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IN THIS ISSUE: WE ARE ALL CRACKED POTS
WISDOM: "I am not as much concerned about the Gross National Product as I am about the Gross National Happiness." Attributed to the present King of Bhutan
COACH'S CHALLENGE: Share with me the flowers you have sown today and the flowers you want to sow tomorrow.
SOUL TRAVEL: THE KINGDOM OF BHUTAN, LAND OF THE THUNDER DRAGON Part 1
WE ARE ALL CRACKED POTS
(Thank you to a fellow coach for the following tale.)
A water bearer in Bhutan (I took some poetic license here) had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot always arrived only half full.
For years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, as it was perfecting the purpose for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was only able to accomplish half of what it had been made to do.
One day by the stream the cracked pot spoke to the water bearer. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts."
The bearer smiled at the cracked pot and said, "Did you not notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path? That is because I have always known about your flaw and I planted flower seed on your side of the path. Every day while we walk back, you have watered them. All these years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace my house."
Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. But it is the cracks and the flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. We just need to appreciate each person for who they are and look for the good in them. If we do that, the most amazing phenomena begins to happen -- they look for the good in us.
SOUL TRAVEL: THE KINGDOM OF BHUTAN, LAND OF THE THUNDER DRAGON PART I
Bhutan is a tiny country in the Himalayas bordered by Tibet on the North and India on the East, West and South. Nepal is to the West after you cross Sikkim (state in India). It encompasses approximately 46000 square miles of mostly forested land, deep valleys and high mountains. The one airport in the country is in Paro which has the least hazardous but still rather hairy approach for airplanes through the mountains. The capital is Thimpu, a city of about 40-50,000 people plus at least 20,000 dogs . (Slight exaggeration -I'll explain next month.) There isn't a traffic light (or central heating) anywhere in the country. A uniformed policeman conducts the traffic flow where necessary which is not many places. There is a much beloved king who has four wives - all sisters. Westerners usually find that rather curious and challenging but I was told each of the sisters has her own house which probably contributes to smoother transitions for the King.
The country is clean and almost everyone has a home and their own plot of ground to farm. We experienced somewhat erratic electricity in the rural areas (almost all of Bhutan) but there were always candles -- except for the night I suddenly found myself is total darkness while sitting in the bathtub washing my hair and doing laundry. For the most part, we had hot water and a western style toilet which are two items that define "civilization" for me in a third world country.
One very narrow, mountainous, sort-of paved main road with switchback after switchback runs east and west. We traveled in a caravan of five cars over most of it going East from Paro and returned over the same route. This meant crossing twelve high mountain passes (six passes two times). We only caught glimpses of the snow-capped Himalayas through clouds that linger on the mountain tops this time of year but were dazzled by the many blooming magnolia and red, pink and white rhododendron trees at the higher elevations. Verdant forests and steep mountainsides lined with terraced plots for growing wheat, rice, potatoes and barley lay in the protective bosom of the giant peaks of the Himalayas. Fog often rolls about the mountains and adds a sense of magic and mysticism, lending credence to the hundreds of myths of deities and spirits that haunt the land along with a few yetis and reincarnated lamas. This is not to suggest there are not reincarnated lamas.
Taking advantage of the good weather this time of year, Nepali and Indian road crews were working to repair the roads, breaking apart rocks into smaller pieces with hammer and chisel and laying them in beds over which macadam would be placed, one wheelbarrow at a time. Hairpin curves, several hundred foot dropoffs and large trucks bringing commercial products from India created some nervous moments and a number of tight squeezes. Anyone who had a tendency to be carsick was on drugs. I am usually pretty cool in these type circumstances but there was a time or two when my heart was in my mouth and at one point I asked the driver if he wouldn't mind honking before charging around the curves. Despite the seemingly hazardous road, I never saw one accident, not even a fenderbender.
Bhutan is primarily a Buddhist country and the atmosphere of this tiny kingdom and its people reverberates with the gentleness of the Buddhist philosophy and respect for all life, each other and their deities. There is a kindness that emanates from the place and the people. Many shrines (stupas/chortens), small and large, are found along the road and scattered throughout the countryside. You always knew when you had reached the top of a pass because there would be a large stupa and clusters of several 30-50 foot poles embedded in the ground, the poles lined with colorful prayer flags fluttering in the wind and broadcasting prayers and blessings to the heavens. The flags are a form of spiritual communion with the universe and fly with abandon not only at the top of the passes but from rooftops, temple courtyards, meadows and in front of houses. Bhutanese prayer flags are usually long strips of silk in one of five different colors, each color having a special meaning. Several messages are printed on the silk from inked wooden blocks into which the message and often a picture have been carved.
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There is much to share with you -- so much lore, so many deities, so many lamas, so much tea, so much incense, so many monks, so much chanting, so much rice! It is overwhelming and impossible for most Westerners, including me, to really comprehend it all. But what an experience! I keep remembering and remembering always with a feeling of serenity and well being which I attribute to the majesty of the land, the fact there are no frenetic cities, little Westernization and the spiritualism of the overwhelming Buddhist presence.
Next month I will talk about the culture, the art, the national dress, a strenuous hike up to a monastery (at 10,000 feet), the surprise we found when we arrived, the ceremony in the temple with the eight year old reincarnated lama, being served butter tea (yuk!) and more.
In the meantime, I have 60 rolls of slides to peruse, a slide show to put together and hope to have several photos from the trip to post on the DWE website for you to enjoy.
The photos below:
1. Young girl in front of a temple (notice all of the shoes outside) adding sand to the fire to make smoke. Smoke has a religious significance (but I don't know what exactly) and the worshippers pass their prayer wheels through it and chant their mantras over it.
2. Archery is the national sport. Archery matches are everywhere and a joyous circle dance is performed when someone hits the target. The bows in the photo are quite streamlined and aerodynamic. They also use wooden bows. We all tried our hand at archery. The target is about 1 and ½ football fields away. None of us hit it or, for that matter, even came close.
3. Photo of dzong (old fort) with jacarunda tree. The dzong is now a monastery and houses a lovely temple - as most all monastery's do. (I thought the crows added a great touch).
4. Photo at top of pass with all the prayer flags and view of the Himalayas
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SEE YOU NEXT MONTH!
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WINGS Vol. 1, No. 5, June, 2002
