I thought about traveling to the Mt. Everest region while I was here. Go big or go home has been a familiar mantra for me so traveling to Everest fits that so appropriately. After looking into the possibility of going to Lawudo Gompa and finding out the flights there were cancelled 5 days in a row due to weather, I realized after talking to people that I am a little late in the season to be traveling to those altitudes. It is going into winter here in the northern hemisphere. It’s not that it isn’t possible, it’s just that it comes with the risk of taking days to get in/out of the small towns by airplane, having to wait out weather in the villages due to weather, not to mention the cold and wind. Plus, I wanted to get out of Kathmandu anyway and there are many other options.
It was great to be out of Kathmandu and land in Pokhara where the air quality improved 50%. The bus ride was a little crazy on a road that could barely get two trucks by each other going in the opposite direction without coming to almost a complete stop. The windows on the bus were in such a location that you couldn’t see the road very much which I think was a good thing because it got a little scary at times. A 200km drive took about 7 hours, where in the USA the same ride would take about 3 hours. The bus I was on was a luxury style bus. The pictures on their website is of the brand-new bus. The reality of it all is that it’s not well maintained and dusty and dirty. And it was nice to just be out of Kathmandu.
As I got closer to Pokhara the lines of the 8000m Annapurna mountains came into view. Suddenly, my body and mind got still and knew I was heading into the right direction. Ever since I left the big cities of Chicago, San Francisco and New York and moved to Maine, I grew very appreciative being part of nature and in nature. We cannot escape the law of nature anyway so might as well accept that and follow the rules. I’ve become in awe of this place near the Annapurna Mountain Range.
One of the things I have learned to enjoy in my previous travels is allowing myself the time to settle in to places and not feel so much pressure to take in all the sightseeing and things to do because time is so limited. When I first arrive somewhere I’m typically tired from a long journey of hundreds or thousands of kilometers and need to rest. I planned to stay in Kathmandu for a week and I didn’t know that would be too much time for me to be there. Life is mysterious and full of learning… suffering is optional… and it’s nice to feel like I could hang out in Pokhara for a while.
The Airbnb I am staying at is run by a Tibetan man, Thupten, who runs a company called Tibetan Encounters. Thupten’s parents escaped from Tibet while China was attacking Tibet and his family landed here in Nepal in a refugee camp in 1959 around the same time the Dali Lama escaped. When I was in South Africa I took a tour of the tenements where the native south Africans were forced to live during British rule before the abolition of apartheid and it helped me understand the culture a bit better while I was there. There is a history of Nepal and the people here, as well as Tibet and why Tibetans are here in Nepal that I needed to experience and was most likely the reason I landed in at his Airbnb. What I learned was a big reminder of why I am a teacher, coach and spiritual guide and what I need to continue to be doing.
I’m sure you are waiting for me to tell you what it was that I learned, right?
I’m not going to get into the history of Tibet, China and Nepal because you can look all that up on the internet. Nepal is a developing country and rated one of the poorest in the world. People here in Nepal are trying to survive just to put food on their plates and have a roof over their head that doesn’t leak regardless if they are Tibetan or Nepalese. Did you know the Nepal government has never granted any of the Tibetan people rights to get a passport, or get a job here or even own a car or property? And that’s over 50 years ago. I was astounded…
The USA is a melting pot where people have escaped war torn countries, genocide or just wanted a better way of life for themselves. People, no matter where they came from, had the chance to eventually get work, get citizenship and gain the basic human needs to survive in the United States. They still retained their dignity. Something is happening very differently here.
I’ve had several conversations since I’ve been here in Pokhara with Nepalese and Tibetans and have learned a lot about the culture, the economy and their religion. One of the things that I’m having a hard time accepting is the treatment of the Tibetans in their refugee camps… or as I would like to call them now, over 50 years later… their villages. Some of the Nepalese people and the government here have this idea that since Nepal is a developing country they cannot offer the Tibetans basic rights to get work, become citizens, get passports and own property because that would take away the opportunities from the local Nepalese people.
Sure, taking care of our own country and our own selves makes sense on one hand and in a small minded and ego centric sort of way but, the United States has not operated in that kind of way when people left their countries. I can feel this way of being as I walk around town and see the MANY shops selling the knockoffs of North Face products with all the owners saying they will give the best deal to me… better than their competition, even right next door. I’m really good at the bickering and haggling over price and I also have a good time doing just that. But, most everyone here is just trying to survive to make a living and there’s something about the haggling to get the best price is making me think.
One of the things that I’ve learned over the years is how we gauge success, not by how much money we have in the bank at the end of the month but, how much others in relationships to us are being successful. I even wrote about it at the beginning of my India stay and it’s once again revealing itself to me here in Nepal. Responsible Tourism is the buzz word that comes to mind. Check out the definition of responsible tourism here.
During my stay in Kerala, India and working with a couple of people trying to plan a cultural and culinary tour of the area I was turned on to responsible tourism thanks to Linda and Nayab. While on a tour with Thupten of Tibetan Encounters I witnessed the way Thupten gives back to his village and not just take from them and I have a lot of respect for how he is operating by giving back to his village in Nepal where a lot of people are just struggling just to survive.
Even in these developing countries like Nepal and India I am learning by others’ example and living what it means to be a world-centric thinker versus an ego-centric thinker. I can see the people who are looking out for only themselves to survive and I can feel the people with hearts who, not only are looking after themselves but, are also giving back to the community and the world.
Having this experience has continued to allow me to expand my own thinking from ego-centric to world-centric ways of being in the world. and it makes me wonder how an expanded way of looking at giving back to the community and the world might look to put into action leading by example.
I’m curious to know how you have gotten out of your ego-centric ways of being so you can offer your best and most unique gifts to the world. Post a comment here or just email me… I’d love to hear about it.
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