The (Bear) Necessities

Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities, old Mother Nature's recipes
That brings the bare necessities of life

Wherever I wander, wherever I roam. I couldn't be fonder of my big home
The bees are buzzin' in the tree, to make some honey just for me
When you look under the rocks and plants and take a glance at the fancy ants
Then maybe try a few. The bare necessities of life will come to you…
So just try and relax, yeah cool it, Fall apart in my backyard
'Cause let me tell you something little britches
If you act like that bee acts, uh uh, you're working too hard
And don't spend your time lookin' around for something you want that can't be found.
When you find out you can live without it and go along not thinkin' about it
I'll tell you something true, the bare necessities of life will come to you

Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities, that's why a bear can rest at ease
With just the bare necessities of life

I love this song, I have since I was a child, although I have always found it strange that Baloo was a bear in the jungle where there are not many bears are to be found. On top of that, this bear was singing about the bare necessities, which always gave me a homophonic chuckle.   So I wanted to play on that some today (yes I know I spelled bare wrong in the title) as I myself am struggling with some bare necessities, and noticing what a bear and a burden those can be if one does not bear them correctly.  Still with me?  So if you have just woken up and are on your morning coffee, clicking through your morning tabs, blogs, or emails, you may have to give it a second read, but it will come to you, they’ll come to you…

Over the last few days, through our Kenya preparations, our packing, weaning down to the essentials, and our first couple days in Kenya, I am refocusing and relearning on what the bare essentials are for me.  I have noticed in the last few hours that often the main essentials I focus on back home are only a piece of what I am focusing on here because the others are not as readily met here.  While others struggle with their needs being met in the states, I typically do not.  For I have the basic needs easily met, due to the privileged life I have been blessed with and I am thankful for this.  I have never had to worry about my next meal, nor where I would rest my head, but there are many of those who have and who do.  So I do not write this as “This only happens in Africa”, but rather that I am experiencing a piece of it here. 

I have found myself in the last few days like a laptop.  Traveling for 24+ hours has completely drained my battery to the reserves and I have gone into power save mode.  Being in need of a charge leaves me asking what are my critical functions, and how can I recharge?   To some it may seem obvious we should seek recharging from something or rather Someone above ourselves, but I must admit this was not my first thought or choice after not sleeping for almost two days.  I went straight to embrace of the nearest bed, once I awoke though (I was thinking more clearly) and did what I should have done first, thanking God for where we were and what He has done. 

It has come to my attention, and I believe Fred Foy, David Bevins, Will Brimer, Blake Patrick, and myself were joking about it last time we were in Kenya, that as a man we do not have many needs.  However, two needs that are at the very top are food and sleep.  Without these two I tend to not be as cordial as my normally charming self (ha).  My wife has noticed this too believe me.  Food, sleep, and time with My Creator, I would say, are some of my essentials that are at the top of the list.  Those three also affect my fourth very big essential, which is amplified if those three are not met, which is quiet.  As an introvert, and I am sure many other introverts can attest to my plight, until all my systems are at full operation level (and sometimes not even then) I do not care to talk to another living person.  It takes too much energy to keep up a conversation, and when you are drained, it is not happening. 

As a man, and a married man at that, I have also learned that I tend to hear my wife’s processing (talking out loud) about what is going on around her, as a “to do” list for me or something to fix.  Many of the times it is not meant that way at all, but as a guy that is how it is processed in my male, fix-it, can-do, brain.  This too can cause stress, since there are many things that are new and different that need to be processed by each of us, which means my brain is working overtime fixing things, that do not need, nor or really wanting to be fixed. 

So what are the essentials for me as of now?  Sleep (getting back on a normal routine, making up for lost sleep, and overcoming jet lag.)  Food (again overcoming deprivation and introducing new things to my sensitive wazungu stomach).  Quiet (the need to sit, be still, reflect, pray, and come to my senses.  Not necessarily alone, but in silence.)   I think honestly this is it for me right now, and may be for most.  I think back home I only tend to ever struggle with the need for quiet since the other two are so easily met.  However, they are all needs and are of different importance for others in varied contexts.  Yet when they are drained we re-evaluate and must go straight to our Power Source and begin the recharging process.  Then the bare necessities of life will come to you, they’ll come to you…