Stubborn donkeys?

Its 5am here (I think 6:30pm there) and what's crazy is that even though my days and nights are flipped and we sre going non stop from 7am to 8 or 9pm every day (plus I somehow caught a cold - slacking on my hand sanitizer as I get comfortable!) I am still a "morning girl" and am waking up after 5 or 6 hours sleep. And what's even crazier is that I feel great! Like all my fears of jet lag, the poverty, and the unknown have melted away. But waking up early is good - its really the only time alone I have to think, read, write and basically just asimilate this huge experience. I appreciate all your supportive emails and thoughts! I am getting them, just no time to reply, plus my reception has been in and out.

As we headed from our hotel to trek up the mountain (our hotel is on the Ganges river at the base of the Himalays) we walked through the village and this man and his donkeys were starting their work day. And it just struck me about how our greatest strengths are our greatest weaknesses. And how important it is to make use of our gifts and not try to be something we are not. What's funny is that we think "oh poor donkeys... Carrying rocks up mountains - that's so mean!" Meanwhile the donkey is born to work hard and he'd be miserable without the challenge. His gift is his stubborn-ness and persistance. I thought of this image again midway through our 5 hour climb yesterday. I had overpacked food and water, peeling away layers of fleece on the way and my backpack was annoying especially during some of the trickier footing parts. But I can be stubborn like a donkey at times like this! And I laughed to myself as I thought about "accessing my inner donkey" - I mean who wants to be like a donkey? Well - happen to absolutely adore and admire donkeys. Yep, they are stubborn, simple creatures with a gift to get the job done without a complaint.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry