We are enjoying frequent blackouts in Dar-es-Salaam these days. The country is run mostly on hydroelectricity, which is better than some other options available, however, during times of drought, along with no water, there is no power. Mabibo without electricity is different neighbourhood. Without the thump-thump of the neighbours' boom boxes, or the football game coming in through Mudi's radio, or the constant hum of our own refrigerator, we are presented with a nice opportunity to pick up the lesser sounds of the everyday: the salesman selling rat poison, advertising with a megaphone as he patrols the roads; children playing games, chanting and hollering and chasing; the choir's voices drifting atop the winds. These gentle noises are swallowed in the electric buzz.
Sitting in the darkness, with only the light of a candle to read by, it is often cooler without the fan in constant whirr than with it in rotation amidst all of the other hullabaloo carried along Tanesco's power lines. Sans the fixed stimulation of light and noise, the body is offered a quiet refuge into which it can retreat. I am thankful for these opportunities. This reflection is not a condemnation of electricity and modernity and industry, nor is it a plea for a complete return to a simpler time. The latter has passed and the former have all contributed greatly to our society today. For me, this reflection serves to remind me that there are many blessings to be found in quieting the mind and the personal environment; however, I am also reminded gently to be thankful for the developments allowed by electricity and technology in general. After all, without either, our web of communication would be quieted considerably. As a close, I offer a prayer of thanksgiving for these moments of silence and also a prayer of petition for those who are negatively impacted by the frequent blackouts.
I am posting a few days earlier than usual this month as we are heading out on retreat tomorrow morning. This is our year-end retreat and we will be returning to Moshi to the retreat centre we visited last year. You will all be in my prayers as we reflect this week on the year past.
