and whatever happens that day is a blessing, than happiness is easy. When you need to live in the right house, have the right career or job, have the perfect wife, the ideal kids and belong to the right country club, than happiness is so much harder to achieve. Bigger boobs and fuller lips will not make you happy. And, if you do achieve those things they can be destroyed in a moment by so many outside factors.
So, how does this effect my life? For me, I look to live each day and just enjoy as much as I can. Not too many highs and not too many lows, each day brings its own opportunity for joy. To be joyous is something I have looked for in my life and something I want to see in others. The most joy I have gotten in the past few years are related to my family and the ability to give to others, especially those in great need. The work we are doing with U-TOUCH can change lives in ways you can’t imagine, and it is not complicated. When we return to CA I look forward to spreading the word and turning U-TOUCH into an organization that can make significant change around the world.
Here are some pictures for you to see the world they live in.
‘Til next time…..
Larry Kesslin 