Is it predestined or controlled?

If anyone thinks we are “roughing it” on the safari portion of this trip, think again.  For most of the trip we have been in very modest accommodations but that is over.  Safari could spoil me in a hurry.  Meals prepared and served four times a day, maid service three times a day, people carrying my bags, driving the car, doing my laundry, helping me spot animals, telling me what I am seeing, bringing me whatever I want whenever I ask.  I even got a recipe from the Lodge chef one night when I commented on a particularly delicious dessert.

At the Amboseli Lodge I was sitting in a quiet spot on the beautifully landscaped patio writing.  There was a young Masai warrior walking back and forth across the edge of the porch- just a few feet away.  He was dressed in traditional Masai warrior attire- a red cloth wrapped and belted, falling just to his knees- a second red “blanket” draped around his shoulders- beaded jewelry covering his neck, wrists, and ankles- Bare feet- a short club and a machete tucked into his belt- a long stick to lean on.

  His pacing made me nervous.  Finally I smiled and spoke.  He introduced himself and asked my name.  He explained that his job was too guard me from the yellow baboons residing on the property.  Sure enough- wherever guests were seated there was a Masai warrior nearby on guard duty.

Most Masai do not read or write.  They raise goats and cattle.  They eat goats and cattle.  They drink milk and animal blood.  The Masai have never killed wild animals for food as some other peoples have done and that is why the largest game parks are on Masai land.

Everyone in the Masai village has a job.  The children tend goats and cattle starting at a very young age.  The only children who go to school are the ones who mess up and loose too many animals.  Little girls learn from Mama how to walk up to ten miles for water, how to build the family home from mud and cow dung, and how to cook the family’s meat (if they decide to cook it at all).  The boys will tend the flocks and herds, become warriors at 16, come back to the village to marry around 25, and raise cattle and goats.  To make ends meet some warriors will guard tourists from baboons and some women will sell their beads and handiwork.

I can’t help but wonder what my life would have been like if I’d been born to a Masai family rather than middle-class folks in Ohio.  Would I have tended goats or been sent to school?  It goes without saying that I never would have dealt with weight issues.  Would I have accepted the norms of the village or would I have been a difficult and rebellious child?

I am really blessed in that I do not have to worry about food and shelter and safety every day of my life.  I have had so many choices and so many options.  I feel very lucky that I get a three month sabbatical instead of guarding baboons for some rich tourists.  But then he gets to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  He can see the stars every night.  He can hear the lions in the distance announcing a kill.

I keep wondering- what is fate?  What is self-determination?  How much control do we really have over our own lives?