Is the glass of water getting too heavy?

I was hoping to post a blog very soon after my last one, however, as luck would have it, the power outages persisted. As I stated in the last posting, I was going to fill you in on what had happened and how we had "made it through it". I was premature in thinking that the power outages were over. The situation got worse before it got better. Week 3 of power failures was worse than week 1 for us. We were once again evacuated last Tuesday evening, this time to a studio apartment near the plant site. Workers continued trying to resolve the situation, working on the new failing generators, etc. This week was probably the biggest test of our resilience thus far. Continuous power outages meant that we could not open the refrigerators or freezers for food in order to conserve the cool temps. Also, sleeping in the heat was getting old. In the midst of the continuous string of failures of generators, my attitude started becoming a bit less positive than I would like to admit. It was during that time that I received an email from a friend. Yes, of course, the internet came and went with the power outages. :-(  I have done a bit of research to try to identify the author of the story contained in the email in order to give him/her credit, but unfortunately, all I have found are many references of people receiving the chain email. If anyone knows the author, please use the comments section below to post the name so that we can give credit to the author. In the meantime, here is the story from an "unknown" author that helped me:

Handling Stress

A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience with a raised glass of water. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, ‘half empty or half full?’…
She fooled them all …. “How heavy is this glass of water?” she inquired with a smile.
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied , “The absolute weight doesn’t matter.
It depends on how long I hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance.
In each case it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “and that’s the way it is with stress.
If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.”
“As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden – holding stress longer and better each time practiced.
So , as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down.
Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night… Pick them up tomorrow.

This email came at a very appropriate time for me. The message was clear, I needed to put the burden of the stress of persistent Kimbumba power outages down for a while. My husband had a business trip to Luanda this week and the "stressed me" wanted to stay home and sulk. I regrouped and decide to "put the burden down" for a bit and go to Luanda. I spent time with a friend who had lived in Luanda for the past 4 years and had a delightful time during my visit with her. She took me to grocery stores that I had not frequented on my previous 2 trips in late 2012. I was able to find great produce and the "change of pace" helped to change my perspective on the Kimbumba power situation. 

We stayed at the Hotel Baia in Luanda. It is one of the newer hotels and has a great view of the bay. We were able to take pictures of the sunset from our room on both of the evenings we stayed there. Last night, we visited the rooftop bar for dinner and drinks. It was delightful! Nothing like a few sunsets and looking at the water to put life into perspective!

Luanda Sunset

 

Luanda Sunset

In addition to the uplifting trip to Luanda, I also had a very special experience at the beginning of the week. The power failures came with a silver lining...when the power failures occurred, it was very hard to ignore the "natural" sounds of the outdoors. This week I was blessed with the appearance of an Orange Tufted Sunbird at my front window. His friends were perched outside in the small Flamboyant tree. One of my expat friends has been researching the many bird species that she and her husband encounter in Soyo and was kind enough to give us a copy of a chart that includes the birds' species names and their pictures. As I turned to listen to the birds singing outside, I noticed that one of the birds (which I identified quickly by looking at my friend's chart) was at my window, singing and flying, as if trying to get inside the house. I immediately started filming him from behind the sheer curtain. Of course, as I came closer to him, he flew away, I suppose he was camera shy and concerned about being on YouTube. :-) Toward the end of the video you will hear the sound of the music that attempted to start playing when there was a short and temporary power restoration. So, see...in the midst of  the power outage burden (holding the half-full glass), I was given the opportunity to put the burden aside to listen and watch the Sunbird at the window. He was there for a reason! 

We returned to Soyo this morning and the power failures seem to have subsided. A new power grid configuration of the houses in the neighborhood has helped. Also, we are being told that new generators are on the way. That is great news for us. However, if more power outages occur, at least we were able to put the glass of water aside for a bit and enjoy life. If we have to pick up the glass once more, we will be able to handle it for a bit longer.