What's that under your nose?

"Sometimes things could be right under your nose, the only problem is your eyes are above it!"

- Unknown

Well, it's that time of year again. Summer has packed his bags for another year and Autumn has moved in. What does that mean? Cold and Rain! It's only the start of September but already the rain has started falling. It's grim out there!

But on the positive, at least we have rain. Without it we would be in a mess. No rain means no water, and no water means big problems. You only need to look at images from the African deserts to see people who would do anything for a bit of rain for some water.

As I got home tonight I managed to catch the end of the evening news. Now usually the news is just full of politics and depressing stories about jobs. I tend to turn it over. Same thing, day in day out. Not exactly viewing that fills you with joy. But at the end of the news tonight they ended with a story that I thought was amazing.

As I have already mentioned, the African desert is often a place of great drought and famine. The images very often plague our screens as aid agencies try to get us to help. Scenes of starvation, of dead land, of malnourished animals. Its a sight that really does make us glad that we have September showers.

Anyway, back to the news. As I sat watching the news, watching scenes of the African desert, expecting some depressing story about people facing difficulties in Africa, I was pleasantly surprised!

It seems that, after all these years, the people living in the desserts of Africa, have never actually been very far away from huge supplies of water. Scientists have found today that under the plains of Africa there are huge reserves of water, more than 300 meters down underground. Here's the link if you want to read more.

Water in Kenya

WOW! Water in the middle of the desert! Who would have thought? All the years of famine, all the years of drought, all the years of problem and the answer to their needs, the very thing they needed has been under their feet all along. Frustrating, yes but now they can start to put things right. People will have water, crops can begin to be grown, animals can get the nutrients they need. The future, all of a sudden, has gone from being bleak and hopeless, to a bountiful oasis! Amazing!

That was a story that really got me thinking about life.

In life we go through so many different things. The good, the bad and the ugly. Situations that come and go, problems that seem to come at us. We are constantly on the roller coaster called life. So often we struggle through, or barely survive the journey. We try to get through things with our limited resources and on our own but why? How often is the answer to our need, right under our feet?

So I end with this thought.

Have you ever stopped to think that when you're in the depths of your situation, when the problems seem to be all around you, when you can't see a way out, the answer to your situation could be staring you in the face? The answer to your need could be right there under your feet. Ok, so it might not literally be 300 meters down but we all have friends, family, those around us who are all there waiting to help us. Those people who always have, and always will be there. The answer, just like the African water, is right under our noses. And yet, so often we miss it.

The people living in the deserts of Kenya, for so long, have seen and focussed on the problems around them and never realised they were living above the very thing that would be the answer to their need. But now they know the answer is there for them, their whole outlook on life has changed.

Today, whatever it is your facing, whether problems, situations, issues that you just can't see the end of, make sure you look first under your feet. The answer to your problem could be staring you in the face and it could be the very thing you need to change your whole outlook on life.

Bywyd sydd yn byw! - Just living life!

RM