Summons of a Wayfarer: Simplicity

I have written and explained a little before about the simplicity of our life and how it strikes me. I have been recognizing it more in our day to day life, especially how there are different takes on what exactly simplicity means. I would like to first say that the pictures most recently posted on facebook were from a "tiaw" (day trip) that was an Easter gift to us from Fr. Daniel, a Redemptorist priest at the English parish. He wanted to give us missionaries a day out of the city to see the sites. It was a very special day and wonderful to learn more about the country, history, and culture.

Now, as for simplicity... I learned before I arrived here one view of simplicity from my brother. That is, minimizing possessions. He likes to have nice things, but few things. Downsize, make life simpler, perhaps a little bit more convenient. This is more or less how I understand "simplicity" as well. It makes sense, right?

I am learning another take on it. In Heart's Home, we commit to living a life of simplicity, and we commit to living in kind with our neighbors. For example, our neighbors do not use butter in their cooking. It is quite expensive for them! Therefore, it is expensive for us. We eat what they eat by cooking as they cook. If we eat out of the house, it is a simple stop at an outdoor restaurant, where it costs about 50 baht per person. In contrast, an expatriot here, earning money more equivalent to a middle class family in the States (or more), can go to Burger King and spend 190 baht on a meal, plus some dessert. Or, they can go to Starbucks and buy their latte for 200 baht. For me, I take my coffee at home or on the street for 30 baht.

We commit to this simplicity in our home by what we own. I am forever being surprised as we visit the homes of our friends and I see things that are old, broken, or rusty. But they retain some form of utility, hence it doesn't go in the trash. We have some Yaais (grandmothers) who dig through the trash in the street bins looking for recyclables, like plastic bottles, paper, toilet paper rolls, plastic bags, etc. We started to collect what they look for so they do not need to dig through our trash.
In our house, we also have things that to me look old. They look dirty and broken. But, according to our simplicity, we don't buy something new just because it is old. We have a small mirror in the bathroom on the wall that has rusty edges and a flimsy frame--quite ugly, but the mirror works fine. Our other teeny tiny mirror by the stairs is a pink plastic frame with the mirror broken in three pieces. But, we taped it together, and it still works. The bathroom shelft is rusty, but sturdy. The "shower" has no place to hang on the wall, but it works really well to just hold it in your hand. The bins and tins are old, but with some cleaning, they are clean and useful. It is work and time to clean the house, wash clothes by hand, and to cook meals when food is sold 50 feet away.

So I learn, "simple" does not mean new, nor does it always mean "convenient".

I notice the life of the people--they eat, pray at the temple, many work 3 jobs, and they sit outside their home, or at their food stand. Some garden, some fix their houses or do some sort of handcraft to sell for money. One woman on the way home the other day was carrying two small items for skin care just asking random people on the street if they want to purchase it. Being in Thailand, the first thing to enter my mind was, "At least she's trying to sell something other than her body."

Just today, my Thai teacher told me about a woman she knows who already had 2 children and was pregnant with a 3rd. She didn't want the third baby so she started drinking whiskey and all sorts of things to try to "stop" being pregnant. It didn't work--but when the baby was born, a little girl, very cute face and beautiful child, but she has no fingers and she has 11 toes. It made me sick to hear it. Many of the disabilities we see are a result of attempted abortions. We are friends with a family of girls--one of them has severe hanicaps resulting from her mother also trying to abort her. We are offered babies who have no parents or by the parents who don't want them. I learned that this week when I held a baby and the dad was saying something to me--Laure translated. As I walked away, I wanted to turn around to say YES! and take him home!

When we grow old, what matters??
The people we visit, the young and the old in particular, care about a friendship, a heart, you, as a person. Sure, you can talk about traveling, jobs, books, etc, but they could just as well be talking about the weather or the flowers! There's a point where all someone needs is you. Me. Not my clothes, education, or life experience. Just a heart. A hand to hold. A smile. A hug.
I received and gave that today.
I, in fact, can't say much in Thai. But the day and friendships are beautiful.