December 4, 2009
The art of imposing
Reading the first few chapters about how Mortenson came to make his seemingly impossible commitment to a remote village in Pakistan, I was struck by a small thing: that those who make the most impact, are often willing to impose, or unaware of imposing, on whomever they come in contact with. What, for instance, possesed Mortenson to return to Korphe to recuperate, in effect asking the villaigers to sacrifice the best of their very scarce resources for his recovery? It is something I never would have done. But I find it difficult to shake my American sense of self-sufficiency, and perhaps Mortenson already understood what I am still learning. That by asking of others, we invite them to ask of us, and a mutually benneficial interdependence can flower.
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I was completely happy to see your post, and to read your thoughts. All of a sudden I realized the potential of this project. I've been reading, feeling, responding to the book. And there it was, conversation with you.
ReplyDeleteI've really been thinking about this with my project and relationships. I feel like all I'm doing is imposing, asking people to let me into their lives for the purposes of research they don't really understand. I've been wondering a lot: what can I really offer people? What can my part in that mutually beneficial relationship be? (English tutoring in a school? Access to American academics for academics here? Something else?). I'm not sure, but your post is making me think a lot about it.
Part of what's interesting to me is that Mortenson doesn't really think about his part in the equation, or what he has to offer when he goes back. He just goes back because he feels like it,and assumes that he'll be welcome. At least as it's conveyed in the book (chapter 3), he takes Korphe's hospitality for granted and has no qualms about making himself at home there despite the fact that he will likely be a heavy burden and create a debt that he will be unable to repay.
ReplyDeleteHe does pitch in, sharing his supplies and medical skills, but nothing on the scale of a long term development project. Then, when he decides to build the school, he offers to do something that he lacks the skills and resources to deliver -- with the same confidence and lack of forthought that brought him back to Korphe in the first place.