Tips for the Novice Camel Rider
Resign yourself to seeing your material possessions slowly – or quickly, but at any rate inexorably – fall apart before your eyes..... Do not complain: you must get used to the rules of the game, and they teach you this: “For this world shall pass away,” as the Scriptures say. You won’t learn that lesson anywhere better than here.
Still, carry a little soap and a toothbrush – you never know. But I’m willing to bet that you won’t see much of either. The Sahara is the only land where you can stay clean for months on end without bathing.
Is it sweltering at the midday stop? Is the shade of this thorn bush a bit thin? Sand burning your feet? Are these stones treacherous to walk on and sharp? Is this water fetid? This wind atrocious? The night freezing? Don’t complain. What for? And anyway, to whom? There is no one here to hear you and take pity on your little woes. Just put up with it. Be patient. Grit your teeth. Sooner or later, you’ll get your reward.... And as soon as you get the chance, you'll be back – like me.
Theodore Monad, Théodore Monod. Une vie de Saharien
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