Purpose Asia

I rocked back onto my heels brushing the dust from my hands as I surveyed my handiwork. Four years of college text books now sat in the box in front of me. I stood, trying to tell myself this was the right thing. Why is that so hard? Why is it so hard to let go of a handful of dusty textbooks I have hardly glanced at since I graduated 5 years ago?  My textbooks aren't the only thing I've been going through lately. It seems like ever since I returned home from Papua New Guinea (PNG) I've been trying desperately to slim down my list of belongings and the amount of things around the house. From just trying to make sure my parents don't have a ton to lug around with them when I go back, to trying to help them downsize for their move to a smaller house it's been a constant practice of sorting through stuff to give things away, throw things away and keep a tiny portion of the original. Easier said than done I'm afraid.  It's got me thinking; why is it so hard ...

Sunrise over the ocean in Madang, PNG January 12th. Pretty ordinary for most people. The day slips by just like all the rest. But for me it's a critical landmark. It was the day I landed in Papua New Guinea for the first time. I had left Portland, Oregon, USA on the 7th of January and 33 hours later landed in Cairns, Australia. It was only after I'd walked through security in Portland, boarded another plane in Los Angeles, and sat exhausted in the Shanghai airport waiting for a final plane to Australia, that I realized how crazy I was. I had left everything and everyone behind for a country I'd never seen before, where I didn't know anyone except through email or perhaps brief trainings in the USA. Then, on January 12th I took the final plunge, boarded an airplane in Australia and made the last short hop over the ocean to the country I believed would be my home for the next 4 years. Talk about crazy. I've been reading a book about a French pilot who flew in t...