Finding Balance – A Live Life Lesson

RWANDA. 2018.

Finding Balance

A Live Life Lesson

I learned a profound and unexpected lesson when I encountered this woman in a Rwandan village.

We had just come down the mountain and out of the jungle into a clearing where the villagers were going about their day. I felt exhilarated and satisfied after spending time in the presences of the mountain gorillas of Rwanda.

In the distance, I spotted a woman dressed in her native clothes with a large white sack on her head as she walked with ease down a dirt trail heading in my direction. Arms to her side, she moved with grace and the closer she got I realized she was an older woman. She was carrying a sack of potatoes on her head. “Perhaps for her family,” I thought to myself.

My curiosity was piqued. So as she came closer, I smiled and motioned to her if she would allow me to take the sack and try it on my head. She smiled back and slowly removed the sack from her head as carefully as if she were carrying a child and handed it to my porter.

We lifted the sack to my head. It was heavy. However, it was not the weight of the sack that I had trouble with - it was the potatoes. They moved all over the place in the sack. I couldn’t find the right placement to balance the sack of potatoes on my head.

After several unsuccessful tries, and a few laughs, I handed the sack back to the woman. I thanked her and gave her some money for the generosity of her time. I sensed her contentment as we smiled and said goodbye. She carefully placed the sack back on her head and proceeded to the path she came from. I watched in awe thinking how incredible of a woman she is to master the art of balancing the weight of her family’s needs on her head with such grace and pride.

I couldn’t help but think of all the women in the world who have mastered the art of balancing their lives with family and work. It’s different for every woman. Some carry more weight than others. Many have yet to find that balance. But I realized I was finding balance by taking time out to explore the wonders of our world. For me, at this juncture of my journey, Living Life is how I’m finding balance.