Lee Lee graciously allowing me to sit on her neck.
As you prepare to enter this new year there were a few lessons we were gifted with from our Thailand trip that we’d like to share.
- Fear Not
Sit unsecured atop a pachyderm with a propensity for walking in water? Why not!
Float down a river on a half-submerged collection of sticks? Of Course!
Get a tattoo in Bangkok? YOLO!
“Fear Not” appears 365 times in the Bible. I take that as a daily reminder. Once a day go a little out of your comfort zone. Smile at a stranger. (OK, not everyone is crazy enough to ride an elephant with no restraint in a jungle far away from her PPO but you get the drift.)
2. Practice Tolerance
The Thai people coexist peacefully and pleasantly with a wide array of humanity. The country is 95% Buddhist but considers any church, temple, synagogue or mosque a revered and holy place where God dwells. They are respectful of alternative lifestyles and embrace the dignity of all individuals. Although their new monarch has a sordid past, they look optimistically toward their country’s future.
Catholic Church in Bangkok
3. Watch Your Karma
The Monks in Thailand go out each morning with their alms bowl. If the everyday folk don’t contribute, they don’t eat. Consequently, whatever the Monks take in is shared among those who are in their care (think kids whose parents can’t afford to keep them and bring them to the monastery) and also the living things around them: cats, dogs and even the fish in the river.
Cat on the monastery grounds
Catfish in congregation in front of the temple.
To all who travel this amazing journey we call life, Carmageddon wishes you peace, joy and all blessings in this new year.
Happy 2017!
I wouldn’t leave you hanging about the tattoo.
Follow