Uganda becomes an unbelievable inspiration ..
an SAP Social Sabbatical experience
Little did I fathom that,
the beautiful mellow music that was so breathtakingly delightful,
was coming from that ramshackle old hut that cried out stories of pain and suffering,
Little could I believe that,
the bright and happy people living there, had hope shining in their eyes so bright,
they seemed happier than the most fortunate people I had ever met in my life,
Little could I unravel,
the triumph that they celebrated on winning a meager meal for the day,
Little could I decipher,
the ease with which they lowered their expectations to let happiness thrive,
I realized that poverty and happiness were never the two sides of the same coin,
a sincere effort to treasure the beauty of what we are blessed with,
an undying ability to consistently celebrate even the tiniest of successes,
and a strong realization of the need to weed our own overgrown garden of expectations,
Surely, we could let happiness dwell in our hearts like never before.
As crazy as it may sound,
As impossible as it may seem,
I am absolutely ceratin now,
that we could each be happy and celebrate every single day ….
Little did I fathom that,
the people who always welcomed me each morning with such joy and heartfelt warmth,
were deprived, people whom I’ve never ever met before, poor and penniless, laden with big hearts of gold.
Little could I believe that,
the smiles on their faces were despite the unbearable hunger from a miserly meal early in the day,
the precious time with their beloved families that they sacrificed, was only to cheerfully greet and treat us ‘Guests like Gods’
Little could I unravel,
the modesty and authenticity with which they welcomed each soul they met, expecting nothing but kind words in return,
Little could I decipher,
the depth of their realization of how we all are human beings first, and that everything else came later,
I understood, that it is not necessary to be in one’s own country to be respected and welcomed in honor,
a sincere effort to appreciate that the similarities we share are much more profound than our differences,
an ability to look beyond our man-made houses and appreciate the beauty of our universal home, our very own mother earth,
and a strong realization that disparities arise from the boundaries that we created ourselves, in our minds,
Surely, we could make every place in this world feel heavenly, homely and close to our hearts.
As crazy as it may sound,
As impossible as it may seem,
I am absolutely certain now,
we could each feel at home anywhere on earth …
Little did I fathom that,
a developing country’s natural treasures, it’s diverse flora and it’s amazing wildlife,
had just bagged ‘The incredibly beautiful’ award against the all the modern, exquisite travel destinations I had ever been to.
Little did I believe that,
preserving nature and wildlife in it’s most purest form could be so magical,
it’s simplicity and authenticity left an unforgettable imprint in my memory.
Little could I unravel,
the enchanting harmony with which hundreds of species of wild animals lived happily in the Savannah,
Little could I decipher,
the beauty of their unparalleled mystifying unity despite their stark inborn differences.
I realized how invaluable it can be, to be genuine and true to what one really is,
a sincere effort to realize that each one of us is unique and different,
an ability to recognize that true power emerges when we hold hands together to achieve a single goal,
and a strong realization that we don’t need to try to blend in when we were born to stand out,
Surely, we could make this world an unimaginable haven where the beauty of truth and honesty underlies every success
As crazy as it may sound,
As impossible as it may seem,
I am absolutely certain now,
we, each one of us, can move the world with nothing but integrity and righteousness
Little did I fathom that,
people who demonstrated extreme levels of optimism and hope were plagued by,
difficulties of varying intensity — poverty, corruption, lack of infrastructure, ill-health and famine.
Little did I believe that,
the firm faith that there will be light at the end of the dark tunnel one day,
could be so powerful, that it could win them great successes that even the fortunate could fail to achieve.
Little could I unravel,
their undying determination to always look at the silver lining in every dark cloud they saw,
Little could I decipher,
the absence of the words ‘despair’, ‘disappointment’ or ‘misery’ in their dictionaries of life.
I realized that complaining about the not so nice doesn’t help make anything nicer,
a sincere effort to see the ‘good’ in what appears to be ‘ugly’, the ‘opportunity’ in what appears to be a ‘failure’,
an ability to dream so big and so beautiful, that it’s power melts away the harsh obstacles that haunt the paths to success,
and a realization that it is the difficult times that help us to grow and learn, not the favorable ones,
Surely, we could turn everything that’s seemingly hard and impossible to something that is ‘possible’
As crazy as it may sound,
As impossible as it may seem,
I am absolutely certain now,
we, each one of us, can create magic with an extra dose of optimism, determination, commitment and self-confidence in life.
Little could I fathom that,
I would start falling in love with this fascinating country and it’s passionate people,
despite the fact that I stare right into things that break my heart each day,
Little could I believe that,
the presence of love and warmth could be so overpowering,
the darkness of everything else unpleasant, slowly faded away in it’s light.
Little could I unravel,
their undying ability to strive to succeed in the face of dire hardships, never giving into the intoxication of excuses or complaints,
Little could I decipher,
their friendly smiles from cheek to cheek, accompanied with their warm hospitality, despite all the pain and misery.
I realized that happiness, honesty and love is the true beauty of any place on earth,
all that is needed is the patience to stop and immerse yourself, and wait for it to steal your heart away,
that optimism, commitment and true passion will be the crown jewels adorning the bright future of any economy,
that understanding the importance of spreading education and knowledge could make an incredible winning difference,
Surely, this could eventually accelerate and accentuate the transformation of a developing nation into a developed one.
As crazy as it may sound,
As impossible as it may seem,
I am absolutely certain now,
we can still do wonderful things by immersing ourselves fully into the tranquility of the present, irrespective of how unfamiliar it may be,
we can still make amazing things happen without the internet, connectivity and certainly without a cell phone,
we can surely make a difference with the truly extraordinary opportunity that the SAP Social Sabbatical offers,
we can surely learn to appreciate the power of stepping out of one’s comfort zone.
A truly inspiring journey of four weeks, that left us lessons for a lifetime …
