Finding The Bright Light In The Dark

Before I was leaving Barbados for Nepal, I was obsessed with getting new pool float/chairs. My “chair” was a victim of the sun and had pretty much disintegrated. I was going to be one unhappy redhead if I didn’t get a new chair! So, my sweetest friend, who just happened to be coming down for a visit, obliged and brought two that I ordered online. Life was good again; I had my chair in which I could float a few hours away on sunny, hot Barbados afternoons as I gaze at the Caribbean Sea.

And then I stepped into Kathmandu.

And a very cold house…funny how you learn about priorities mid-life.

Nepal has a critical shortage of water. With the shortage of water comes a shortage of power… electricity. During the monsoon (summer) months, well there is a goodly amount of water to fill reservoirs and thus help churn out electricity. In the winter…not so much. So, the government institutes Load Shedding. Twice a day your power is cut; and unless you have inverters and generators at your disposal, well you do without until they flip a switch and turn it back on. At the moment we are entering 12-hours-a-day of power cuts. Yesterday, for instance, we were without in the morning from 4am to 9:30am and again from 2pm to 9:30pm. During the time it is on, you hope your inverter will recharge enough to give you some help for the next cut. Seeing how locals live here (not the pampered expats), I am venturing a guess that the majority of Nepalese do without when forced to do so. I am a spoiled American/Bajan and the thought of doing without is not part of my vocabulary.

Or maybe I should say WAS not part of my vocabulary.

Our rental house has an inverter. If we were to stay here longer, we would also invest in a generator. But you know my story, so best not waste money for four weeks of “comfort.” We will make do with the small inverter we have. The inverter, well it “might” power one light for a couple of hours. But that is about the extent of its usefulness. Yesterday, it did give me Internet (yes it is finally fixed at home) for two hours and for that I am eternally grateful to Ganish who watches over this house.

At night, when we dine at home, we eat by candlelight. Sounds romantic doesn’t it? I am getting quite stingy and I don’t want to waste the inverter on silly things like lights and television (7 Bollywood movie channels!!). So, I am learning to do without. And I do without quite nicely. Last night we watched one candle burn out and were excited to start another one. We lounged on comfy sofas and chatted about things we want to do, things my better half doesn’t want me to do (visit the Monkey Temple) and things we wish we could change about the way people live here. We talked, my wonderful husband and I, and I didn’t miss the television or the light one bit.

Sitting in the dark I have discovered the brightest light of all: it is the small things, things many of us take for granted, that are most important in life. Life’s Lesson after one week here: I can do without. I live with far too much privilege and accouterments. To have power, hot water, someone to love and someone that loves you, well that is about as good as it gets in life.

I don’t think I will look at that pool chair the same way as I did when it arrived.

Life is good…with or without power.



Namaste