Beacons of Light
I went down to the river yesterday to listen and to contemplate. I thought of my friend, Briget, who came to see me just two hours before. Her surprise visit made my day. Before her visit, it was a hard day; full of the downs that a breakup brings forth. She had no idea how happy I was to see her. She had no idea that she was a beacon of light on a dark day.
Our river in Lake City on 2/23/25.
Thinking of Briget’s kind gesture made me think of my friend Annie. Annie and I worked together in Maine and Annie kept a yellow legal pad full of names and each day she would write one post card to one of those names. The list was never-ending because as people wrote back or reached out, she added or re-added their name to the list. She mailed a post card every single day so every single day she was gifting someone love and joy. Annie let one person know every single day that they were thought about.
Thinking of Annie made me think of Jared. Jared was Trish’s porter on Kilimanjaro; he is a living saint. I always say that Tanzanians are mega selfless and I’m pretty sure Jared is not only the most selfless Tanzanian but the most selfless human on Earth. Every day, Jared wore a red waterproof and insulated jacket. And each morning, Jared would hike past us on his way to that night’s camp to drop off our big gear which he balanced on his head and then he’d jog back to us to grab Trish’s day pack. We’d see his red jacket from a half mile out and Trish would always rejoice that her “savior was coming!” When he got to Trish each day, he’d look her dead in the eyes for about three seconds while flashing his wide and brilliantly white smile, then give her the biggest hug. He would then walk back to camp with us at a half mile per hour singing Jambo Bwana with me on repeat. By the way, Jared doesn’t speak English. His love is shown purely through gesture.
That’s Jared on the left, aka, a living saint.
On summit day, Jared joined us so “mama” (aka Trish) would never have to carry a pound. But that wasn't it. At every break while the guides are looking up, down, and all around, not Jared. Jared is adjusting people’s beanies. He’s adjusting people’s trekking poles. He’s putting gloves on their hands while he has no gloves. He’s grabbing their waters, unscrewing the lid, and pouring the water in their mouths. And here’s where I questioned my genes and DNA, Jared literally put dates in Trish’s mouth so she would eat! Me? Oh, I’m the guide that just yelled at them to eat because they need energy to summit! Watching Jared in action is nothing short of inspiring. I just stood there asking myself, “Who are you Jared and how did you become so selfless and serving? Were you simply born like this? Did your parents raise you to be like this? Does Kilimanjaro National Park require this of you, is that why you are the way you are?” But most importantly, the biggest question I had was how do I become more like Jared? I NEED to be more like Jared.
There’s a quote that says,
“If you want something, you should give it.”
Well I want to be selfless and serving like Jared. I want to be consistently thoughtful like Annie. I want to be like Briget and be someone’s beacon of light on one of their darkest days.
All three of these individuals showed me directly how one visit, one post card, one smile, one hug, or one day of carrying someone else’s load can change someone’s life for the better. Let me be more like them! Let us all be more like them!
So here I am. Experiencing all the ups and downs of the healing journey post-breakup. Wanting desperately to move on swiftly and to feel happier. Knowing full well that no journey is ever quick, easy, and painless. Thus, I am going to attempt to channel my inner Jared, Annie, and Briget hoping that Ghandi was right when he said,
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Thank you Jared, Annie, and Briget.
~ Belay
Thinking of my nephew Milo on the mountain.
