Choices, Part I

When you tell someone you live in a place like Belize, you can tell they get this vision of a 5 star resort from the raised eyebrows and sparkly eyes. Then you go on to say, "No, I LIVE in Belize, it's not the same as going on vacation in Belize (to the outsider anyway). But for many of us everyday is like being on vacation, especially if you are retired. We wake up to a beautiful tropical view of the bay, mostly because the sun has risen to an angle that penetrates your eyelids and says, "Rise & Shine Cupcake!"

Everyday offers choices in life. Living in Belize offers choices; Do I wash the clothes and hope they dry before the rain comes? No, we don't use a mechanical dryer, we use God's dryer, it's called the sun & a good breeze. Is there enough water in the rain water tanks or am I gonna have to shower using the well water that has a horrible sulfur smell? No, we don't have fancy filtering systems. More importantly, we have choices at how we look at or interact with the people & culture in which we live. Am I going to embrace this developing country and it's people without trying to recreate my culture within their culture or am I willing to embrace their culture and learn from them the simpler side of life. Shiny new cars are the exception, not the rule. The larger percentage walk or ride a bike. They play their music loud, in case their neighbor wants to enjoy it too. Not saying "good morning" when you pass someone on the street is considered impolite or in the evening it's "good night".

We do have conveniences you don't see in much of America anymore. Just about everything can be delivered. Bottled water, propane gas, even "fast food". Some people supplement their income by cooking food and going around on bicycle selling it. When we first moved there, my morning was filled with the sounds of the different vendors. Each one had a particular horn, bicycle ringer or call out phrase. I never quite figured out what this one man was saying, it sounded like "food for the poor", but in reality it was a Spanish phrase and he sold meat pies & pastries.

God has blessed me richly in the places we have lived and the opportunities provided.
In 2009 we downsized to the items we could pack on our truck & in our 22 foot sailboat and we still have too much "stuff". I look around and see children running barefoot and playing made-up outdoor games, while children in the USA spend hours in front of the television, plugged into electronic games or a computer.  I love the choice we made to simplify our life and live in a simplified culture. Yes I do enjoy the many conveniences when I visit the USA, but it's never very long before I long to return to Belize.

How can you simplify your life? Choose to go a whole day without being connected to a cell phone. Of course you would probably want to warn your family and friends as hysteria might ensue if they call you more than twice and you don't answer. Choose to look around and find the simple beauty in nature. God created such beautiful things and yet we spend little time enjoying it, like the intricacy of a spider spinning a web, the hard working efforts of an ant colony or the sounds of nature waking up in the morning untainted by vehicle traffic.


Life happens. Sometimes the things that happen in life are hard or painful, but we can choose how to respond to it. We can get angry or bitter or we can choose to look at it from a different perspective. "The car broke down, the toilet overflowed, the dishwasher is on the fritz", put anything in there that applies to your daily life. Then think about the family that doesn't have a car, or an indoor toilet or a dishwasher. They walk, bike or take a bus to work and they are thankful for having a job. Without a second thought they walk out back to use the outhouse, they wash dishes by hand and hang their clothes on a clothesline.


I heard a speaker use the phrase "Arrogant Entitlement", there is a lot of that in this world. "I was here first, I have been waiting the longest, I should have gotten that promotion". People are not always courteous, humble, patient, loving or kind, but you can be. Make a choice.