Some thoughts from a stranger

My teammate, Lily, sent this to me via fb messaging one day.  I hope she is okay with me sharing it with everyone. 

hey rei! Remember my friend that I have had since forever? well he sent me this message, and I thought you'd like it too!

"Life is nothing but the mere experience of our existence, of all the things that surround us… We are all born into a world of uncertainty and that is simply the beauty of it.

We all have dreams, we all have hopes, we all have fears. We imagine ourselves into the future, as we remember our pasts. We live life curious to know what tomorrow will bring us. Yet today will soon be the yesterday of tomorrow… and so it will be forever.

People live planning for tomorrow, and projecting their lives into the future because they want to have something certain. Some sort of path to follow and know where they’re going, control and comfort of their lives. I believe humans do this to satisfy their fears of the true uncertainty of their lives. But it is exactly in those moments of uncertainty where the true beauty of life comes up to touch the human heart and soul.

We must be patient, as the universe and time will set things in place, some day at some point….but we must never quit dreaming and imagining all that our hearts tell us. We strive facing the fears and the uncertainties, to become stronger and stronger from inside out understanding that we are all capable of anything if we apply ourselves and battle the fears. We grow stronger as we remain conscious that anything can happen and the unexpected will come. "

There was a certain silence within me after I read this.  Uncertainty is definitely scary but it may actually be the beauty of it.  Before coming to Africa, I heard all sorts of negative things from people.  Why are you going there? Will be you hunting and running around with Africans? Will you live with wild animals? Be careful, you're going to get raped or mugged.  These comments arise from ignorance.  Of course there is a possibility for any trip to be dangerous and it can happen to anyone if they are at the wrong place at the wrong time but we can't predict that.  I honestly didn't know what to expect before arriving in Kenya.  I was afraid of the uncertainty but also excited at the same time.  Making my way to Africa was one of the best decisions I've made in my life.  I feel like I am on the right path to figuring something out. 

As Lily's friend said,  we are capable of anything.  How will you know unless you take the chance? Dream big. love, fear, get hurt, learn, stand up again and continue to learn. 

 Sunset in the rain