In some ways, our team is “roughing it” more this month than the rest of the Race so far.
We don’t have running water.
The water we use for bathing, washing and even some cooking comes from a pond out our backdoor.
We only have a couple hours of unpredictable generator power each evening,.
We’re kind of out in the middle of nowhere.
The nearest market where we can buy food is 45 minutes away, and our transportation is a homemade Tuk Tuk.
And it’s HOT. Really, really hot.
The great thing about this month, though, is that our circumstances have fostered an incredible environment for our team to grow closer. With our power situation, we are sparing in using our electronics, because charging them is an ordeal, and never guaranteed. Our entertainment options are kind of limited. And at the end of the day, most of our options like reading or playing cards fade with the sunlight. We do have one solar generated light that casts a dim glow throughout one room of our choosing, but many nights we’ve gone without it – whether to save us from the onslaught of bugs or because the battery pack failed. And so we’re left with just each other and our imaginations.
Some of my favorite evenings this month have been spent in total darkness. Scattered around the room in hammocks, laying on the floor or sitting in chairs, we do something kind of crazy. We just start talking to each other. And not the idle chatter that accompanies work or play. We chat all day as we dig holes and cut vegetables for our meal and sit around the table to eat. But this is different.
It’s purposeful.
And focused.
There aren’t any distractions – not even anything else to look around at.
And so with our sense of sight turned off, we really tune in to what other people are saying. And respond. And enter into this mode of intimacy and intentionality that our culture of distractions most often allows us to escape.
It’s not always serious conversation. In fact, a lot of the time it’s hilarious, and we spend as much time laughing as we do talking. We play games too, ones that only require talking like, “Password” and “What’s Yours Like?” It’s quality time at its finest. And it’s so fun.
Our time spent in the dark has been a time of discovery.
When is the last time you shut everything off and just spent time with people? It’s not something that happens that often in our American lifestyles – the distractions are too attractive. Even when we’re with people, we have TV’s, cell phones, computers, and music to compliment our company.
Valuing people over things is something I've talked a lot about and valued for a long time, but it wasn’t until I was actually stripped of those things that I realized how different it can really be when your sole focus is on people.
Try it.
No, really. You don't have to be in the middle of a rice field in Cambodia to deepen your conversations with others. Get some people you love together. For just thirty minutes, eliminate all distractions. Shut off your TV, music, phone, maybe even the lights. And just have a conversation. Really tune in to what other people are saying. And just see what a difference the darkness makes.
