Adventures in Paradise 43
Kia Orana, everyone! Our excellent adventure continues with some thoughts on adapting. It has finally happened! I have Island Fever. This ailment is best described as the realization that one is on a very small rock in the middle of a vast ocean, having very little hope or opportunity of escaping. This condition is exacerbated if one is claustrophobic. Is there no cure; no remedy?
I inherited claustrophobia from my father. He knew to keep his distance from anything or anyplace that would leave him feeling cramped, hemmed-in or out of control. In my personal situation, I avoid caves, small spaces (I used to hate telephone booths), the last row of seats in an airplane, MRI machines and anything else that confines. It is this last part; the part about being confined that has been the source of my Island Fever. Knowing that I would be spending eighteen months on a very small island had, from the outset, been a concern for me and I have worked very hard at not thinking about just how small my rock is. But lately, as the time has passed, that uneasy feeling of confinement has reared its ugly little head. Deciding how best to combat the rising feeling of discomfort has been an exercise in creativity, aided by small doses of humor.
This creativity has come in the form of “fantasy trips”. Now on days that I am feeling particularly cramped, Ward and I pick a destination and drive. We don’t always complete our trip, but pretending that we are driving to the mountains or a favorite getaway has been very cathartic. Our little paradise is only twenty-one miles around, so we have made the following calculations based on one-way trips.
Well, you get the idea! Being creative in terms of adapting to ones current situation can take many forms. I think that the first rule in being adaptive is to decide to stay positive. Years ago, I spoke with the wife of an army colonel as her family was about to be assigned to a new posting. I could not imagine how one kept positive while facing the prospects of moving every four years. This wise woman simply stated that she would always decide that the next place she moved was going to be the very best place that she had ever lived. And with a wink, she quietly informed me that she had never been wrong. So, this island is the best place that I have ever lived.
For many years, I had a little saying on my refrigerator door. Its sentiments mean more to me now that they did earlier. That magnet reminded me to “Bloom Where You are Planted”. It’s easy to bloom in a place that you know. It’s a different and more labor-intensive job to bloom where you had never expected to be planted. But I am learning that there is good, fertile blooming ground all over the world and right now, I am trying very hard to bloom here. Blooming means taking time to appreciate another culture, someone else’s cooking, learning a new language or anything else that makes you more fertile for accepting. Last week, Constitution Day was celebrated. Our friend, Taina, invited us to the festivities. She took the time to explain what the judges were looking for from the singers, dancers and drummers. Thanks to her explanations, we went from just enjoying the pageantry of the evening to really understanding and appreciating the talent that was displayed. I learned, for example, that a good dancer keeps her feet together as she shimmies her hips and that it not easy. Before that little insight, all the dancers looked the same to me. But suddenly, I had the greater knowledge to really appreciate a talented dancer. We are none of us too old to learn and the rewards are substantial. Knowing more allows us to appreciate more.
So, the humor to combat my Island Fever has come in many forms as well. Our island pictorial this week is an idea borrowed from those traveling garden gnome stories we all hear about from time to time. Those stories chronicle the travels of a little garden sculpture in a pointy hat. He is stolen, or if you prefer liberated from someone’s flowerbed then photographed in exotic locations around the world. Those photos are usually sent to the hapless owner who is left at home waiting for the return of something that travels far more than he does. So, Ward is our traveling gnome, if you will, and using your imagination, you might just be able to squint and see him in the places suggested below each photo. Of course, he never left the island and he refused to wear a pointy hat, so you will just have to imagine that as well. It’s been said that humor is the best medicine and while not a complete cure for Island Fever, it sure has helped and there are no negative side-effects.
So, as usual, we are happy and trying to work hard. I never really appreciated the wide-open spaces that we have at home. I took for granted the freedom that I had to easily travel from one place to another. I miss a long car trip and we miss all of you too. Think of us the next time you travel more than twenty-one miles from home and we will think of you here as we recall what it was like to do just that. But for tomorrow, we have plans to visit Lake Powell
Love, Ward and Susan Elder and Sister Belliston, serving in the Cooks
We hope that you enjoy the adventures of Ward, our traveling gnome, er Elder
Ward, being bid bon voyage by his friend, Jake.
Ward eathing a fresh coconut. If you use your imagination and squint, you might just see Diamondhead!
Ward leaving a French country market with a side of pork. Bon Apetite
If it's a palm tree, it must be Florida
Ward visiting the San Diego Zoo
Could this be Heathrow airport in London? Where is the fog?
A strenuous hike in the high Uintas
Ward visiting Lake Powell. Ignore the reef behind him, please!
Ward enjoying a cookout at his favorite campsite in Jackson Hole. Please imagine a campfire and pine trees.
Ward digging his way to China
On the road again. See you next week!
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