Dealing with my fear, suffering and dreams in Africa.

 

            “‘My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,’ the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.

            “‘Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.’

Paulo Coelho in  The Alchemist

On my first Africa trip I felt like that little kid in the lower right, overwhelmed. But my dream, my purpose kept me going. With each new trip, a little more fog of fear lifted and the purpose became even more clear. If you didn't recognize the guy with pink ears and hat, that's me surrounded by Konso tribe people in a  remote corner of Ethiopia, near the Omo region. Photo taken by son Ryan.
 

One of my most satisfying experiences as a photographer was to bring photographs taken on an earlier trip to the villagers. I photographed his Konso woman on my 2001 trip and gave her a print on a later trip. You can see her reaction. Over and over I experienced the joy of giving these prints. Konso tribe, Ethiopia, Africa.