Ignorance VS Indifference

 



Walking through the remains of storm surf along a shoreline brings feelings of distress to most people of developed nations. Rubble spewed on the beach as an aftermath from one of Mother Nature’s temper tantrums challenges the sense of order in our trained minds. As overwhelming as this evidence is of nature’s might, worse is when she vomits the ocean bottom mixed with manmade rubbish. This is a common scenario in underdeveloped countries that have no trash removal programs.   Weeks or months can pass before the beach seems to regain order. Our regulation trained minds are baffled at the apparent lack of interest in clearing the rubble; ‘ these people don’t realize the revenue they’re missing. Why don’t they clean this up?’ Distress turns into frustration as blood pressures rise while attempting to educate locals to their lost potential. However, it’s not really a lack of knowledge as much as just not caring.



How many times have you found yourself in the same kind of situation? You can see the potential of a person or situation; you talk, teach and preach on the possibilities, buy some necessary tool to help bring your vision into fruition only to see it cast aside rusting or gathering dust. The potential you see is NOT a shared vision. The person or people you are talking to are NOT dissatisfied with where they are in life. They are content. Who is dissatisfied, looking for change? YOU. They are indifferent to your vision. Oh sure they may make a short feeble attempt to gain your approval or get you off their backs, but basically, if they wanted change they would have moved in that direction when you first shared the vision. Their blood pressure is fine.

 

Without meaning to degrade anyone, the phrase “Casting pearls before swine” fits the situation  I’m describing. Teaching and training or trying to awaken someone who is not interested in learning causes frustration, anger, and accompanying emotional and health issues to the teacher while the student blissfully bides their time to return to their own interest.

Ignorance means:  a lack of knowledge or information, innocence.

Indifference Means: lack of interest or concern; Apathy towards.

Peace of Mind Comes From Recognizing the Difference.

In my book, SHIFT: A 5th Dimensional Approach  I explain the difference this way. Just as ignorance is a state of innocence, indifference is NOT a negative word. Not caring about  something is ok. It offers a sense of freedom and peace that cannot be experienced when force is involved. Somewhat like the difference between floating in a current of water as opposed to swimming against it. Both have you in the water but, one is passive while the other is active. The sharing of wisdom promotes evolution. However, if those pearls of wisdom seem to fall to the ground, they become like seeds lying dormant waiting for the perfect condition. It will take dissatisfaction to begin that process.

If you like my perspective follow me on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/MalanaAshlie.author
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To learn more visit my website: http://www.wisdompathway.com

Surfing the Waves of Change

Imagine, you have come to a time when you assume that your education and experience are sufficient to handle whatever life might throw your way. Then imagine that same ‘life’ yanking the ground out from under your feet. Not an uncommon feeling when a major life change occurs. It definitely describes the sensations surrounding our move from the U.S. to the under developed Central American country of Honduras.

When the outcome of our choices are as we expect or better, people embrace the change like a new love affair.  If the change occurs differently than planned or when least expected, its affect can hit with the force of a tsunami.

The Universal Principle of Causation (Law of Cause & Effect) states that there are neither accidents nor mistakes. There are only results of our conscious or unconscious thoughts. From there, it’s all about what we decide to make of the experience. Will it crush us or make us greater?

In 2006 my husband, Ordin, and I decided to leave our Hawaiian home and move closer to family in the mainland U.S. A coastal lifestyle in the U.S. was cost prohibitive to us so we chose to move a bit south of there; Central America. It was a conscious plan that is easier to defend in retrospect than it was at the time of its conception. We sold our home, most of our possessions and left the country of our birth, heading for the Caribbean Coast of Honduras.

Surfing Hawaii’s treacherous winter waves cannot be harder than the emotional demand in letting go of friends bound heart to heart. However, changes happening within our mainland families required closing the distance. As prepared as we thought we were to immerse ourselves in a totally foreign culture, our decision would challenge us with experiences that we had never imagined.

If we had drawn a card from a tarot deck before leaving, it would have likely been the FOOL. The character of the fool is serendipitous, naive and trusting as he steps off of the cliff and out into the world. That pretty much sums up our shared state of mind as we set our sights east. In our hearts we knew that the outcome would ultimately be up to us. If we chose to see the result as a poor choice that is exactly what it would become. If we decided to see each new experience as part of an adventure then the sense of thrill would override any rising fright.

Eight years later we are still here. Our little beach town of El Porvenir feels like a Spanish speaking rendition of the TV program, Mayberry RFD.  It is a typical Honduras community with barely any English speaking inhabitants. Our first year had us vacillating between living the “gee whiz” role of Gomer Pyle and the knee-jerking reactions of up-tight Barney Fife. Now, I feel we have attained the more relaxed confidence of the program’s sheriff, Andy Taylor.
Had we given up when the surf was rough we might have become sour in our attitudes. As it is we are happy adventurers who have grown in their perspective of the world. I think happiness  is the ultimate life goal.  
 
