Southeast Asia has been one of the most gripping, cultural experiences of my life. I have been pick-pocketed, woke up in a hospital with an IV in my arm, had my passport and laptop stolen, contracted an agonizing stomach bacteria and spent a little time in a Laos prison. But that's just the boring stuff and I wouldn't trade it for all the safety in the world. I have met the kindest people on the earth, spending hours talking about Obama and Communism. I've listened in horror about what the U.S. has done in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. I've seen the affects of Agent Orange still present on the city streets three generations later and heard the stories of young boys and mothers in the fields stepping on undetonated mines and bombs. And yet they love Americans. They say time heals all wounds and this part of the globe has been under constant attack since the early 1950's. Yet its heart still beats on with love and enthusiasm for all life. Buddha is not just a statue or a concept, it is as real as the lotus flower, brimming with life and growth, flourishing under the dense forest of the worlds oppression. We should learn a lesson from our Asian brothers and sisters. Their happiness is so seeded within their soul and ancestry, it cannot be deterred. Take away its water and nourishment, starve it of light and tranquility and still it grows. It cannot be cut down and, and as is the case with love, its power is unseen, untouchable yet stronger than all the forces that strive to bind it. Like water or earth or wind or fire it is a constant, always ebbing and flowing, forever in flux with the forces that push against it but remaining innocent and unchanged. I pray my own smile could reflect such joy. That my eyes could shine on others with such love and speak such emotion without ever uttering a single word.
This is why I travel. The pagodas and ruins are enchanting but they are nothing more than a back drop to what actually completes me. Or rather reflects my lack of completion. And I am searching to be whole. It's an unachievable goal but the rewards from the struggle far outweigh any tangible destination point.
Travel often, smile always and remember we see with our heart, not our eyes.
Enjoy Some Pictures
No comments:
Post a Comment