Recently, I returned home from a journey to South Africa and I have been absolutely gloriously ruined, deeply inspired and profoundly challenged. The purpose of the trip was to spend time in one of the most impoverished townships of Cape Town where resources are scarce and the threat of AIDS is rampant. Our days were spent in partnership with local organizations offering free medical testing and services to township citizens, as well as providing an afternoon camp for local children.
Upon my arrival in Cape Town, it became clear the apartheid still leaves its legacy upon the land. In the midst of one of the most beautiful places in the world, there were clear lines drawn between the comfortable and the disenfranchised. Surrounded by thriving homes and businesses were those living in poverty, marginalized by racial and financial barriers. Such socioeconomic divisions in South Africa have created numerous townships where thousands live in homes of corrugated tin and wood, where plumbing and electricity are rare and where the needs are of children and adults are plenty.
While the intention of this trip was to serve one specific township and attempt to meet a fraction of its needs, it soon became apparent the experience of being amidst this community would be a context for a mutual exchange. We bestowed health services and meals, compassion and advocacy and hope for a future of change and prosperity. But by touching the life of another, we are always changed, as well. As I reflect upon traveling to a land with so little, I find myself inspired by a land that offers much for us to consider.
As you can imagine, it was surreal to be in a community where the needs are so vast. I have also never seen such gratitude. In virtually every moment, I was struck by the gratitude I found. Among a people who have very little, they were generous of spirit in expressing their gratitude. In every conversation, moment of play and the offering of resources, there was a sense of gratitude that came with deep sincerity. It became clear where entitlement isn’t found, gratitude flourishes — for gratitude is a condition of being not of circumstance. I am left asking how we might foster this state of heart when we have so much and it is so easy to take our abundance for granted.
Alongside such deep and binding gratitude, I found a community of people who know a powerful sense of joy — not happiness, but joy. Time after time, I came to find men and women and children who knew absolute joy in the midst of a trying circumstance. We are afforded the pursuit of happiness in our country unlike so many nations where limitations oppose their freedom to seek a life of happiness. The people of South Africa know this. They also know a clear distinction between happiness and joy. One is fleeting and tickled by the temporary; the other is sustained by the pursuit of lasting virtues. It is not an option for them that these arenas become clouded. As such, they know a clarity about what is truly important and worthy of investment. This ability has me challenged to examine the places in my world where happiness has been confused with joy. Perhaps you’re feeling stirred to do the same.
Profoundly inspired by the gratitude and joy of a people with little, I also found great pain and suffering. The burdens of unemployment and poverty, illness and tragedy, and the lack of resources available to so many create great struggle and hardship. While I found joy and gratitude in abundance, I also came upon the heaviness of heart such conditions bring. In such a state, it is vital for the members of this community to support and care for one another as a lifeline. In witnessing these ways, I am reminded how much we need each other as we navigate life — regardless of our circumstance.
Surely, these are not earth-shattering ideas. However, I do believe they are quickly lost amidst the busy-ness and abundance of our culture. It takes an incredible amount of intention and energy to preserve these notions and experience their consistent embodiment in our lives. It would be of benefit to us all to examine the spaces in our life where we have missed the mark of what is truly important, where the details of living big have overtaken the quality of living well.
We do not need to travel abroad to become ruined for the better. We simply need to open ourselves up to the possibility of living with the intention of being grateful for the privileges we know, seeking the deeper pursuits of joy rather than the fleeting, and being connected to others with passionate care for their good.
As you begin the start of a new season, I encourage you to examine the spaces in your life where gratitude has been tarnished, where joy is hard to find and serving others doesn’t happen as it should. Contact your local school and inquire about a family in need. Reach out to your neighborhood church or place of worship and become involved in meeting the needs of your community. Explore rotary or community groups desiring to make a difference in our world. Allow yourself to be powerfully transformed as you bring change to others. Allow your life to be gloriously ruined, too.
Shannon Renae West is a licensed family therapist serving families on the Eastside. She can be reached at (425) 415-6556 or via e-mail at ShanWest@msn.com.
