Breaking the habit

It was a hard thing to get round to telling my bosses at work that I was leaving. The discussion was not so hard, in fact very easy. After 7 years with the company and now in a senior position, I'm comfortable (that word again) and for the most part appreciated. These are powerful drugs.

I can see that this is what makes re-entry harder than leaving - ex-pats are usually (relatively) comfortable and appreciated, but then return to a society where they have lost their position and need to re-establish everything. However, I am not even away yet, this is all a bit premature!

There is a very important spiritual experience here, which I am just about to enter - renunciation. Compared to many, many people, what I am giving up is trivial. I am sure I will be more than compensated by life in Rwanda. I hesitate even to describe my situation in these terms, but it still involves the leaving behind of things which have become important, even addictive.

The laying aside of privilege, security and familiarity will, I am sure be one of the main challenges of the months ahead and I approach it with some trepidation.