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In 1991, I volunteered my services in Ecuador, which is an extremely rich agricultural country but also an impoverished country in terms of the workers working in the agricultural fields.
The people living in the hills of Duran in Ecuador made about
20 cents a day in 1991. To this day, many are living in sugarcane huts
with no electricity or indoor plumbing, and they wash with rainwater.
They eat what they can gather for that day because they have no way of
preserving their food.
Water must be boiled before using it to prevent an outbreak
of cholera, a common ailment in that country that can kill you. I went
there with other volunteers to build sugarcane huts. When I returned to
the United States, I was grateful for what I had, and the little
inconveniences were just that little inconveniences compared to how the
poor live in various parts of the world.
When I look at life in terms of my experiences, I realize how
our beliefs are a major part of who we are in terms of how we relate to
others. I also realize, more so now than before, how the people living
in those impoverished conditions in Ecuador rely on their community for
survival. The individual cannot put themselves over the welfare of their
community because it is the welfare of the community that is vital to
their survival. In America, we rely on our rugged individualism, and
there is no such concept in Ecuador in the hills of Duran, where I lived
for three months.
The people in Ecuador looked at me with such curiosity, and
they were the most loving people. I washed my clothes and ate with them,
and we had to communicate through body language because I could not
speak their language. There was one thing that they loved to do, and
that was laugh. They were unaware of what they did not have in terms of
technology because they were pretty much isolated from the rest of the
world. They were content living in their community because their
community was their family, and they could rely on each other in times
of need.
The agricultural workers there were the most loving people,
and they invited me into their lives with a warm embrace. They made me
and the other volunteers feel quite special. In their minds, we were
there not just physically but spiritually. They believe that everyone
they come in contact with is for a deep spiritual reason. That was
reflected in how they treated us, with an affectionate and loving
acceptance.
I have learned over the years that a great deal of my
understanding came from books. What I have read in those books helped me
acquire a lot of knowledge, but now I recognize that I am learning much
more about myself from my reflections on my past. Writing is also a way
of expressing myself, and I suppose that is one reason why I submitted
this article. It is a way of sharing a part of who I am with the reader.
I truly believe deep down in my soul that it is not the
material accumulation of objects that count in life, but rather it is
all the unrecognized, undetected, and unremembered acts of
loving-kindness that one bestows on others that are the most significant
achievements in a person’s life.
What we give to humanity, we give to ourselves, and what we
change in ourselves, we change in humanity. If we want to live in a
better world, we must change for the better. If we want to see a world
of loving and joyous people, we must be loving and joyous towards the
people in our own lives. That potential is part of our humanity. When we
reach out to touch others, we touch a part of the humanity that is
within us. When we change the life of another for the better, we change
our own lives for the better.
The people I met in Ecuador profoundly changed me for the
better, not monetarily but emotionally, through their loving affection.
How they live their lives, profoundly impacted how I now perceive the
world around me.
To have a profound effect on others and to change and enhance
the quality of others' lives is not achieved by imposing our will or
our beliefs on others. But rather, it is achieved by living our life as
we would want others to live their lives in doing so, others will
emulate our way of life.
Life is simply a quest with greater self-awareness as the
means to greater spiritual growth within us and in all that we touch
because the afterglow of an extraordinary life is ultimately love.
- Always with love from Suzhou, China
Thomas F O’Neill
- Email: introspective7@hotmail.com
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