Canon 10: Fall down seven times and get up eight
Trip Start
Unknown
1
10
11
Trip End
Ongoing
Philippines, Manila, Philippines
Friday, January 22, 2010
Disgruntled by a flight delay in the Philippines, my brother instantly changed heart when he chanced on an impoverished seven-year-old boy wearing soiled rags who was joyously flying a kite he constructed by tying a long string to a billowing plastic trash bag. Why worry? Sometimes the well-to-do tend to dwell more on luxury problems than on real ones.
My other brother’s reality was challenged further. While he was skinny-dipping on an African beach, keeping his pack and clothes in view, a merciless thief stole it all and sprinted into the jungle before he could swim ashore. He paused, naked and knee-deep in surf, sans money, passport, and clothes. Talk about starting over. The sympathetic villagers eventually restored his material basics, and the process of reestablishing his identity drove him deeper into the community fabric than any dressed person could have ventured. We become blindly enslaved by our possessions, and to be without can be a blessing. The adventure begins when the plan is foiled.
"No trip in the fun, no fun in the trip." -Wandering sage
"We’re thinking your luggage might be in Nebraska." -Greyhound baggage attendant, New York City
"Look up! As the stargazers say, beauty is only a light switch away." -Anonymous stargazer
