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Published: September 23rd 2011
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Liquid courage before the performance
International Festival Chorus Gala Fundraiser at Capital M Overlooking Tiananmen Square, Beijing As a child, I made my brother believe that if we could dig a hole that was deep enough, we could tunnel our way through the core of the earth all the way to China. (I also made him believe that if he could swing high enough on our backyard swing set he could fly to heaven and that my bedroom closet was an elevator, but that is beside the point). We spent many hours happily and fruitlessly digging in the backyard (okay, he spent many hours digging while I "supervised"), making sure to cover up our handiwork any time one of the parental units came to check on us. Come to think of it, I am quite impressed that neither of us ever fell in the gigantic hole cleverly disguised as a leaf pile when we sidled outside after dinner to check whether we could see the lights of the Beijing skyline at the bottom of the hole. (We couldn't).
Upon my arrival in China in 2004, I was bemused to discover that Chinese children believed the same thing- that if they dug a hole deep enough, they could dig all the way to America. (Though it seemed
Singing for our supper
International Festival Chorus Gala Fundraiser at Capital M Overlooking Tiananmen Square, Beijing to me that digging with chopsticks would take a heck of a lot longer than using a spoon). Of course, the only children lucky enough to have a spot of dirt in which to dig don't live in China's mega-cities-- and even if they did, the soil would likely be so infiltrated with toxic chemicals or human-produced manure that digging to America would be the last thing they wanted to do.
I'm thinking about digging today because there has been a major construction project underway outside my window for the past few weeks. It began as an undeveloped plot of land adjacent to the basketball courts of a nearby middle school. One Saturday morning, I was roused from slumber by the insistent pounding of what sounded like an army of jackhammers (though it turned out to be only one). From my 20th story apartment, I had an excellent vantage point of what appeared to be seven gigantic holes in the ground.
Great, I thought to myself,
Just what I need! Another annoyance in an already challenging city!
Yet the project progressing twenty stories below my apartment had piqued my interest. Each morning when I arose, I scampered out
Warmup outside on the patio
International Festival Chorus Gala Fundraiser at Capital M Overlooking Tiananmen Square, Beijing onto the balcony off my bedroom to check on the progress of the giant holes. And each morning, they looked....exactly the same. I couldn't help feeling as though Louis Sachar was messing with me (Sachar is the author of an excellent children's book titled "Holes"; if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. The less literary among you can see the movie of the same name). The interesting thing was that, in contrast to most construction projects across China, which operate on a 24/7 basis until the completion date, this particular site adhered to a 7 AM to 9 PM work schedule so as not to disturb nearby residences. It was impressive.
However, I also couldn't help comparing the seemingly dreary progress of the project to the projects in my own life. It seemed like so many of my goals were taking far too long to be realized or weren't happening at all. Each day as I stared gloomily down at the holes, I was taunted by the images of the unfulfilled expectations of my life.
Then yesterday, something amazing and wonderful happened. I opened the doors to the balcony, stepped out into the brisk morning air
Delightful music
International Festival Chorus Gala Fundraiser at Capital M Overlooking Tiananmen Square, Beijing and, as had become my habit, surveyed the construction site. And then I had to shake my head and look again. Something had happened overnight. The site was teeming with workmen busily smoothing out freshly poured concrete foundations. The seven holes were holes no longer. They were the foundations of something new and better. Something still to come. Then, today, structural columns appeared. Bamboo scaffolding. Temporary worker housing. Real, tangible progress was being made. And I had to take a gigantic bite of humble pie, because as I watched the workers and strained to hear their conversations from twenty stories up in the sky, I realized something that shook me to my core. They were happy. Laughter wafted through the beautiful fall air, tickling my eardrums. Yellow construction hat-wearing heads bobbed in unison as the workers sang songs from their hometowns. Hands clapped each other on the back as they squatted in the shade at lunchtime, enjoying a bowl of noodles and some tea.
What a metaphor! Just when it seemed that everything was stagnant and no progress was being made, a burst of activity, of progress, and of steps forward. I know now it's only a matter of
Receiving our due applause
International Festival Chorus Gala Fundraiser at Capital M Overlooking Tiananmen Square, Beijing keeping the faith that my own projects will continue to move forward, no matter how much it seems like they're standing still. I learned a thing or two from those construction workers below my window. Sometimes, the intangible is the most valuable aspect of the journey.
And so I wait with breath that is bated.
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Open Minded Life Interpretation
A very uplifting discovery you've made during life's journey. You have discovered at your young age what many of us with many more years into that journey have entirely not recognized or only partially understood. I would be one of the latter. I think your discovery is due to maintaining an open minded interpretation of life's events. Thank you for sharing this revelation in your blog.