CONGO´S LESSONS: KNOWING WHEN TO CRY OR LAUGH

Source: Documentary.Net.

By Gundhramns Hammer
December 21, 2013
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The shortest way to get to hell right here on Earth is to get upset about trivial things that occur in your daily life. Knowing how to deal with them is an art. The most important art in our lives. 

There are people who can drown in a cup of water. There are others who can float like corks even under the worst conditions in the ocean of life and do not even get wet. Blessed are the latter, indeed!

And as man advances on what he believes is and should be advancement, he is becoming a fucking spoil brat and thus this virtue is becoming a lost art.

If you really want to see how you are doing on this art or who is a brat or a grown up, emotionally speaking, what better way to take a trip on top of a truck crawling on the most terrible dirt roads in the outback of the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (Video 1). 

               Video 1. A test to trucks and human endurance and patience in the DRC.

Travelling in Congo is a challenge and as everywhere around the world there is always a fee. It is one of the laws of Homo economicus.
  
Nevertheless, you will be amazed not only by the odyssey unfolding right in front of your eyes as Congolese travel riding on a heavily loaded truck but also by how insignificant become your problems at home in Europe or any "developed" nation where there are thousands of people literally dying of emptiness and loneliness even though they have all of their basic needs met and possess a fat account at the local bank.

A simple thing as a girlfriend, boyfriend, lover of spouse who does not say "I love you" as much as his or her half-orange would like to hear could ignite huge domestic battles despite their swimming in abundance.

Failing to hear these magical words may put some rich people on a straight path to desperation and depression.

In other words, in rich nations there are a lot of insane or emotionally dysfunctional people. Some are literally crazy or psychopaths although they may disguise it well. 

A refrigerator full with all sorts of foods or a home bursting with stuff do not mean a damn thing to most folks in rich nations. They take everything for granted, especially the new generation.

In poor nations, many people starve because of lack of food but you can still find plenty of people who are spiritually rich even in the hands of adversity. 

Whereas in rich nations, people starve because of lack of spiritual or emotional food. Very few can be truly considered rich.

Rich where everyone should strive to be rich, on matters of enlightenment. This way he or she will no longer be a puppet or fall prey to dark economical interests or designs which have the power and ability of pitching haves and have nots alike into a battlefield.

So, what the fuck is the use of being the richest man or woman on Earth if you live in an emotional hell before you have reached your spot in the graveyard?

Someone has said that "life is a race against death." In the meantime, whilst we are in the waiting room, the test is to test whether we are already here or there before we get there.

In this respect, many Congolese are masters of knowing without being aware of or knowing when to cry and when to laugh before they get there. 

They show that one can have little and yet be happy.

May the future of this beautiful African nation, DCR, and its people be one full of hope, peace and prosperity. 

Prosperity redefined of course, with respect and love towards Mother Nature and its creatures and forests, away from destruction of wildlife or ecocide. 

This is the real challenge not only for the DRC but also to all of the nations which depend upon this African nation´s mineral resources set on following a crooked model of squandering what should never be squandered since we all live in a world with finite resources. 

Voyages to other planets are still far in the future. We should not fool ourselves with intergalactic trips. 

Therefore, we must take care of the only home we already have: Earth.

At the present time, we are up to the gills in an ecological mess. We have got to clean our own mess. Ecce our most important task!

True peace!


References 

Kisangani E. F. & Bobb F. S. (2010). Historical Dictionary of the Democratic republic of the Congo. 3rd Edition. The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, MD, USA. 624 p.

Oppong J. R. & Woodruff T. (2007). Democratic Republic of the Congo. Modern World Nations. Chelsea House Publishers, New York, NY, USA. 104 p.