The Point of Contact

I had no idea how I would cope in Uganda for three weeks with no phone, no internet, no laptop, no TV... I barely noticed the lack of TV (particularly when we had the West Wing and DVD player to keep us going) but I barely watch TV at home so that was fine. I coped fine with pen and paper and even without Facebook.

There was a small desire to tell people about how I was getting on, what I was seeing and doing and my deep and profound thoughts on things, but actually I had a far greater need to hear about how other people were getting on. Before you think I'm heading for sainthood (because I know that's what you were thinking) the true realisation was that I evaluate my own life in the light of others'. And without any familiar reference points, I found that in Uganda I was able to see my world in stark 3D as I scrambled to find some context.

These reference points I find in my relationships at home give an insight to the person I might have been had I made different choices, they provide benchmarks for me to evaluate whether I still want to be where and who I am. They challenge and inspire as well as shine the light on those areas where I still feel I need to make progress. Take that all away... and it's just me, myself and I.

Who are we when we are taken out of our home culture, job, even clothes... yes feel free to roll your eyes with the stench of an identity crisis quickly approaching. I don't think it's a matter of crisis though, more a check up. How often do we get the chance to point a healthy spotlight on ourselves and our choices without the comparison to others or pressure from media and society. In essence, who are we when we have no one to blame but ourselves?