Clothing.
Shelter.
Food and water.
These are the three basic things we need to survive. Yet in our lives, we have these things abundantly and manage to forget this, becoming preoccupied with the intrusive thoughts of what we don’t have and preparing, worrying and living for and in the future. I, being one of many, fall victim to this negative pattern of life. But recently, this rigid outlook has been challenged, all due to a little town with 92 families.
With FSU, I participated in Alternative Breaks (an alternative and humanitarian way to spend your Spring Break) and went on a trip to the Dominican Republic with a non-profit called BLUE Missions, whose goal is to provide clean water and sanitation to those in need. I’m not going to talk about my personal experience, because that’s not what this is about, but more rather what I witnessed in the tight knit community of El Limón.
Some families were better off than others, with more clothing and able to have something different every day to wear instead of a few of the same shirts. Some families had a concrete home instead of one made from wood. But all the families in this community lacked one common thing: access to clean water. They were tapping into another community’s aqueduct to provide themselves with the water they needed to drink, wash dishes, take showers and basically anything and everything in between. The men, children and women alike would have to go out of their way to get the water they needed. Sometimes the amount of water they had access to wasn’t enough. One of the women even mentioned that she would have to carry the buckets full of water on her head. But despite lacking this basic necessity that’s essential to life, the community of El Limón possessed something that I (and I believe most of us) have forgotten is important to experience in life: an all-inclusive, blissful, contagious happiness.
This happiness was found in the simplest of places amongst all ages. Perhaps it was a joke that someone muttered that made everyone burst into laughter. Or maybe it was winning at a game of dominoes. Or even when the children would see familiar faces continuously. Regardless of whatever triggered the infectious feeling, this community had a perspective that has been lost for far too long for me; to live in the moment, to make the best out of everything. Despite lacking the government’s aid, despite lacking amenities we take for granted, despite lacking water, this community was brightened like a city by their joy. And it was eye-opening to experience.
Courtesy: Leslie Ramos
In the States, we all tend to complain and worry about things, and while our feelings are valid, we sometimes complain and worry about things that are trivial, or things that could be a blessing. Complaining about that job we hate going to or the amount of school work we have; worrying and waiting for a certain time in our life to change ourselves or achieve a goal; or constantly thinking and planning for what’s happening next. In doing such we neglect the now, the opportunities and amenities we are blessed to have. There’s happiness right here in front of us, waiting for us to grab it and reel it in, to embrace it fully. This one community in the Dominican Republic lived in the moment and radiated with happiness, and for a week of my life I began to live this way and it became one of the main things I have brought back with me. I encourage you to maybe do the same – to pick up on this mentality. While both cultures are very different in lifestyle, we need to bring it back to the basics and what’s important: clothing, shelter, food and water, and maybe a little bit of happiness, too.
Courtesy: Leslie Ramos