Two posts in a row sorry...don't always have internet in this lovely place I call home!

Here:  Meditation and inner peace are highly valued while living a busy and chaotic life is highly valued in the West (or considered a life of success).

Here: Servant hood, silence, and simplicity are valued.  Whereas leadership and individualism and passion are valued in the West  

I find myself strongly drawn to these principles and wonder if it is because this is the first time that I have been exposed to them.  Hearing an idea versus actually seeing it in practice is huge.  Maybe before … sure the concepts sounded good, but who is really going to live like that unless they are forced to?  Which brings me to my next thought – is there value in simplicity?  Or is that just a noble-sounding idea?

“The call to simplicity and freedom is a reminder that our worth comes not from the amount of our involvements, achievements, or possessions, but from the depth and care which we bring to each moment, place, and person in our lives.”  Richard A. Bower

I find there is so much freedom in simplicity.  There is something almost liberating about not being reliant upon a bunch of appliances and conveniences for everything. 

I think it’s highly amusing that people would say that don’t have time to live without all of their modern conveniences.  That is ridiculous. 

The majority of people I know here gets up at 5 a.m. and stays up late.  Outside of working everyday, attending school, everyone washes all of their clothes and cooks all meals without any appliances except ‘camp stoves.’  Remember, this is a different experience than when you are living in a place where people have disposable diapers and other things (unmentionable) that save us hours of washing and cleaning.  Sorry for bringing it up but otherwise you don’t realize how good you have it!  Imagine having 6 kids and not having diapers and wipes and diaper bags…haha!

There isn’t the option of having a washing machine, a dryer, a dishwasher, an oven, a microwave, much less a steamer, a rice cooker, a bread maker of a coffeepot (for the average population)!  Yet in general the people are impeccably clean, constantly washing clothes, showering at least twice a day, sweeping and mopping more than once a day.  I became frustrated with these things in the beginning.  I still get annoyed once in awhile, but I only have to open my eyes and see the world around me and the frustration immediately drains away. 

The point…there is time.  To do all of these things.  To think you don’t have time is just something society told you. 

And there is still:

TIME to always have a conversation (even if it's mostly gestures!),

ENOUGH to always share your food with everyone around you,

SMILES even when you are not feeling well or will have to stay up all night doing homework

I am happy to not have a car, to not have ‘modern’ conveniences, to not have fast food, to not have much.  So for me simplicity is invaluable, and it is the ultimate freedom. 

As always, I do not claim this to be the Truth, it’s just what I am trying to wrap my little brain (or is it my heart) around right now and wanted to share.

thoughts of kampuchea

I found out that I prefer:



Palm trees TO skyscrapers



50 cent street food that might not be completely up to modern world sanitation standards but is served with a HUGE, sincere smile TO $12 lunches where everything is perfectly clean and the person serving you doesn’t even look into your eyes much less give you a smile worthy of the Guinness book of world records



Haggling for ten minutes over paying $1.50 for that t-shirt rather than $2 TO paying $20 for the same t-shirt made in the same factory by the same beautiful brown hands



Tiny bathrooms with the shower and the toilet and the sink practically touching and everything getting wet when you shower TO large, ‘clean,’ unfriendly rooms where everything is perfect



Monsoons that cause the streets to flood and leave everyone stranded wherever they are right at that moment (such an adventure) TO all day drizzles



Magical smiles that light up your soul paired with happy ‘Sousdays’ that linger for minutes everywhere you go TO mandatory thin smiles and greetings that are meaningless and forgotten



Strangers offering you directions or anything that you need when they don’t even speak the same language but somehow that mix of broken English, bits of Khmer, and a lot of gestures gets you there TO strangers who do not even make eye contact on the street, the train, or at a restaurant



Rows of endless chaos of fruits, vegetables, smelly meats, breads, grains, insects, and who knows what else TO perfectly organized and labeled aisles crowded with carts overflowing with food, much of which will eventually rot and be wasted



I don’t know, maybe it’s just me