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The Plan
My dear friend Kelley is in the middle of an around the world trip. I got a phone call out of the blue in October of 2004 asking if I was interested in meeting up with her and travelling in either South Africa or Thailand. She referenced a desire to travel in either of the locations for a few weeks in late Spring 2005. Though I've long wanted to travel to Africa, I felt an immediate resonance with the idea of travelling to Thailand.
A few months before, in June, I was at a workshop at Omega Institute in up state New York. One of the workshop leaders, Ubaka Hill, a master African drummer and singer gave a free concert while I was there. Between sets she challenged all of us present to go out into the world and make memories. To not passively sit on the sidelines of life and wait for what would become a memory to happen to us, but instead to live life in such a way as to make our own memories. The sentiment of that comment on that cool summer evening planted a seed and as the recollection came into my mind I started beaming. Through my ear to ear smile I said into the receiver that the idea of travelling to Thailand sounded lovely and I was game for it.
A couple of months later, starting on December 26, 2004, my focus shifted dramatically. No longer envisioning a trip to paradise for a few weeks, but instead sensing an opportunity to travel involved in a way few experience--as a volunteer. Kelley and I discussed the realistic impacts of the tsunami on our travel plans, but decided that we were compelled more than even to make our way to Thailand--volunteering for a couple of weeks out of the trip.
That set in motion a chain of events that included extensive research to prepare for the trip, a series of vaccinations, taking a leave of absence from my corporate job, finding a compatible volunteer agency, being invited to display photos from a trip I had not yet even taken as a commemoration upon my return, etc. The "to dos" were exciting and each step of the process heightened my sense that I was making the right choice--to help by donating my time.
Hearing from others as I shared my travel plan preparations, who wished they could do something similar raised my awareness of the memories I would be creating. Many people were prevented from actively being involved because of everyday life commitments. Through e-mails during my trip and sharing stories and pictures upon my return I found a way to involve some of them. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “...we are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” My goal is to assist those directly affected by bring awareness to an area that has fallen out of the focus of the media.
With your presence on this site, I am happy that your awareness has been engaged.
Namaste, Friend.
Jason Hill
September 2005
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