There are a lot of cliches regarding Africa and what one learns while living on this continent. One of the greatest, perhaps because of its inherent truth, posits that time moves differently over here. Things take longer. People aren't as hurried. Patience, a good deal of it, is a recommended strategy for coping with daily life.
Three hours by the roadside and I'm still there trying to catch a "bush taxi" into Sikasso. The late afternoon sun refuses to move faster; it hangs motionless, its heat waves burning into my sweat-soaked skin. I look at my watch, it too seems suspended. I swat some flies from my brow, and my mind drifts....
I watch my thoughts and where they go, both in space and time. I notice how hard it is to wait in the present moment, to just sit and be, to not be expectant. Instead, my thoughts meander into the past, to experiences and to people. More commonly though, they make forays to the future - conjuring up alternate realities and possible lives I may lead. It is such a human tendency to think about what if's to escape the present. And yet, the present moment is all that is. In these moments of stillness, with the sun, the flies, the very realness of just being alone and waiting, time does indeed take on a new meaning.
West African International Time; learning to wait.
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1 comment:
Jessie,
Your observations on staying in the present are so important. We hate boredom so much, we always slipping into the past or the future, or trying to coax the present to move faster. If we can just focus on being in the moment, say YES to what is happening right now, we will experience so much more in life.
Love,
Dad
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