Abnormal Norms

Things that might seem out of place elsewhere are just so normal here, like two sisters cooking a meal over a campfire on the government hospital lawn, with earphones in listenin' to some tunes.

Redefining hospitality

Last week was a little crazy with firsts: I got invited to a wedding
as I shook my officemate's hand to meet him for the first time "Hello,
my name is Chenden, please come to my wedding."

I met my neighbor, Shobnu. She introduced me to her daughter and
invited me to her first granddaughter's naming ceremony, where all of
the family gets together to name the child and each gently whispers in
her ear her new name, "Athiti".

And to wrap up the week, Christmas carollers came at 11:30pm on Sunday
night, singing amazingly and praying with the family where I'm
staying. They continued carolling until 4am!

"Southern hospitality," move over, here comes something leaner. Wait,
neither the food in India nor in the American south can qualify as
lean, but South Indian hospitality would surely give Alabamans a run
for their money.

Sent from my iPhone

Attending my first wedding reception in India

7:00 start, notice the empty seats at 8:30 pm...people have barely
begun to arrive

What are we nurturing?

"Eric Rudolph the religios terrorist was not inevitable, just as the
teenage bridge builders of Whitwell were not. They were each carefully
and intentionally nurtured." Eboo Patel in "Acts of Faith"

Eric Rudolph is the man responsible for the bombings in both the
Alabama health clinic and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The bridge
builders in Whitwell are middle school students responsible for
building a Holocaust memorial to encourage people to "pause and
reflect on the evil of intolerance and hatred."

What kind of actions are we nuturing and encouraging in our
communities and specifically in young people? Why is it more accepted
to love the Jews that were massacred in the Holocaust than to love the
Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian next door, across town, or
across continents? Can we learn to love while we are both alive to
receive the love?

Quote from Eboo Patel's book, "Acts of Faith"

Quote from Eboo Patel's book, "Acts of Faith"

"Someone who doesn't make flowers makes thorns. If you're not building
rooms where wisdom can be openly spoken, you're building a prison."
Shams of Tabriz

Shahina

 

Coming Soon!