Things You Can Learn
When left to your own devices without an interpreter for twelve days in a blissfully, beautiful and kind African country:
You can take a bucket bath every day and stay remarkably clean–cleaner in fact than you usually are in the good old U. S. of A.
Peeing in a four inch diameter hole in the ground in the dark requires skill but when mastered can leave you with a strange kind of happiness and triumph in your heart.
Girls need their mothers. No other mother will do.
You can’t pawn off your unique responsibility in the world on any other person; if you aren’t who you are meant to be on this earth, no one else can take your place–it’s true.
It takes incredible sophistication and skill to cross cultures, continents and eras. You can only discover you’re uniquely talented (and qualified) to do this job after traveling hours by motorcycle out to the bush to drink raw milk and eat with your hands in a proverbial mud hut with some of the most genuinely gentle and kind people on earth.
The Universe places equal value on believing there’s humor in the world as much as knowing there’s hope.
You can be a girl if you want to, but it helps to be playful about it–especially when dealing with stereotypical African men.
A thousand year old story told over hours as you pass through the places where that story happened can make you cry very hard from a deep place in your soul.
American hip hop means much more when you’re listening to it on a radio in a crowded taxi in Africa.
Raw cow’s milk consumed from ancestral pots is the nectar of heaven.
No one understands hope like refugees or immigrants, displaced from their country for over three decades.
Two common phrases “Take it easy” and “The time will come” are full of a depth and wisdom that can change you forever, if you have the courage to be responsible for the constant game show of silliness going on in your crazy story-making head.
Despite all the evidence you might gather to the contrary, you really do have everything you need–especially when you possess a wide open heart and a unique kind of courage that goes very far in a far off country.
A brief foray into an old Bible left by a pesky preacher will remind you in an essential moment that you have more faith than you give yourself credit for.
A fifty word vocabulary executed with enthusiasm and love is a formidable resource.
There’s nothing like visiting strangers, connecting with tears or watching people fill with happiness and hope to help you understand for the first time that you (shockingly enough) are the magic you wish to see in the world.
True love starts with deeply loving and appreciating your own wild tender heart.
You can be strong and tender, open and honest, forgiving and insisting, all at the same time.
You can be (and often are) for yourself and others, a dream come true.
Immensely thankful for these twelve days and the chance to be home again. I got a glimpse at my future work and my healed heart–two very essential things. More news on the girls in the posts to come.
July 12th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
beautiful. wonderful. you give us a glimpse of the beauty inside you ~ in each and every one of us!
July 12th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Jen, you’re amazing. So amazing. Thanks for sharing these gifts. Sending you so much love.
July 12th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
The story of who you are is a great one!
July 12th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Valuable words and insight Jen. The sentence below resonates with me most of all.
“You can’t pawn off your unique responsibility in the world on any other person; if you aren’t who you are meant to be on this earth, no one else can take your place–it’s true.”
I’ve heard words to this effect in my head for years, creeping in the shower with me, or when driving alone doing the ordinary things that we all do, but the way you say it reminds me of promises I made to myself a long time ago.
Thanks for gentle push back onto the path.
July 12th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Jen, you are so who you are meant be and what you will do is meant to be as well. Thank you for letting us get a glimpse into all of it. My heart is so full of love for all that you do, my friend.
And Elizabeth, I hope you don’t mine, but I love that sentence you posted. I’m going to copy it and put it away to pull out and look at when I need to. Thank you.
July 12th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
These are beautiful photos and powerful powerful words.
Thanks!
July 12th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Bucket bath made me smile.. I have done that a lot in India: not because we didn’t have shower heads.. we just didn’t have 24 hr water supply. It becomes so ingrained in us that my US born children also take bucket baths in a bath tub…that is what I do instinctively. My elder relatives from India ask me this as soon as they step in the bathroom: do you have a bucket?
This was an amazing post which pulled all my heart strings.. and these are powerful words that I keep telling myself: “You can’t pawn off your unique responsibility in the world on any other person”. I used to be a “one person cannot make a difference” kidn of girl, but I have changed now.. thanks to you and all other awesome bloggers I meet. It is a privilege and blessing to make a difference in any person’s life.
July 12th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Oh I love this … I could read your musing all day long … sigh.
These last three I especially love:
True love starts with deeply loving and appreciating your own wild tender heart.
You can be strong and tender, open and honest, forgiving and insisting, all at the same time.
You can be (and often are) for yourself and others, a dream come true.
July 12th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Precious Jen,
beautiful photos and words, i am anxious to hear of Odette’s daughters
“You can be (and often are) for yourself and others, a dream come true.”
Amen
Love * peace
majamom
July 12th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
tears in my eyes
July 12th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Beautiful wisdom Jen. x
July 12th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
powerful and lovely words. thank you.
July 12th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
You lift my spirits and light me with soulful inspiration. You are blessing this world with your presence….and action. I wish for your outcomes and endeavors to be even more magnificent that you can even imagine.
July 12th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Jen,
This is beautiful. You are magic, you are light, and you bring so much to those around you. I cannot wait to hear more about pieces of your trip. You are an inspiration to us all.
Welcome home.
xoxo,
Jennifer
July 12th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Keep spreading your light, Jen. The world is a better place because you are you.
July 12th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Raw, real, present, delightful. Thank you for sharing your trip, your thoughts and your essence. It centered me as I needed the reminder….and too brought me back to my beloved travels in Zimbabwe.
July 12th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Amen and amen.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Important words from the heart through the hands. Thanks
July 13th, 2009 at 9:18 am
jen lemen…i’ve said it before, and i’ll say it again. you inspire me always, all ways.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Such valuable words, and I love the photos - especially the last one. Can’t wait to hear more.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:38 am
So surreal!! Thanks for sharing these glimpses of your experience. Breathtaking and makes me so happy. My mother was born in a refugee camp in Austria and came to the U.S. w/her parents and younger sister when she was 5yrs old. The tales my grandmother has shared w/me (oy!) will always be in my heart…their journey, their determination, their love, their struggles will always uplift me. xoxo, ~ M.
July 13th, 2009 at 11:26 am
oh, thank you for sharing all of this.
July 13th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Thank you for those little glimpses of beauty. It does this Africa-lovin’ heart good.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
i’ve been so looking forward to hearing about this trip. thanks for sharing jenlemen. xo
July 14th, 2009 at 4:33 am
Jen, you are a light in the world. xo
July 14th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I read this for the first on Sunday. I read it for the nth time again today. I’m going to print & carry it with me but soon I hope to say it by heart because it will be in the deepest part of my heart.
July 16th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I needed to hear your words today. Thank you for sharing where you’ve been.
July 19th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
hope. you embody it! Thanks Jan.