Month: January 2020
Andrei Kashcha’s Roads Tool
When I lived in Sierra Leone, I wanted to visualize all the footpaths spreading out from the village heading to various farms or other hamlets. Despite another volunteer showing me a no-tech solution was possible, I never got around to it. Here, developer Andrei Kashcha made a tool to show all the roads of any city. Shown above and centered is the town I live near. My road and village is in a corner, within walking distance.
Igrexa de San Xoán de Camba
And Indeed, We Are Returning
It is not easy nor comfortable to contemplate death. Some of us try to avoid the thought altogether. But this is our inevitable fate, a certainty.
We’re reminded, sometimes painfully, of our short time on Earth through the passing of a loved one. Or even someone not close to us.
We all have our different views on the finality of death. Some believe this corporeal life is just a momentary blip on the soul’s longer journey.
“And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, who, when calamity strikes them, say, “Innā lillāhi wa ‘innā ilayhi rāji’ūn”. [2:155-156]
“Indeed, we belong to God, and indeed, toward Hu, we are returning.”
Portrait of a Village
Walking up the road, climbing up to where the power lines bisect the monte, I was able to get a photo of the village. We’re down there somewhere, trying to stay warm. Not shown is the town of Allariz, where there’s more liveliness. Ourense province is wiggling its way into my heart in a profound way.