Back in Paris

We are back in Paris, still a bit jetlagged. Returning to Paris revealed a great happiness at coming back, it feels so much like coming home. This is about the 7th time of flying into Paris within 3 years, and the feeling seems to grow stronger each time.

As said, much of what happened in Indonesia I found no time to post, because I did not have access to computers, so I will post a few things retroactively.

It can be said that the contrasts we found in Indonesia were huge. The gap between rich and poor was tremendous and painful to observe. We found that a family of six can live on 30 euros per month. This is less than the taxi ride from the Paris airport.

Within that context, to find a Carrefour in Yogyakarta was equally shocking. For the US reader, Carrefour is a company that sells food and anything you can imagine. Their stores are of a size, you can put 4 Walmarts in there and still have room for other things. Europe is no more what the American person might think... it has grown and in many ways and is in the process of outpacing the US, especially now.

Anyway, to find luxury foods in the middle of Indonesia was truly shocking. So, wealth and poverty live side by side there in ways that can only give cause to question, again, the collective self-absorbed state of mind that does not mind and does not rise to go and make a change. To make a change... would at times require so very little, just a thought of compassion, just a tiny bit of what is in one's pocket or bank account .... to create smiles and alleviation of suffering.

I will not use pictures to show some of what I saw, but do think about using a small a part of your money to create some smiles somewhere. Reflect a little.