Reflections…

Good morning,

I realize I have not put much on the blog lately. I have been traveling.
Some of it for pleasure. We just had a national holiday in which many
Chinese travel. Their goal is to have four generations at the same dinner
table together. It is a little like the US Thanksgiving in its customs
although the holiday is kind of a national celebration day like Labor Day.

What was most striking about the holiday is that people who have just
experience some very severe tragedies in their lives still got together
the celebrate. Maybe the celebration meant even more because of their
recent confrontation with death.

Humans are an interesting species. Not only here, but in the war torn
countries I have worked in, I remember being amazed at how people can
continue to smile and love each other even, or maybe more so, during such
difficult times. The children also continue to play in the stress, giggle,
tease each other and laugh even though they have lost siblings or parents.

Human resiliency is quite astounding. It continues to remind me that we
are no strangers to trauma as a species. Most of us have experienced many
traumas in our lives, from minor car accidents to natural disasters and
yet we learn from the experiences and continue on in life.

I am about to do four 15 hour days because of the travel and workshops in
remote places. We will be working with teenagers today and then teachers
for the next 3 days. This means I will probably not have the time or the
energy to submit another entry to the blog until this week-end. I will
however try to provide you with some pictures of the next few days.

Love to all,

Dave