Blog of Note

Occasionally I swing on by the Blogs of Note page just to see if there is anything worth reading. This feature of of Blogger is typical month in, month out. There is always the green blog of note warning against global warming, the hobby blog of note, exhibiting lanterns hand crafted out of used cigarette butts, and the philosophicalesque blog...which is the inspiration for this post.

Adventures of the Coconuter is the cliche deep thinking blog of the month. I checked it out just because of the name--as you all may or may not know, I am the owner and curator of an impressive coconut collection. The Coconuter is a journal of a young Texan's travels in the Philippines. Why would a young man fresh out of college go to the Philippines? To teach English? Visit family? Find a bride? Not this guy. The description of his blog underneath the title says it all:

The adventures of David "Coconuter" in his epic journey as a modern nomad in third-world Philippines in search of purpose and meaning to life encapsulated in an allegorical golden coconut. (emphasis mine)

After looking through the blog, and deciding not to donate to David's metaphysical conquest, I was left with my own question: Why do so many Americans' feel they have to travel to some exotic third-world or developing country to find the answers to life? God knows there are enough slums in David's native Texas that are comparable to parts of the Philippines--or i f that isn't gritty enough, Mexico has a lot of poverty to offer.

After reading a few of David's adventures I was reminded of the mass pilgrimage to Brownsville made by thousands of Christians in the late 1990's. Apparently (I never made the trek) a revival, a move of God with healings, signs, and wonders was moving in Brownsville. Plenty of folks made the journey to Florida, similar to David's journey to the Philippines, to find meaning to their faith. Did God exercise some cosmic favoritism over Brownsville, choosing that as the ONLY location in which he would touch his people? Is some southeast Asian Island the only place where one can find the meaning to life?

I would be willing to guess most nomads' trans-global quests for meaning are glorified excuses for a break from the normal, a change of scenery; a vacation.

As for David, if he is to find the meaning to life in a third world country, I think it would lie in somehow, if even in a small way, removing the adjective "third world" from "country." I hope that all of the donations aren't earmarked strictly for his and his friend's needs, and that a portion goes towards the needs of the third-world country in which he is a guest.