Everything is always changing and Some things never change!

My former teacher, His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, once had all the people on a course go through the following process: we were to pair up and take turns complaining to each other about the biggest problems we had in life. The person listening was instructed to give one of two responses: "Everything is always Changing," and "Some things never change!" Well as first I sat and listened to my partner complain it was amazing how well one or the other response suited what I was being told. The same happened when it was my turn. You see my teacher was a subtle user of paradox. No system of thought and belief no matter how well elaborated and defined can cover all of our human experience: but contrasting truths go a lot further in that direction.

What brought this memory to mind for me in the last few days was just how much my life keeps on changing. As I wander from person to person, from place to place, simply being with people, supporting them, and then moving on, my chosen path is one of transience, of fleeting moments of insight, times of grace and love which then have tranformative impacts both on myself and those I'm with. And yet, increasingly I find myself being drawn back into business activity, albeit business activity that not only is good for those involved, but that contributes to worthy causes at the same time. I am finding more and more like-minded people, people wanting to build businesses that mean something as well as earning an income. So I have quite a balancing act now with this will-o-the-wisp style of being in the world with my friends which clashes some with the different demands of being in the business world.

Now Ethiopia, Ethiopia was a wonderful, challenging, transformative experience. I watched one person almost come apart because of the stress of the culture shock; I experienced a lot of really bad customer service in hotels built to be real estate investments rather than client service establishments; I experienced the joys and hazards of a "working girl" culture where the bar us white guys were patronizing would suddenly fill up will all manner of attractive, hungry women, and in one case they found out where we were staying and tried to get to us through the front desk; I experience the joys of a new cuisine (the raw meat was wonderful!) and the pain in my guts as new bacteria caused havoc; I found generous friendly people, but also on all sides people with their hands out, even people with good jobs looking at us as a cash grab opportunity.

A Begging Culture
On the last point, while in Dese, there was an old woman outside our restaurant begging: now when you've just had scrambled eggs, toast and coffee, it's natural to want to give something to those who apparently are in need. So after avoiding her eyes for some time so that she wouldn't be all over us, when our car was approaching I went over and gave her a couple of Birr - a generous enough gift when most people give them  much less than a Birr. She was at first really grateful and talking to us about the little ritual she wanted me to go through with her in accepting her thanksgiving as an instrument of God, etc. But then it shifted suddenly as she shifted into greed; she even grabbed my arm, digging her nails in as my companions intervened and steered her away with a vigorous scolding. I'm sure they were saying something like get a hold of yourself, you should be ashamed, etc. This small event is a microcosm of what has gripped many in this way from very young children who instead of waving, yell "money" as they run after us. Where there is a clear need, generosity is likely appropriate although in reality the beggars are putting in a full day's work like anyone else, except their work is to try to attract enough sympathy and money rather than sell enough of this or that. But it is really sad to have children, adults, and older people who clearly have a life, clothes on their backs, are healthy enough and food to eat, to have them chasing tourists hoping to get money. They are in fact driving many tourists away, as are the speculators who happen to have chosen a hotel as their way to make money in real estate, but allow them to fall into disrepair, and have not a clue about good client service.

This is the country that we plan to build a tourist business in; where we will give nature lovers, those who wish to experience different cultures and cuisines, where we will give them the wonderful experience that Ethiopia is, while working to eliminate the more aggressive, greedy pursuit of tourists. Our plan is to build up the tourism infrastructure in the Woldiya region by both writing up the sights and sites so that people know what they're looking at, what the human and/or geological history is what they're looking at; as well as training communities in how to welcome tourists into their village so to speak so that they have self-respect as they peform their cultural rituals such as the coffee ceremony. With this arranged provision of services will also come the opportunity to purchase cultural arts and crafts from a local outlet rather than from the crowd of artists and vendors hoping to score a sale from this or that hapless tourist.

As you can see, Ethiopia is calling me back, because white guys like me with 3 decades of experience in all things western, business, etc. are needed there to build their emerging economy. So I went to Ethiopia knowing that I needed to experience and understand what was there in order to build the kind of business that would be good for Ethiopia and good for us white guys who wanted to contribute meaningfully somewhere. I mean, in my case for example, who wants to keep on producing shelfware (reports that get shelved) no matter how much you get paid to write it. I'd rather go and work with teams of Ethiopian developers who've been trained but don't have much experience, and help them set up their governments computer systems.

The founder of Alchemy World Projects, http://alchemyworld.org/, told me that in his estimation 85% of people in Ethiopia, all hard-working people, work either in subsistence agriculture or subsistence trading. We will work together (One Village Foundation Canada and Alchemy World Projects) to train local people in internet, English and business so that they can become 21st century entrepreneurs. If I can add a recent discovery of interest, Canada in the original aboriginal language meant "Big Village" and our hotels, touring business and web development businesses are all going operate under variations of One Village Ethiopia. The genius of our Hotel and Tour approach is to ensure that tourists always feel like they're being welcomed into a new village, their new home for a day or two. For we all despite our differences are part of our one global village! :)


But I digress from my main theme of how everything is always changing and yet some things are always the same. I now have many Canadian and Ethiopian irons in the business fire, and more and more of my waking hours is consumed with the many activities required to keep things heating up on all fronts. Yet, I continue to experience the synchronicities of apparent happenstance which opens this door, pauses this effort, moves my focus here for a bit, and so everything is getting done, but in a flow, rather than by a well-organized project plan. As it says in Proverbs, and I requote colloquially, "Man proposes but God disposes" or even better, if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans!! :o))

So what remains the same is a certain uncertainty as to what is next, and yet the certainty that meaningful and significant events will continue to occur with transformative impacts on myself and those around me; what never remains the same is "the plan" what in fact exactly is going to get done!! It's really quite entertaining if one can maintain a certain level of detachment as one continues on towards the goal, whatever that goal might be. Returning to my former teacher again, it is so Guru and disciple for the teacher to tell their disciple to do so and so, not so much because they want it done,but because of the impact of trying to do so on the disciple!! :)

For those on the path, whose life is being guided, turn upside down, and transformed, may you be swift to see and slow to fear; for those are still stuck in the traces, still caught in the rat traps and chains of work with the pitiful inducements of more comfort, more stuff, more prestige keeping you there; well, may you have the grace to wake up some day soon!! :o))

your brother Daniel