thoughts on just "being"

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”
-Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Bible verse above has been one of my favorites since high school. It’s a simple statement that speaks volumes about life. And though I have reflected on this verse time and again, I still am now just understanding it in a new way. As I approach the end of my time in Guatemala, I feel myself getting anxious. As with many things in life, I just want to get them over with. I felt that way about high school, about every semester in college, and now about my volunteer year in Guatemala. I am always ready for next thing in life. Going to college in New York City probably did not help my rushed way of living. There is no time for dillydallying. I’m already almost 23 for goodness sake!

Yet, “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” I knew that when I signed up for this program that a major focus was that the volunteers experience what it means to just “be.” My work assignment is not particularly strenuous. I am very rarely rushed for time here. Heck, I get a full 9 hours of sleep almost every night! And though I think I have done a pretty well at resisting boredom, I still haven’t quite learned how to just be content where I am.

There is so much to learn in my community. I’ve learned to weave, to paint, to cook, to teach English, Spanish, a little Kakchiquel and the list goes on. But, what I still need to learn from my community is how to be thankful for each moment. Because, really each moment is a gift from God and it can be taken away by God as well. And there is always something to be thankful for.

Just the other night, I was awoken by a pretty strong tremor. The next day I learned that it was a full 7.1 earthquake in Honduras. It could just have easily bee a 7.1 earthquake in Comalapa and then what? Each moment is a gift, an undeserved gift.

As I finish out my last 27 days in Guatemala, I want to focus on just being. If I allow myself to open up to being where I am, then who knows what sort of love and fellowship could come out that. Who knows, I might even find myself not ready to go home in these 4 short weeks.

In other news, I went on a field trip with CEFORMA to Guatemala City this weekend. We boarded 2 old school buses or camionetas at 6am, and after a good half hour of trying to get one to start, we were off. That bus only broken down once along the way, thank goodness! We visited a natural history museum, botanical garden, and amusement park/zoo. It felt so good getting out of town with everyone I know here. I rode all of the rides I could, though it seems many rides were not made for my size. When I climbed on a nice looking horse on the carousal, I was quickly told I was too big for the horse and needed to climb onto something else. Well, the only other thing to ride on the carousal was an even smaller horse. But, I obediently jumped on and my knees were up to my ears as I precariously tried to sit on the thing. Everyone was laughing at me, and then the attendant told me that I couldn’t ride that either! So, I just wondered why the hell he let me on the ride to begin with?! Anyway, we had a tiring, but joy-filled day and got home at around 7:30 pm and crashed from exhaustion.

I began teaching my 4 hour intensive English course yesterday. And thankfully, the 4 hours wasn’t as exhausting as I thought it would be. Time flew by and the women seemed quite interested in learning. I really quite enjoyed myself and found it rewarding. I really like teaching English and am thinking about getting my Master’s in ESL/Spanish Education. I’m not entirely sure what I want to do, but I don’t think it would hurt to have that degree. I just need to perfect my Spanish first!

Oh well, until next time…