Simplicity

February 20, 2012  Simplicity

While walking this morning to visit a family, I passed by five women doing the family laundry.  Basins of all sizes were scattered on the ground under a big shade tree.  The water source, an area with showers and faucets, was just a few steps away.  Piles of clothes surrounded each woman, as she sorted.  They scrubbed, rinsed, and scrubbed some more until the clothes were clean.  The women seemed to be enjoying their work; nobody looked stressed, in spite of their difficult life.  The women talked and laughed among themselves as they worked, probably catching up on the village news.  What I saw in the short time I visited was a real women’s camaraderie where each woman shared the same challenges of daily living.  Although life here is very difficult without electricity, running water, safe housing, and food scarcity, I see simplicity of life that allows time to enjoy one another.