Abandoned Insane Asylums

Q: Excuse me.  What?

A: I know.  Unless I'm referencing my office, this has nothing to do with Volunteer Abroad or Work Abroad.

Q: Your office?

A: Well, come on.  Surely you have wandered through a day wondering if you're crazy?  I mean, the definition of crazy is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results, right?  Sometimes I do that at my desk.  Sometimes I do that when speaking to the staff.  I chide my kids to pick up their rooms and clean the sinks in their bathroom.  I still trip over books, clothes and electronics when I go into their rooms at night.

Q: You still haven't answered my first question.

A: Look...I've done this work for 38 years.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm very passionate about it.  But recently, I've grown bored with writing about the same stuff over and over.  And now, I want to turn this Blog into one that I can write what I'm thinking about.  Or, as in this post, what moves me.  I can't remember what I was doing when I ran across this video by Mik Htims.  (Even the name interests you, right?)

Q: Aren't you afraid that you'll turn off a lot of people who come here looking for specific information about volunteer or work abroad?

A: No.

Q: Um. OK. Why?

A: Because I think researching volunteer and work abroad programs on the Internet requires a level of trust when you consider what you're reading online at a particular site.  And deciding to work with an organization (like GeoVisions) requires a huge degree of trust.  And that has always come from below the cloud, not in the cloud.  That will never change.  So if people come here and see something that resonates with them, there is a connection.  And my life has been built on making those connections.  GeoVisions is about making connections.  Between volunteers and communities.  Teachers and students.  Employers and students seeking seasonal jobs.  Connecting cultures.

Q: Connecting people, jobs and cultures is cool. With all the troubles in the world, how do you know you can keep doing that?

A:  When Steve Jobs addressed the graduating class of 2005 at Stanford University, he said, "You can't connect the dots looking forward you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path."

Q: I see.  What I still don't see is the connection (your word, not mine) to a theme of abandoned insane asylums.

A: Watch this stunning video.  The music is from the movie Inception.  Hans Zimmer wrote this piece entitled "Time" and it is a perfect match to the photos in this film.  In the comments section below, someone...anyone...tell me where it takes you.  Turn up the speakers on your computer.  Shut your door.  Make the room quiet.  Start the film.  It is only four and a half minutes...hardly a tick on the clock of your day.  Tell me where you've gone when the film is over.  Then, please tell me how you're connected.  I'll bet it has nothing to do with abandoned insane asylums.

Want to read other posts by Randy LeGrant that has nothing to do with volunteer abroad and work abroad but were highly read on our Blog?

You Say Goodbye...I Say Hello (3,562 reads)

At The Summit Of Pike's Peak (3,112 reads)