As I sit at the banks of the beautiful Numbetu langoon in Port Vila, the Capital of Vanuatu, I have a chance to ponder what will be for 2011.
The last 13 years have flown by since I landed here for the first time, after a tough sail across from Fiji, on Blue Shadow. She was a Sparks & Stephens inspired racing yacht, built in Mauritious in 1976....and I think she was a happy as I was as we cruised into Port Vila harbour at the end of June. It has indeed been an intense period in my life and it only seems like yesterday I remember the sight of the old Rossi with the banner..."Cappucino and Hot Showers"....and I knew I had found a new home.
It is in this amazingl country that I found the inspiration to explore on my own terms and through business, what my studies in economic and law could not explain. Why is poverty so prevelant in our world, why is so much money spent on trying to resolve it and yet seemingly no progress has been made in terms of upliftment, empowerment and creative expression for the millions who do not have a voice?
In some ways... then...and until recently I had hope that I would discover the magic bullet, the one aspect we had all overlooked in economics, law, physics......something ...an invention ...and angle ...a detail that would change the direction and the tragetory for those suffering on limited bargaining power in the market.
Alas, nothing of the sort has been found, at least in my endevours and those of my partners, colleagues and FB friends. The problem I have discovered... is indeed us, ourselves...me. Many of us in the if not all of us are still deeply entrenched in behaviour that has been tought to us in society, school, and our own aspirations....And if we are the ones seeking change....imgaine how deeply the colonial legacy is entrenched in those that do not care....and those that believe they are entitled to what they need for the manifestation of their own reality.
Within consolidation lies the practise of contemplation...the inspiration of these thoughts. I set myself ambitions goals when I created African Pacific, a private development agency that would bring empowerment by creating opportunities in transparent value chain architecture and management. I was confident that in a 14 year period...not only would the business be up and running, profitable, carrying a strong Nui brand that would create long term equity for thousands of growers in the Pacific....and I, will have arrived at a place of "no ambition"...a place where I did not mind the outcome of my actions...only being content that I was manifesting my intentions from meaningful place and a place for Good.
A year and a half away from that mystical timeline and we (AP&I) are not there yet. African Pacific and our PGEP partners are still struggling financially, even though we believe we are an innovative force of positive change in the Pacific....and I am still deeply passionate about finding personal success for AP and our partners. The possibility of failure ...my own personal responsability/failure to deliver a sustainable outcome creates anxiety that is far from the metaphysical ambition to "be in the now".
However, I am blessed that a sense of deep gratitude does return quickly these days. A gratitude to all those that have been indulgent of my Ego which so flagrantly attacked the incumbant system to understand change....to those who funded much of the Millon $ Capital that stands as a liability on the AP Balance sheet....to my PGEP partners who fearlessly engage on the ground in their repective countries and risked life, limb and security...to those who helped drive the ideas, share and encourage...to our Nui partners who drive change through the power of their purchasing $...and to those who embraced change ...
More and more I am learning that we are all here for the same reason....to find our own happiness...to manage our mind...and that there is no seperation in this world or in our universe...and nothing..but nothing can be done alone. We are indeed one...one mind, one soul...one earth and that the healing process towards unity is inevitable...and that in every moment we may rejoice in that alone.
Happy Australia Day....from an Australian soon to be....in Vanuatu
Blessings
andreas
