20 Jan 2008
The only way now is down.
I first realized this reading We Need To Talk About Kevin. The protagonists have their lives together. The only news they can receive is bad news. Things can't get any better.
This is dangerous on two levels. There's the risk. The more you have, the more you have to lose. All you can do is build failsafes and prepare for damage control. I've done that.
The other problem is losing perspective. From here I can't even see the bottom. And that makes small setbacks appear much larger, and therefore more damaging, than they really are.
I've been toying with this idea for a while, but it's time to take a trip into the valley. I'll be rolling through there quite literally in a couple of weeks when we hit Cambodia, but "poorism" stinks. While this may be about self-interest, rather than philanthropy, there are limits.
So I want to get out there and help. I've always felt that there's something purifying about physical labour, possibly because I've never done any. But it's been one of my long-term goals to work construction at some point, because I've got something to prove.