Where the job was going to be performed of disconnecting the camper box from the chassis, putting rubber blocks and attaching it again.
Chaim had a sad expression on his face.
With a voice trying to trigger understanding he explained that the job was not an option for today anymore.
Things had come in between.
But tomorrow for sure it could be done.
There is only one attitude possible in such a context.
Accept peacefully the situation.
No benefit will come from becoming angry, upset or irritated.
Or showing effort to try to reverse the situation.
It is as it is.
It is better to adapt fully to a context in which one happens to be in.
Several years ago the project was to make a photo book together with Professor Michiel van Kempen about modern days authors and traditional storytellers in a country called Surinam.
Not many fervent and loyal blog readers will immediately know where is this country called Surinam.
It is on the northern part of South America.
North of Brazil.
East of Venezuela and Guyana.
A former colony from the Netherlands populated by 5 different ethnic groups.
A tropical country in permanent disarray.
To make the book the different authors and storytellers had to be met and appointments with them were made.
But soon it was learned that an appointment had a different meaning in Surinam.
If it was agreed that a meeting would be the next day at 10 am, nobody would show up at that time.
Maybe nobody would eventually come.
Maybe someone would come but many hours after the agreed time.
In the beginning this created a lot of aggravation.
And frustration.
And annoyance.
But eventually it was realized that what was happening was that the European way of dealing with appointments was applied in the Surinam context.
While the Surinam way of dealing with appointments is completely different.
The conclusion was that it was not the Surinam friends who were to blame.
It was the Europeans who were so stupid not to be able to understand and to adapt.
The principle is that if everybody comes on time, there is a problem if someone is late or worse, doesn’t show up.
The reverse is true as well.
If nobody shows up at the agreed time, the one who comes on time is stupid and ignorant.
Once this was understood the strategy was quickly changed.
If a person needed to be seen on a specific afternoon an appointment was made with him or her for the morning.
If one wanted to see a person at 5 pm, the appointment was made for 11 am.
This worked well and there was no problem whatsoever.
The book was successfully made, was beautiful and interesting and sold out in a short time.
With the Fuso Szulc needing repairs in Mexico the same flexibility is applied.
If not today, tomorrow is a new day.
What is the problem?
There is a famous song by The Beatles on their 1966 album “Revolver”.
Titled: “Tomorrow never knows”.
The lyrics explain what happened in La Paz today:
Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream,
It is not dying, it is not dying
Lay down al thoughts, surrender to the void,
It is shining, it is shining.
Yet you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being
Love is all and love is everyone
It is knowing, it is knowing
And ignorance and hate mourn the dead
It is believing, it is believing
But listen to the colour of your dreams
It is not leaving, it is not leaving
So play the game "existence" to the end
Of the beginning, of the beginning
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The ISBN-number of the photobook "Deep rooted words" is
90-71877-12-6
Copies could possibly still be ordered by contacting
Uitgeverij Voetnoot Publishers, Amsterdam/Antwerpen.
http://www.voetnoot-publishers.nl/
.
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