I invite you to share the adventure by reading the award winning book that came from the experience:

http://www.amazon.com/GRINGOS-PARADISE-Our-Honduras-Odyssey/dp/1419657526/

And follow the ongoing adventures on Face Book.

 https://www.facebook.com/Gringos.n.Paradise?ref=hl

photos of El Porvenir beach and the tarot card Fool from my private collection

Fertile Seeds of Change

Gems of wisdom and experience are seeds we cast in daily conversations, in interactions with the young as well as our exchanges with peers. Seldom do we see where these seeds land. Many will  fall on barren terrain but hopefully some fertile soil.  One of the greatest thrills I experience is finding that one of my seeds not only set root but also bore fruit that has changed a life. This is a delight. It comes with the understanding that I have been part of a great mystery.

If you follow the Face Book page of my award-winning book: Gringos in Paradise: Our Honduras Odyssey, you know I have a single mother’s project in my area of Honduras. One of the first mothers I helped fishes for a living. While she was pregnant and could not work, I showed her how to make jewelry from broken glass that washes up on the beach. Selling these to tourist shops, she made enough income to feed and support her children and even buy her first overhead light for her house. After she gave birth and the baby had reached the age of 3 months, the doctor released her to go back to fishing.  Our plan was that each of the two occupations would take turns supporting her; fishing in good weather, making jewelry when the rains came.  The state of her economy and activity improved so she even bought a washing machine on credit to free her time from the labor-intensive hand washing for a family of five.

Then the unforeseen happened. The fruit company cleaned their trenches, pushing chemically treated soil into the waterways. The river ran brown driving the fish far out to sea.  As weeks turned to months the water began to clear, then early fall rains began discouraging tourist travel.  This mother told me that she was 3 months behind on her water and 2 months on her electric. The power company had notified her that they would disconnect. As much as I hated to see her caught in this bind, my mission was to help mothers help themselves. To lend her money only added to her debt load, to give her money only weakens her. I chose to buy her a chicken, dried beans and vegetables to feed her family. Her bills were up to her. 

It was a week before I saw her again. She came to my gate with a gift of fresh fish. The weather had cleared and she was back out to sea. When I asked about her situation, her face broke into a smile.  She had made soup from the beans I  gave her, then rode her bicycle around town until she sold it. This brought enough money to pay her utilities with a bit left over.  The extra money bought a bus ride into town and jewelry beads.  She worked all afternoon making necklaces and earrings then mounted her bicycle again. She sold her jewelry all around the barrio and did not return home until she had the money to pay her washing machine installment.  She told me that in the past, when a problem with money arose, she would only look for a way around it. Now she knows that a problem always offers a stairway to overcome it.

Charity and Compassion

It was during the years I lived in Florida that I first began seeing men standing at intersections holding signs that read: Will Work For Food. At first, it was shocking in its newness; afterwards it became a personal conflict. I would often overhear groups of people talking about what a racket it was. They would say that limousines delivered the men to various corners. However, I had not seen this; could it be true or a lie? Then one day I was driving home from the grocery store. A man with a sign approached my car while I was stopped at the light. He was holding his sign to my window and looking in my eyes. I had to make a decision, it was no longer a matter for debate. It was there in that moment the world became silent. All the voices and arguments were gone. I had clarity. It was not my responsibility to decide if this man deserved my help or not. He was asking for food; I gave him a loaf of bread.  

What a relief and blessing it was once the decision was made. It is not my responsibility to judge whether someone else deserves to be helped.  When someone asks, give what they ask for. I did not give money, he asked for food. Where I live in Honduras, there is very little financial aid for those with physical limitations or the very ill. Often I’ll see a mother with a invalid child holding her hand out while standing outside a grocery store, a blind man with a brother or neighbor helping him request donations at a traffic light. There is generally some handicapped person in  a wheel chair holding out a jar at an intersection. People from other cultures can find these sights disturbing but within the culture here, there is a quiet understanding.

Those who have help those who cannot help themselves. I see it in so many levels here. If your life is blessed with a car then you financially aid those that are walking blind or in wheelchairs when they stand asking for help. If you live in a nicer house with a number of electric appliances, you pay the highest rate for electricity so that the poor who use little receive their electric free. The emotional benefit is a wonderful feel-good. There is also the added benefit of being free of guilt or shame in having while living amongst those who don’t. The benefit that comes on the energy or spiritual level is the highest reward. It is what is often referred to as The Golden Rule.