"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase"

So said Martin Luther King Jr.

For this quote, I’m indebted to Bob Beaudine, author of an extraordinary book ‘The Power of Who’; I’d not come across it before and I’m an avid quote collector! So, if you have little-known quote gems that I’m not likely to come across on-line, or in quote compendiums, please email them to me.

Anyway, thanks Bob, for the book and the quote.

The quote caught my eye because I’ve just returned from another stint in Thailand, living in the home that I’ve established; and I took the first step to living in Thailand in the same spirit; I took the first step without knowing exactly what was ahead on the staircase.

So, for the last five weeks, as I’ve been careering though traffic from hell on my motorcycle, and as I’ve been strolling along golden sands looking at the reflections of towering storm clouds in the damp sand at ocean’s edge, and as I’ve been making boon by giving offerings to Buddhist monks as they wander dawn streets and laneways, and as I’ve floated and drifted in a cove that comes from the picture book of paradise – I’ve been taking stock and considering my decision.

What are some of the things I’ve discovered in moving to another world?

- You can’t foresee every issue and occurrence – there is inevitable risk,

- Racist behaviour is only a few seconds away, by someone, in numerous, perhaps most, encounters,

- It’s unlikely that the government of the country you are leaving will make it easy,

- There’s one way, and one price, for the foreigner, and another for the local,

- The outcome of any process is completely unpredictable, except that …

- Everything will take longer that you expect, and

- You will never have all the correct documentation on the first or even second encounter with bureaucracy,

- And away from our secure and, oh so sterile world, it is not a cliché to say, life is cheap.

I suppose these could be the first in a very much larger list of experiences; despite these discoveries, I’ve loved just about every minute of my adventure, which is what my life has become, so far.

Now you may say that if I couldn't foresee these discoveries then I must be very stupid or naive, and that may be true; but there’s a difference between assuming and knowing.

And I think to know is infinitely more rewarding than to presume.

So, I’m glad I made a leap of faith. I’ve been rewarded with a million new experiences.

I’ve made some very interesting new friends, who accommodate my almost complete lack of ability to communicate, because I don’t speak their language.

I’ve seen some astonishing things; and I’ve been to some extraordinary places.

And perhaps most of all, I’ve been allowed to share in the lives of others as they make their way through life circumstances very, very different from mine, with great honesty, dignity, and a tremendous amount of good humour.

So, back to my impulsive decision to move to Thailand. After five years of discoveries would I, as an aging warrior, do it again? Yes - in a heart beat.