040723

Doing Nothing, Part I

"One day of doing nothing, undisturbed:
that is being immortal during one day."
Chinese proverb

Dear Friends,

What are you going to do in Uganda?
That was the common question.
What to answer? You may tell something about some things you want to do, say you do not know yet what else. You can boost about some important jobs and official tasks and responsibilities, something not peeping out to high above the traceable truth, in short, every answer is burdened with a heavy load of unattractive work for your imagination.
But after a while, I found the ideal answer:

As little as possible.

This settles the matter. You get a smile and the subject is closed.
However, you know how things go: if you start saying things repeatedly, you start to believe them.

This belief made me start a project "doing as little as possible". On the photo above it seems to have made a nice start. But everybody who just thinks a bit understands that a photo like this is associated with a lot of work: you have to pour chilled pineapple wine, look for your panga, hang your hammock, find your camera, put it on its tripod, set it to self timer, spurt to your hammock, pick your cigar and your panga, make the cutting movement (in fact you cannot cut a cigar with a panga at all) while looking relaxed, and then go back to your camera to see if your picture is OK.
In short, from the viewpoint of someone versed in idleness this is absolutely unprofessional, a comedy. You can not even call it a first attempt to idleness. It is fake. Behind the facade a fanatic activist is hiding, aspiring a bizarre image. If he even would publish the photograph on a website with a comment this would complete the absurdity...
Let us face it: though the experiment is a profound failure, the theory is basically sound:

	Working is unpleasant and needs to be avoided as much as possible.
	It exposes you to dangers. It is wise to Satisfy yourself with what nature offers you, and Not to disturb nature by indulging in a restless ambition for more.

Take a small motorcycle trip I made to a house under construction. I wanted to rent it. I went to explain my wishes to the electrician. On the way I hit something with my foot and got a serious toe-wound. You see, that is what I mean: you have to turn your medical bucket upside down, start messing with boiled water, iodine and little dirty bloody pieces of cloth.

Had I stayed home, things would have looked much better. Would the house have become less convenient? That is not sure and surely only speculation. It is wise to leave the future to the important forces in nature. You are far too small to be one of them. With your goal oriented striving you might give them the impression you think you are a notable power, which might offend them and make them turn against you. Then, the damage is even beyond estimation.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is not just a joke. It is the essence of the traditional African view of life. Details: PHiLES: africana

*) Indeed  few months later it turned out that electricity did not come, again later, the house turned out to be delayed so much that I decided to build a traditional dhow (sailing boat) to live on. The unhappy motorcycle trip had made no sense at all. In Africa nothing is made, everything grows, as an astonishing plant.