Aruba & Dominica

Aruba... What can I say... I spent very little time scouting around Aruba. I bought a post card for my Mom and that was the extent of my excitement.

But Dominica! I LOVED Dominica! Yet another beautiful, lush, mountainous countryside with friendly residents and a culture rich in history. I was driving along a dirt road beside a river at one point and came across this guy washing his jeep in the river - bucket, cloth, soap and all. Coming back along the same road later that day, there was a family doing their laundry in almost the same spot. I know I see this on TV and I know this happens in the world but to actually witness it gave me a far greater connection. What hit me the most though was their visible joy. The children were laughing and playing, the woman was strong, diligent and also smiling. Earlier, the guy washing his jeep had seemed so proud to have a clean car! Back in North America I think I would be hard-pressed to find someone who would find pleasure in something that "inconvenient". It says a lot about how to find joy and happiness in all our tasks, and how to be grateful for everything we have... even the things we consider 'difficult' or unmanageable. I really believe that we create our own happiness and we can choose to look at things as being vexatious or appreciate our own good fortune - however modest it is.