Attachment

Attachment

By Cindy Johnson

For several years, I have escorted undergraduate students to Africa for a class I teach on the conservation biology of Tanzania. This is a wildlife safari complete with elephants, lions and zebra as well as traditional bushman who still hunt and gather wild foods. During the safari, I am confident that each student will experience some changes in the way they view the world. They all leave the US with anticipation of seeing elephants, lions, cheetah, monkeys and giraffes. They return with these memories; not at all disappointed. However they also come away from the journey with ideas they didn’t expect, big life questions and touching memories of Tanzanians.

Safari campfire discussions about Tanzanian lifestyles and standards allow students to reflect on their own lifestyle and standard of living. Students begin to probe deeper and question issues of sustainability, ethics and questions such as “What does it take to be happy in life?” “Does material wealth mean happiness?” Most of the students arrive home with serious questions about their need for material goods. Images of impoverished but happy Tanzanians complicate their reentry into the US. So if Tanzanians can be happy with so little, what is wrong with Americans, who can’t seem to find happiness despite all the material wealth? Though not evaluated or graded, this clearly is one of the most important lessons learned on the trip.

Over the years I have wondered myself about Tanzanians. Are they truly happier? Do they know something Americans and others don’t know? It has always seemed trite to me to say that Tanzanians are content with what they have. Though this may be true, it implies that they don’t want more material wealth. Perhaps they do want more. Is there a difference in world views that enable Tanzanians to be happier than Americans?

It wasn’t until residing in Tanzania for several months that a confluence of events allowed me to recognize some of the differences. It all came together, innocently enough, on a day that I had set out with a Tanzanian friend to day hike up the slopes of Kilimanjaro. I was excited to see the forest, challenge my muscles and enjoy the company of my friend. We had packed our lunches, driven to the park entrance and I anticipated a glorious day on the mountain. My anticipation and expectation quickly turned to disappointment and anger when we learned that we couldn’t hike that day.

I was unwilling to let go of my disappointment and anger. I had become attached to the outcome of hiking up the mountain and could not easily let it go. In the States, generally plans go in accordance with the preparation and I had prepared. The injustice of not being able to do what I wanted to do was unsettling. My friend on the other hand, though disappointed, was able to shrug his shoulders and offer another plan. He was not attached to an outcome in the way I had been.

As we adjusted our plans and drove to our new destination I reflected on why I couldn’t let it go. I come from a culture where one can plan and anticipate outcomes. I realized how keenly attached to the outcome of hiking I had been. My friend comes from a culture where things change constantly; he was not attached to the outcome. I couldn’t easily detach myself from an outcome. My friend shifted easily and almost instantly. I was unhappy while he was quite content. I wondered as we drove, what was wrong with me, why couldn’t I make this transition as easily as he had. Maybe Tanzanians are simply happier people.

This is a culture in which change and unpredictability are certainties. Even rules and regulations are trumped by reality in whatever form it takes. Though Tanzanians can anticipate an outcome they do not become attached to it due to the likelihood that it may never happen. As I pondered this, many things suddenly made sense. In the States we can plan. We have rules and regulations that allow us to achieve what we set out to achieve. We have support systems that function efficiently.

This is not the case in Tanzania. One can plan here, but things may or may not happen in the way you anticipate. Allow me to illustrate the difference with a simple example. In the States when students plan to go to college, they get the necessary loans and with the help of clearly stated loan regulations they can plan to attend college for four years. Sometimes if the loan paperwork wasn’t processed properly there may be problems, but for the most part it is a smooth, predictable and relatively easy process. A Tanzanian student on the other hand faces more uncertainties in acquiring a loan for college.

Just as in the US the process is govern by regulations and tedious procedures. However, unlike the US, in Tanzania, even the successful applicant is not guaranteed the anticipated outcome of completing a degree. Recently I read in the paper that there isn’t enough money for student loans. In Tanzania the government issues the loans and pays the institutions directly. So if the government doesn’t have money, it doesn’t matter if the student is entitled to a loan. With no incoming government money the universities and colleges hold the students “hostage”. They are not allowed to take final exams unless they are financially solvent with the college. So an entire semester can be lost in the end. Or as happened to other students, the government simply neglected to process the paperwork in a timely fashion and final exams were jeopardized.

My sensibilities cry, ‘Injustice!’ because I am American and consequently largely entitled. My Tanzanian friends, though angry and discouraged expect these uncertainties and are much quicker to accept the outcome. They do not dwell on it, for dwelling on these uncertainties would certainly lead to an unhappy life. Instead they accept it in stride. It is important to note, that they don’t necessarily like the outcome. They too are angry and discouraged, but it takes them much less time to accept and move on.

The lesson for me is clear. We can’t control outcomes and remaining attached to a particular outcome only leads to unhappiness. So is this the secret? Is this why Tanzanians are happier? Perhaps. It seems to me a more likely answer than believing that Tanzanians aren’t interested in having material things. Students here, like students in the US, covet fancy computers, cameras and iPods. We all posses the desire to have more, do better and achieve, but we don’t all have the resiliency, nor acceptance for unpleasant outcomes.

Though perhaps all humans desire to have more material wealth it is not an expectation to which they are attached as it can be in the US. For Tanzanians the desire to achieve (tasks or wealth) is strong, but uncertainties restrict attachment to these achievements / outcomes.

Though this may not explain why Tanzanians seem happier, I know there is a lesson here for me. Happiness resides in an ability to let go and to not form attachment to outcomes. I am not entitled to any specific outcomes and the sooner I let this notion go, the happier I will be. Once I was able to let the mountain hike go, we had a wonderful day of birding with the added bonus of swimming in a lovely tropical springs surrounded by luxuriant figs and palms.

In my musings that day I also realized that easy acceptance of outcomes explained yet another trait I had observed. Tanzanian students appear to settle for outcomes almost too easily. Extending these thoughts a bit further helped me see that the extreme of acceptance is acquiescence. Tanzania students are not acquiescent; nor are they militant about fighting for their rights. There are times when being attached to outcomes and persisting is important. The wisdom is in knowing when to let go and when to persist.

The truly happy people are those who have achieved a balance; people who have learned when to let go and when to persist. Perhaps material wealth isn’t one of those important things.