Living Where Your Feet Are

 Jake Taylor:

 

Humans are innately jealous beings. We constantly compare ourselves, our possessions, or our experiences to others. Consequently, it is oftentimes difficult to truly be content with what we’re doing and where we are. Many people fail to live their own lives because they are trapped watching others’ lives.

Similarly, it is possible to be jealous of ourselves. When we are in a new environment, away from people we care about, it is possible to be jealous of ourselves, our-past-selves – the selves that were once with the people that we miss. That is not to say that missing people, or the times you’ve shared with them, is a bad thing. However, in its extreme form, it can prevent one’s ability to appreciate everything and everyone around them. This is jealousy of the self, and if you let it, it can become the biggest hindrance to experiencing life. Many people fail to live and appreciate their lives in the present because they are lamenting the absence of the past.

  

I think we can all agree that for whatever our reason may be, it is sometimes a hard task to live in the moment, to live where your feet are. Especially in new environments, it sometimes takes deliberate effort to fully appreciate everything around you. But when you do this, you begin to live life how it was meant to be lived. Being here has taught me the truth behind this lesson.

As a nonprofit business management intern, much of my time in Peru has been spent on intern-related work. Whether it be writing reports or drafting LinkedIn content, I have been working towards the Project’s growth as an established organization. I thoroughly enjoy this work and the experience I’m gaining from it. It’s motivating to see how rapidly the Project has expanded in just the past two years, and I’m honored to contribute to this through my internship. Nonetheless, when looking back on my time in Peru, it will not be my internship or my deliverables that I recall with a smile. It will be the time spent with those around me.

It will be the time spent with Estella and Julia in the parish kitchen, the time spent making huatias with Marcello and Malu, and the many times spent learning how to cook in the volunteer house. I will especially remember my time in SuIlumayo, sharing meals and stories with the school teachers, partaking in their traditional coco leaf ritual to the mountain gods, and herding llamas through the Andes with the help of the four-year-old twins Rodrigo and Ruti. Each interaction here attributes to a certain level of growth. I found that by actively engaging in my relationships here, I have come to learn the simple happiness of remaining in the moment. Upon reflection and looking back on my time here, I find it so refreshing to realize that in the day to day conversations with this community, I find that nothing else matters, only the conversation of the present.

These are just a few of the many, many unique and peculiar memories I’ve made throughout my short time in Peru. I am beyond grateful for them and especially for the people who took part in making them. As my time in Quispicanchi is coming to end, I can say with certainty that my time in Peru would not have looked anything like this if I didn’t choose to live here, where my feet are, right where I’m supposed to be.