The last 2 months of production have
been a blitz of shooting and travel. Meeting new people, hearing new
stories, and shooting great footage. Certainly some great things have
been happening, but as I look back on these weeks it's the events
that haven't happened which amaze me. This is what hasn't happened:
I haven't been robbed.
I haven't gotten Malaria.
I haven't been too lost.
I haven't had any equipment fail.
I haven't run out of energy.
I haven't missed any flights.
I haven't been lonely.
I haven't run out of money.
I haven't been worried.
I haven't been injured.
I haven't been discouraged.
I haven't lost heart.
I haven't been attacked by bandits.
I haven't gotten on the wrong bus.
I often thank God for what I see Him
doing, the actions He makes evident and visible. I have to ask myself
the question, Is He present in these absent events, these “ haven't
”events? Do they bare His fingerprint in the same way as the
visible actions?
This past week I got to go rock
climbing. Not true sport climbing, just low bouldering, since I was
going on my own. Beneath the light house of Dakar are sandstone
cliffs meeting the crashing of the Atlantic to form some of the most
interesting rock formations I've ever seen. Each day for the past
week I've been scrambling around on the rocks, cleaning off sand and
salt left by the waves to make some simple bouldering routes. On my last day, as I reached the top of
one of these routes, about 10 feet up, I flexed my legs to stand up
and prepare to climb back down. As I pulled with my arms and pushed
with my legs the rock I was holding snapped, sheering off the cliff
face. I spun mid-air to try and land on my feet as best I could, but
the landing area was uneven rock covered in thin layers of sand and
salt leading down another 15 feet to the water and the sharper rocks
that the waves had carved. My feet slid out from underneath me, but I
was able to scramble and catch myself with only mild scratches to my
lefts and hands. I brushed my self off and kept climbing.
It wasn't until later that I realized
the precariousness of that situation. It could have been much worse.
I could have hit my head and slid into the water or broken a leg been
stranded alone with no way to get back to help. But that didn't
happen.
At different times in my travels people
have give me warnings to help prepare me for the risks and
probabilities. Get insurance for When, not if, you have something
stolen. Learn the signs of Malaria, so you can diagnose it When you
get it. Double check your itineraries and show up early because
flights get cancelled all the time. Be ready for, fill in the blank,
because that's just life here. I think you get the picture. The list
of “haven't happened” may seem a bit far fetched in the US but
for those I work with in West Africa they are inevitable realities.
But they haven't happened to me, and certainly not because of my
awesome vigilance and preparations. These things are as out of my
control as a rock breaking away from the cliff in my hands.
