Massai

I write ten minutes away from a Massai village.  I was there as a Massai Elder’s guest.  We sat in one of his wives’ house and talked about life in that village.  The bread-shaped building constructed from sticks and straw plastered with a cow manure mud combination doesn’t give justice to the four rooms crowded within.  Near the two sticks that was the lingering fire kept in anticipation of the next meal I could dimly see a tin pot next to a long gourd in the corner.  As I probed I discovered that cooked milk and blood was on deck for dinner.  Yum.
 
In contrast we arrived at the Crater Tree Lodge to be greeted by hand squeezed orange juice presented on a bed of rose pedals.  The full glass walls of our suites overlooked the crater floor with breathtaking views nurtured by a fire crackling in the corner.  Patrick was and is available for whatever one needed 24/7.  As our coconut pumpkin soup gave way to a Waldorf salad and then courses followed by more courses there were no doubts that this was a different world.
 
I wonder who has more stress in life, the Massai Elder or me.  He has little need for money; his wealth is simple measured by the number of cattle in his procession.  His wives take care of the cooking, working and building while he passes judgment on the questions that come up from time to time.  Granted there are a few more flies than I could tolerate, but who is to say?
 
I reality unless there is more to life than waking up, going to work, and eventually dying, I think the Massai have it right.  With God I find there is something more, that extra element.  We have an opportunity to live life with Divinity.  Now that is a difference that matters; and it is open to everyone, including the Massai.
 
“Only insofar as you eat and drink flesh and blood, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, do you have life within you.”  (John 6.53)