It seems that the past always has a way of catching up with us. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing...well that depends. Today it was a good thing.
6 years ago I was in Cuenca, Ecuador working in an orphanage. I was the site manager for a home of 8 special-needs kids. I doubt that very many of them were true orphans. Many were abandoned and some were not born with disabilities, but because of abuse, now find themselves with very different lives than what they might have had. I spent that Christmas of '01 with angels and it was a different experience for me...there in the Andes of Ecuador away from family but not away from people I was learning to love.
I was able to fund my experience from various donations from relatives, friends, and in some cases...complete strangers. One of these unknown donors was a girl by the name of Kara. She must have been 13 or so...and sent a little note with a small but surely significant donation. I was very moved by her gesture and remember feeling very humbled to receive her help. While I was in Cuenca, I wrote a few letters with pictures to Kara and the other donors who made this experience a reality.
Today I met Kara. I went to get my hair cut (decided against the bang option, but even now I am reconsidering) and my stylist now has a new assistant. After some small talk and a shampoo the assistant asked me if I had been to some foreign country before. Yes. Had I worked in an orphanage. Yes. In Ecuador? Yes. She recognized me from my pictures...and that's how I met Kara.
Funny how peoples lives circle and weave in and out - like a choreographed dance. And sometimes we don't realize how our movements will affect other parts of the piece or the other dancers. But we keep on dancing. I hope my movements never cause hurt or sadness but only bring to others joy, happiness and peace.
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