More about splunk

 I've always had a 'journey' view of life, and my life changed dramatically (& much for the positive I believe) about 10 years ago.  My hearing had been on the decline for perhaps about 25 yrs. But my right ear was pretty good, so no major problems...Then, one day I awoke and my right ear suddenly was worse than my left ear.  I could barely hear except in the quietest of locations, face-to-face where I could see someone's lips...and even then, the depth of any meaningful conversation was severely challenged.

  Me, who always liked to tell dopey jokes, hang out at the local bar, and have a quick retort was now essentially in my own world.  So I needed a strategy to keep my life fun & interesting.  My business partner Ed & I sold our business, I retired and decided I wanted to do things like crafts and such that I had never previously done as I rushed around.  So I took up gardening with an obsession (have planted  3500 impatiens in the yard each year for the past 8 years)... built stone retaining walls...even painted my own house in a neighborhood where that is just not done.     
 

  It was in this first year after the near total loss of hearing that I made a life changing decision... I decided that I wanted to experience the world and other cultures and lifestyles.  First up was renting an RV for 3 weeks and touring the canyons of the Southwest and Rockies with my then 16 year old son Ben...pure joy and what an experience for Ben, as he had to be the 'adult' and make reservations and such as hearing often limited my being able to make many of the arrangements.  Also, I took fly fishing lessons & enjoy it with a passion... I suppose I just decided to live a more slow, a more patient & a more simple life and to never look back. But without having work to go to each day, and relationships & conversation not being that easy, I needed more than just fun & games...and that's when I found it (no, not Jesus).  I decided I wanted to see/experience the world and I would do so by volunteering in mostly 3^rd world countries where, since I don't speak the language anyway, not hearing wouldn't be much of a disadvantage.   And teaching & working in orphanages and daycare where all I have to do is be dopey & somewhat playful with the kids & show I care is just perfect.

   Volunteering has been life changing stuff & for me pure magic. Often I live with perhaps 20-25 volunteers in a group house   I now try to go twice a year for a month at a time and have met so many great people who I've stayed in touch with over the years & even see occasionally.  It's not always an easy life with bucket showers, spotty electricity, and pit toilets on occasion, but it is what makes these travels so authentic to what life is like for their people.  I've now been to the Andes in Peru...the rain forests of Costa Rica, high in the Himalayas in Dharamsala, India where the Dalai Lama relocated in exile... I've been to Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, worked with the Hill Tribe people on the northern border of Thailand & Laos... My most recent volunteering stints have been in Hanoi, Vietnam, Iceland, Nepal, China, and now Cambodia... I just love this stuff!  
 
 You know, as strange as it may sound, I really think I'm happier than I ever have been...it's just different from what many might find enjoyable.   But from the seemingly 'bad' event of the loss of my hearing has come a life more rich and rewarding than I could have ever imagined.... and I truly and honestly can say that I wouldn't change a thing...
 

  Yes, my hearing is still very much challenged, though better because of a recent cochlear implant, but I have come to believe that there is a real blur between 'good' and 'bad' experiences...between 'better' and 'worse', and even at times between the 'right' way and the 'wrong' way to do things....there are only experiences'... all of which provide an opportunity to learn and grow.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     These journal entries follow my experiences...just doing my journey and learning and growing along the way.... I hope you enjoy them as much as I do writing them.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


 

 Namaste.