Greetings from Jaguar Creek, Belize! I’m here with a dozen or so givers, leaders, and drinkers. Not necessarily in that order. The third annual Junkyard Wisdom Belize is happening and we’re having a blast talking through the challenge of being a good donor, a wise leader, and a sober … well, never mind.
Seriously though, the conversations are amazing. Most conversations about philanthropy take place in fancy hotels. Most conversations about leadership happen in large conferences or online TED Talks.
What I love about this event is we have these conversations in the rainforest of Belize, within a few miles of several small villages where people live on a few dollars a day. There is something both refreshing and rudely awakening about the authenticity here. Nothing in this experience feels like a sterile hotel conference room with a temperature controlled climate; it’s more like a hot summer day of our childhood when we have nothing to do but everything to explore.
There are bugs pestering us, history informing us, good people challenging us, Mayan ruins haunting us. We’re eating Johnny Cakes for breakfast and drinking Belikin Beer in the afternoon. Howler monkeys wake us in the morning with their terrifying calls, and crickets sing their lullabies as we fall asleep. I haven’t seen a carpeted floor for days, but my toes splash in the creek every day. The stars at night are incredible.
I fell in love with Belize more than 25-years ago. But every time I come here, especially with friends who have never been, I see it through new eyes.
And I am thankful for God’s creation. All of God’s creation. Not just the gorgeous rainforest and amazing wildlife, but for the people, the culture, the sense of place, and for the hope that emanates from the heart of this nation.
So now, if you’ll excuse me, I must sign off. There is a good conversation, a good Cuban cigar, and a good gin & tonic waiting for me.