There is something almost a bit magical about being in a world different than your own. Something magical about the way people look and the way they talk and laugh and walk and live…something about the way there can be thousands and millions of people who have an entirely different sense of normal than what I do.
There is something magic about the contrast of life in south-east Asia. You have the best of smells and the worst of smells, the best of tastes and the strangest of tastes, the prettiest sights and the most awful of sights. It’s a world of contrast…and I’m starting to realize that I come from a comfortable western world of very minimal contrast. Maybe it’s the contrast that creates the amount of compassion that wells up inside when we come face-to-face with a mother begging for food for her young child…as we sit there in front of her with a full plate of food, eating the first of my three square meals a day. Maybe it’s the contrast that fills my heart with sadness when I see a young mother sleeping on the street with her two children beside her…because I’m on my way to my safe and comfortable third story room with a balcony, shower, and bed. Maybe it’s the contrast that fills my heart with despair as we walk by women lined up in front of the bars, just waiting for someone to come by and use them…because I’m walking beside a man that doesn’t use me for my body, one that truly loves and cherishes me.
The contrast…it can wreck you.
Currently, we are sitting in the Bangkok airport on our way back to Chiang Mai, where we will spend a few days yet to finish out our trip. It’s hard to believe our time in Asia is almost over! It’s been a full and busy experience, but not so busy and full that I don’t feel like it all happened without me knowing it. We have taken in a lot…and I feel like I have so much reflection and processing to do once I get back home.
I’m sure there will be a more detailed update on our trip coming up in the future, so stay tuned!
What about you: do you find yourself wrecked by the contrast of lives that you come across? How do you deal and process those really difficult things?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Wow. Sometimes contrasrs bring tears to my eyes and sorrow to my heart. And I hope, lend wings of compassion to my feet.
I feel wrecked by the deep joy and tears I saw in my Compassion girl's mother…Knowing that someone else cares for her to buy her food when there is none in her one room house. They have so little, but when I give some of my little to them, it really just abounds and becomes so much.
I remember feeling so wrecked for the women I met in Costa Rica…and how Jesus would tell me to just love the one in front of me with all my heart.. he would do the rest. I'm still learning how. 🙂
So true…I like how you phrased this: lend wings of compassion to my feet. Sometimes it's far too easy to feel compassion and sorrow for something but forget to lend action to the feelings.
I want to hear about your time in South (or was it Central?) America! I can imagine meeting your Compassion family was so beautiful.