Saturday, March 19, 2011

A South African traveler

In my ponderings over moneyless living, I came across this story of a South African woman traveling without money across South Africa. I find her story very beautiful, not because she's without money (in the end, she relies on the generosity of strangers and their money) because she doesn't mention the fear that's so pervasive at home: that we'll be killed, raped or robbed. And because of that, she seems able to experience the best of South African life.

Time-poverty seems to be one consequence of material wealth. Eug and I both have (small) careers, and time poverty creeps in unless we really guard ourselves. There's a particular stress involved in trying to start a business; a totally understandable but pretty deadly stress. This year, during lent, I'm praying for rest (even if sleep-deprived), and for the sense that we have more than enough time. After all, if someone can travel across South Africa with nothing, and stay safe and well, surely we have nothing to fear?

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