Returning Home Pt. 2

So I went home (last post) and got reinspired and reenergized for my life and work here in Guatemala. I mean, I was really, deeply encouraged. As clear as I made it that I was struggling, I want to make it equally clear that I´m in a much better place now. Certainly I will still struggle and feel lonely and even listless sometimes, but I´ve returned with all kinds of new ideas and energy and hope. In that hope, I made a game plan with some close friends for how I could capitalize on the differences of life here and not only survive, but thrive - if not in all ways, at least in some ways. So whether its more for me or for the interest of whoever reads this thing, I´ll now attempt to enumerate those ideas. Maybe you can check on how I´m doing with this stuff in a couple weeks.

* In order to feel a greater sense of purpose at work, I need to create a more important role for myself by kicking serious butt. This will be first characterized by avoiding non-work related distractions (the blog mostly exempt, however, because some of the folks paying for me to be here and/or praying for me read this thing and they have a right to know what´s going on). I will take on every task as if the entire mission of justice in Latin America rests on my shoulders at that moment. So when my team starts noticing that I´m finishing stuff really fast and really well, they´ll come to rely on me more. And that´s sort of the whole idea.


* I will appreciate what social blessings I already have here. Goodhearted coworkers. A few, close friends that care about me a lot. A darling host family. It was wrong to ever take them for granted.


* Even while getting used to the idea that I will not have 20 close friends here by the time I leave, I will seek out community wherever I can get it in hopes of having 2(ish) more close friends. I will accept almost any invitation, and go out of my way and be very bold about initiating new friendships and social opportunities.


* I will be way more consistent about exercise: pushups and pullups and situps when I wake up and before bed, waking up earlier to go on morning runs at least three times a week, joining the yoga studio and attending at least 8 times a month, checking on the once-closed and maybe open-again-by-now climbing gyms.


* I will be serious about getting enough sleep and establishing a routine that I can stick to in order to make that possible.


* I will go out of my way to create beauty whereever I can: at my desk, in my bedroom, in my bathroom, in my car. I brought some pictures of friends and favorite places, as well as a scenic Kansas wall calendar for this purpose. I´ll be on the hunt for more beautiful things to put up. (This has made an already appreciable difference. Now, when I sit at my desk in our windowless office, all my friends smile at me from the wall as if to say "Go get em´tiger.")


* I´ll be active in creating beauty. I´ll be disciplined about writing and recording music. I´ll try writing more poetry. I´ll even try drawing or painting or something visual.


* I´ll be disciplined about getting better at guitar - my new flatpicking instructional DVDs will help with this.


* I´ll not believe that indulging in material things will make me happier - but I will enjoy a movie, a weekend trip, or a meal out whenever it is appropriate.


* I´ll keep in touch better, calling at least one person every day if possible, and keeping up with emails, blogging, and maybe even snail mail. (If you want to kick off an exchange of the latter, my address is: David Burchfield/Misión Internacional de Justicia/13 Calle 2-73, Zona 1/Guatemala/GUATEMALA; If you really want to talk to me on your own initiation, you can also call my Guatemalan cell phone via Skype or Google or whatever: (502)4912-6121).


* I will do my darndest to reserve some time for just me and the Divine in the morning and at night - in meditation, scripture and other literature, intercessory prayer, journaling, dancing alone, whatever. I may begin fixed-hour prayer.



* I will read voraciously, to improve my knowledge of the world and God and people and agriculture and justice and the human story in general. Fortunately I feel the slightest, completely appropriate, bit of pressure here because of the 10 or 15 books that have been given or lent to me for this time. (I´ve finished "No Impact Man" and knocked out a good portion of "Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes" in the last 4 days. A good start.)


* Perhaps most importantly, I will seek the courage to change the things I can, accept the things I cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference.


There´s my game plan. Check up on me in a little while, okay?