Contribution, conversation and coffee

We are designed to contribute, to be productive.  For most of us, I expect that life can be fulfilling only to the extent that our days are invested for others.  That contribution comes in countless different colours, flavours, and varieties, of course.

So my “fallow year” of a road trip with no “work” has been an interesting experiment.  For the first time since I was a teenager, I have had little or no direct and obvious input to others’ worlds.  That’s ok for a season, and it was by design.  The “fallow ground” prepares the farmer’s field to be more productive in the next year, if I’ve understood the metaphor correctly.  My road trip is likewise designed to prepare me heart and mind for whatever is my “next”.  At this stage I still have no idea what that will look like, but I hope I will be able to work in that season “from rest”, not from the tightly-wound and frenetic energy that some might say has characterised my previous few decades.

Despite the “fallow” concept and stepping back from work and contribution, I’ve stayed open to where I can be a blessing to others while I travel.  That’s good for the obvious primary reason, but also for a bunch of secondary benefits.  Those include helping ensure the trip doesn’t leave me self-obsessed, wallowing in nothing but thoughts of “me” and “mine”.  I am also open to the travelling contributions helping to shape what might come next.  Perhaps these might be “low cost probes” as my friend and mentor Mike would say on the “Half Time” career coaching a few years back.

And… it is one of the best ways to pull through a sulk or a funky mood, which has been a flavour of my recent days.  That attitude work is still in progress, but it is definitely easier to see the sunny side of life while actively involved in making others’ lives a little brighter.

So it has been a privilege and pleasure to invest a few days with Daniel and the “Little Candles” missional team at Phrao in north Thailand.  The most common request is simply conversation; time with native English speakers is coveted to fine-tune spoken language, to understand (at least one) foreign accent, to nuance the differences in grammar, to practice and embed the theory.  I’ve also enjoyed just hanging out with the youth, and been impressed at how they’ve welcomed and included the old guy in their street basketball, their meals, their world.

Yesterday some of the youth came on a motorbike ride through the hills.  The idea of my ride from Melbourne to London has spun them out a bit, so engaging by actually riding seems to be a neat way to vicariously live just a bit of the road trip with me.  Of course it also provided a natural context for more conversation practice, and a positive focus for their school holidays.  I really enjoyed it too, and saw some of the area’s beauty in ways I wouldn’t find without the local knowledge.

The afternoon was full with another conversation session, and with coffee-making lessons.  The conversation covered personals histories, imagined futures, and a bit of my own story.  It turned out to be not only a useful English lesson, but also a deeply moving time together, and some of our number needed to reach for the tissue box at times!  I was a little cautious about the coffee making session, not wanting to waltz in playing “the white guy who knows everything about anything”.  But regardless, I think it was valuable, and actually it seemed to be tipped with excitement as we unlocked solutions to coffee-making sticking points.

I will be surprised if my future involves professional barista training, teaching, or any recognisably “mission” work.  But regardless it is good to be exposed to different rhythms and to join in with a variety of contributions.  Hopefully that will stretch my thinking and broaden my horizons; I’m really keen that my next chapter will flow out of a strong sense of purpose.  Maybe I’ll find at least hints of that as I travel.

In the meantime, I’ve now put air and sea freight ideas aside and thrown everything at riding around Myanmar through China.  This will be quicker than a boat and cheaper than both air and sea.  Tour application deadlines for China are already a week past, but I’m grateful that the company is working with me on making it happen anyway.  The visa application for China is intrusive and extensive – wanting details of my parents and children as well as of me.  It took hours to complete.  Bah!  But it is done, and I have an in-person appointment week after next to submit it in Laos.  There is continuing affirmation that Covid vax is no longer an issue in China as of a week or so ago.  And it seems my bike should be manageable in China through the tour guide without much drama.

Getting “into China from Laos” requires the obvious…  So I’ve also completed and submitted the relatively simple eVisa application for Laos, but am yet to find clear guidance on what’s involved for the temporary bike import.  Maybe I’ll need to practice my smile again, unless the Laos Embassy in Canberra responds to my email from last night.

For the rest of this morning I’m going to do a bit of maintenance on my bike (the top box that holds my electronic stuff and my papers has been coming lose since the last time someone made modifications 😳), and clean my helmet visas and bike gear.

Then back to English conversations and coffee lessons.