Contrast that is shocking

I am writing this on my final day in Bali, Indonesia. I have struggled with the financial and access chasm between my life and the lives of the local people. 

I watch the people working every day, often at very small tasks like sweeping leaves, and doing so with such dignity and grace. And a smile. 

It is the contrast that is shocking. 

One moment I am conversing with another person as privileged as I about putting their life needs first – healthy food, good quality sleep, time out to play – and the next moment, I am being served by a human being who does not have the same options.

I find it hard to reconcile. So hard that I could slip into helplessness. 

Yet it is in the knowing of this contrast, the awareness of the enormous privilege of the wealthy countries who have profited off the poorer and continue to do so, that my work is fuelled. 

Photo Taken February 7, 2023