Panama Update #42
September 4, 2008
It has been two days since returning from the unplanned night on the canal. I have received a lot of feedback from people that they like the pictures and writing from the last entry about the unplanned night on the canal. Spending a night on the boat did cause me to reflect quite about about where my life fits in the overall scheme of things. I don't have any answers, but if anyone knows, let me know what you think. I had a chance to contemplate the life of our good friend Swami Hari, who passed away a few days before I left for Panama. I wrote a poem about him during the night that we were on the boat in the canal, if anybody is interested. I think the way he lived his life can really be an inspiration to others. Here it is:
Swami Hari
By Daniel Hertz
September 1, 2008
To choose an austere life with no expectation of future rewards
To have a vision and keep it when you have no idea how it will come to fruition
To keep your spirits high in the case of relentless adversity
To fly against all odds of age and illness to achieve lofty goals
To live practically in an impractical world
To love others as your own son or daughter
To make something out of nothing at all
If anybody is curious, here is the website address (www.sriverm.net) for the project that he started with donations at age 66, speaking very little English and with only 30% capacity of his lungs because of emphysema.
Since I have returned from the canal, I have been working on some projects. I am still developing the English tutor business and have been talking to some people about that. I have been recovering from my first Panama cold and am feeling much better. I have continued to refine Nikki's website (http://sites.google.com/site/nstrongearth/) and today I formatted her CV. It is still under construction and she will continue working on it when she returns. I have also begun reading The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough (thanks Skip), which covers the building of the Panama Canal from the first thought of it in 1870. It is especially interesting to read after seeing the canal, but I am sure others would enjoy it.
There was a bus strike in Panama today that has been getting a lot of coverage on the TV. It didn't seem to affect the workings of this organization where Nikki works, but from the news a lot of the public schools were pretty empty. I guess it was a protest to increase wages and get more funds for the public schools. I delayed my shopping trip until tomorrow. I want to buy some treats to send to Nikki on the boat. Someone else from here is going to meet the boat in a couple of days so she can carry the items to her.
