A funny thing happened on the way to the salon. While on a recent trip, I had set aside some money to treat myself to a much-needed mani-pedi. I never made it that far.
A member of our travel group shared her experience of visiting the biggest slum in Kenya called Kibera. She stepped beyond compassion for this hurting world and hired a guide to accompany her to this city-within-a-city built of trash heaps. I hold her in high esteem for answering a deep tug at her caring heart to enter the depths of such a different way of life, so far removed from what we consider to be basic needs. Most of us would say we are compassionate, but who among us would expose our safe and peaceful world to such an intimate face-to-face encounter with the reality of such circumstances?
She told us of volunteers working tirelessly to educate and feed the children of Kibera and I felt my own heart expand, beyond a niggling, albeit far-removed awareness of the sufferings of others. As I pressed my dedicated few bills into her hand, I knew they had found the better purpose. (You can read more about her spirit-filled travels here.)
My fingernails are ragged and my toes are worse, but my heart is full.
Check out confessionsofacreative.substack.com on Wednesday where I’ll share more about the capacity of the human heart.
Patty Mayeux Blog 
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