Gift of a day

Today is a bonus, a gift, the silver lining of a disappointment. I was supposed to be driving to Bamyan today - a twelve hour marathon overland journey through some of the most stunning scenery in Afghanistan. I was looking forward to visiting a New Zealand woman working as a doctor in a district six hours drive from here, I was looking forward to visiting the Bandiameer Lakes and Bamyan itself. I was also looking forward to the work that waited for me in Bamyan and the people waiting there to work with me.

But yesterday morning at 9.00 am the Provincial Governor called a special meeting and announced a special plan that requires my cooperation and support. It's great news because this is a plan that implements a court decision which has been effectively ignored for a long time. It was ignored because it's implementation would be difficult. Which it will be - for all sorts of reasons including the power of local commanders and illegally armed groups.

But this is what Afghan's are asking for, for the Government to act to enforce the rule of law and to end the rule of the gun.

I have so much more to say, I've been reading amazing books all morning and I want to pull my thoughts together into a post about anger and healing and the cross-cultural dimensions of listening to stories of trauma. About language and all that gets lost in translation. About solitude and the challenge of not being distracted from your own thoughts.

I want to post about making decisions, and how sometimes you know that you are making the decision that is right even when it terrifies you and makes you feel a little bit ill. About how quickly the reason why it was the right decision can emerge, but how when you had to make it you had to trust your gut because the reasons were not yet clear.

I'm going to do some and visit with a friend and then I'm coming back to all this and writing one heck of a post! At least that is the plan - I guess we'll see later today if it comes to fruition.

Comments

[susanna]

Reading this post, I marvel at your strength and commitment to your job,Frida. I think often out here in the West, it's easier to run and hide or to protest loudly if we are requested (or required) to make a decision that is dangerous and terrifies us. Of course an exception to that would be the police and especially firefighters - and I think they deserve a big pay raise for what they do. Have fun with your friend today. I'm looking forward to reading your upcoming post.

[Regina Clare Jane]

Can't wait for your next post, Frida. As you know, we had to make one of those "decisions" this week, whch at the time, was so scary, but now, and then really, we knew we were doing the right thing for ALL parties involved... not just for us but for everyone. And verything flowed that way, too... what needed to be done was effortlessly done, reinforcing our beliefs about our decision. I hope you have this reinforcement as well and I will be pulling for you all the way. Safe travels, dear friend...
xoxo

[Swirly]

You sound like you are ready to explode (in a good way!) and I can't wait to read your next post. You see such an in-your-face side of trauma, anger and healing...I am curious about what experiences you have with people who get themselves through the muck and manage to open their hearts back up. I bring this up because there is someone in my life who experienced deep trauma at a very young age and has grown up to be bitter, narcissistic, anger, greedy and basically mean. This has been directed at me and been incredibly hurtful, but beyond the anger I feel about this what I feel more is pity for this person. This person has never dealt with their issues and trauma and, I believe, is incapable of real intimacy. All this in the midst of a comfortable safe life in middle America!