43 years of darkness to light up the soul

The best way for me to do this is to simply list the lessons learned and the wisdom acquired from an evening with arguably the most brilliant person I've ever met.

- When in a foreign place, learn to connect with people through love, humility. Wade was telling us that a study done recently showed that the human genome originates from the same 1,000 people and so we are all brothers and sisters in a broader sense.

- Realize that people will ask you many questions about the industrialized "North" but make it clear that you are here to learn from them and not vice-versa. This journey is for personal gain, in many ways, and it's only in 10-20 years from now that we will be in positions to make a much greater impact. It is experiences like the one I will have in Mali that, in a decade or two, I will draw upon for inspiration.

- There are many, many, many, many different cultures out there and they are in danger of extinction as much as elements of biospheres. In fact, there are approximately 6,000 languages but only half are currently spoken and they are diminishing at an alarming rate.

I have no idea if any of this makes sense. It's been an overwhelming evening and my mind is still stuck on the slideshow of pictures Wade just finished showing us. These were pictures from literally the 4 corners of the world and each one could have been a magazine cover (I think a couple may have been...). The picture that really stunned me was of this Tibetan woman who had spent 43 years meditating in the dark, without human contact. Let me repeat that... 43 years... The picture is of her reaction the first time she opens the window to her home. 43 years...

Not bad for a relaxing Wednesday evening after work.