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Message: Someone thought you might be interested in this entry at Exquisite Safaris. http://www.exquisitesafaris.com/index.php/journal/more/mission_travel_philanthropy/ The Happiness of Mission: Philanthropic Travel "It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet." -Franz Kafka "He is not talking about the pursuit of happiness. He's not even talking, as one might easily and incorrectly conclude, about lying in wait for happiness. He's talking about making oneself genuinely available to it. He is talking about opening one's senses to the little delights - the sunsets, the lilac-scented breezes, the hilarious bartender jokes, the quick flash of anonymous smiles, the inside straights, the large purring cats, the click of stiletto heels, the popping of bubble-wrap, the liquid song of the meadowlark, the shrug of a New York cop - the granular texture of unsolicited joy. There have been many hard times in my life - including the present - when I took refuge in reduced focus, comforting myself with the glorious filigree of immediate existence. Even a man facing a firing squad can appreciate the dawn that also arrays itself before him. Finally, and always, there is love. By this, I don't mean that economic bargain that often passes for love these days. I don't mean that I will love you if you get good grades, or that I will love you if you'll sleep with me, or that I will love you for anything. I mean what I mean when I say, "I love you." Period. Without expectation, condition, term limit, codicil, or obligation. To say that - and to mean it in that way - makes me happy. What makes me happiest of all is when someone says "I love you" to me - meaning it as unconditionally as I intend to mean it - and I simply accept it. Learning to accept unconditional love has been the most demanding part of my education. It requires me to love myself as much as I am loved, which is not easy, since I like to pretend that my loathsome short-comings are invisible to all but me. Still, when I love without goal and accept love without doubt, I am happy. In this, I am not pursuing happiness. I am becoming it." - John Perry Barlow Photo: scottlondon.com Learn More: In Pursuit of Emptiness: Philanthropic Travel Global Cooling? Correlation of Fortunes: Philanthropic Travel Social Neuroscience: Philanthropic Travel Collaboration creates Prosperity: Philanthropic Travel Exquisite Safaris Corporate Donor Philanthropic Advisory Services Creative Capitalism: Partner with Exquisite Safaris The High-Purpose Company: Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Worldwide Exquisite Safaris clients say... Travel Connoisseur Magazine on Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel Worldwide US Air Magazine on Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel: Travel with a Heart My First Philanthropic Travel Experience The Fable of Stone Soup Understanding Philanthropic Travel Are We Talking about Philanthropy Yet? No, We Are Not Travel Philanthropy: Creating Peace Fast Company Magazine on Philanthropic Travel PersonalLifemedia.com on Philanthropic Travel Philanthropic Traveler funded High School opens near Victoria Falls, Zambia Philanthropic Travelers: The The One's Who Do: Visionary Philanthropic Travelers Visionary Philanthropic Traveler Marc Gold 100 Friends Project Visionary Philanthropic Traveler Chellie Kew Milton & Fred Ochieng: Philanthropic Travelers Jane Kaye- Bailey: Philanthropic Traveler Richard Branson: Philanthropic Traveler Angelina Jolie: Philanthropic Traveler Oprah Winfrey: Philanthropic Traveler Palm Beach Life Magazine: Philanthropic Travelers Exquisite Safaris www.exquisitesafaris.com