Like this:

Last week I pulled out the last virtue from my “envelope of virtues” and I now have a decision to make about where to take this blog.  Should I put all the virtues back in the envelope and repeat the exercise, since over the last 10 weeks or so I have barely scratched the surface of each one?  Or should I let the blog go in a slightly different direction I’m curious to explore?

Well, that’s as far as I got with this post but now that it’s Monday of a new week, it seems obvious to me that the stuff I write about from here on out is going to be a product of and metamorphose from the Virtue Project.  Last week, I was really starting to question what I am doing with my life as I planned my 40th birthday trip to Sri Lanka.  I became quite down in the dumps about it too (about my seeming lack of purpose, not the trip…although that has been put on hold to perhaps April).  But on Thursday night, I read Nicholas Kristof’s article about a woman from Portland, Oregon who was so moved by the plight of women in the Congo, that she ran a solo endurance run to raise money for them.  She then wrote to some of the women there and continued to raise money to sponsor several women through Women for Women International.  It was a very inspiring article and put into context some of the thoughts I have had swirling around my brain for a long time now.  At a talk (no, it wasn’t a motivational seminar…although it ended up being pretty motivational) Bobby and I attended only 2 days before I read the Kristof article, one of the speakers mentioned that increasing one’s happiness is about “experiencing flow” (wherein you feel completely absorbed in a positive way with what you are doing).  By building this feeling into key arenas in life (work, play, raising children), we can boost our happiness.  He also pointed out that if this activity has a positive effect on others, according to recent studies, one’s longitudinal wellbeing will be increased tenfold.  I had been thinking about these issues in terms of how I could do something worthwhile here in Singapore, when, I have always had an unanswered yearning to do something of importance with and for women in Africa.  This goes way back.  I have a clear memory of being perhaps 5 or 6 and watching a television show documenting a famine in Africa.  By the end of the broadcast, I was crying inconsolably and told my family that I wanted to go there.  I don’t remember their reaction to my announcement but I remember feeling quite confused by this new overwhelming emotion which, I guess, was my first real encounter with compassion.  Fifteen years later,  when I told my parents that I wanted to study abroad in Kenya (not so much out of compassion as an intense interest in the Continent), they were not surprised (although were clearly bewildered as to where this urge came from — nobody else in the family had ever been to Africa, or wanted to, as far as I know).  In 1990, I lived there for a year, attended the University of Nairobi and took classes in African literature, African ethics, anthropology and sociology.  But just as educational (likely more so), was all the traveling I did, mostly with my friend Erin, mostly on local transportation, often in the back of trucks, buses stuffed with mamas, watoto, livestock and food for market, or in colonial era trains throughout Kenya to Uganda, Zaire, Tanzania, and Malawi, with a quick side trip to Egypt, Greece & Turkey.  It was an awakening to say the least and it was one of the best years of my life.  I went back to Africa to do my Master’s research on sustainable agriculture with women farmers in Western Kenya.  But since then, I have drifted in another direction to other passions and duties — raising children, teaching, and now moving to S.E. Asia.  But after reading this article and piecing together the chunks of thoughts and ideas I’ve been wrestling with for weeks, I realized that I could actually do something for this cause and shift back to where my heart has always been.  I felt a sudden, steadfast “flow” of happiness beginning to buoy my spirits.

So, here’s what I have (finally) decided to do at the threshold of my 40th birthday and what I will write about from here on out:  I will run a 40 mile course solo, or hopefully with my fabulous running partner, Lisa, (who you can read about here and here ) while I’m in the US in July with the aim to sponsor at least 40 women in the Congo.  Till then, I will do my utmost to raise funds for this worthiest of causes (please stay tuned for ways to donate/lend your support through me).  I would also like to organize a run for women here in Singapore whereby each participant would raise enough money to sponsor at least one Congolese woman for one year (approx USD$325) as their entry fee for the run.

When I told Bobby my idea over yummy Caprese salad at a nearby Italian/Brazilian restaurant (don’t ask), he immediately started looking for a hook…something to get women here, who may not be as passionate about Africa as I am, interested and involved.  Over the past decade, Bobby has become known for his fundraising prowess, in particular, for the almost $1 million he has raised for Challenged Athletes Foundation (see www.ponyexpressrun.com).  So, needless to say, I was all ears when he started chiming in.  To celebrate our efforts, he thought it would be fun if the participants’ husbands/partners/significant others were to cook us a meal and serve it to us on the evening of our run for Congo women.  I very much like this idea.  And I’m looking forward to hearing more fundraising ideas from friends and family! Let me know if you have ‘em!

So, for now, that is it.  I’m excited to get this ball rolling!

Advertisement