man's stripe is inside

The inhabitants of 'Little Tibet," who have turned the wasteland like the elephant's skin into the oasis like a bright green gem. The way that they express time is also peculiar like this: 'after the sun sets,' 'when the sun is suspended on the mountain top,' 'at the singing time of the birds before the sun rises.' Helena Norberg-Hodge, a Swedish linguist, writes in as following:

"The most important thing for Ladakhi people is to build community without avarice and to coexist with nature. They brew the beverage from food left out after a meal, feed the animals wash water, use the animal excrement as compost, and help others after finishing their own work."

Tzering Dolma, a country girl asks the author,
"You said that other people are not happy like us?"

Ladakh lacks a lot of things. It is short of natural resources, oxygen, and water. Nevertheless, they have turned the shortage into abundance by practicing a simple and plain life in insufficiency. So they are poor but their minds are not poor. There is a famous saying in Ladakh: "The tiger's stripe is outside, while man's stripe is inside." It means that one's inside or personality is more important than one's appearance.


excerpet from Delwa's travel journal; more to be read at:
http://www.delwa.org/delwa01/ladakh56.html




Photos: top, fields and mountains around Leh, Ladakh ©Oriental Travels; bottom, young monk ©Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre in Ladakh

a journey's journal

The journey began more than 20 years ago, as the seeds of a dream to circumnavigate the globe were cultivated from a deeply personal and painful experience.

I spent a good portion of my youth in hospitals with my mother, who suffered from a degenerative kidney disease. As the disease progressed, she had made one last attempt to see the world by traveling to Europe.

Unfortunately, when she arrived, her health declined and was forced to return to the states where she died shortly thereafter. I learned two powerful lessons.

The first is to appreciate every moment of this incredible gift we call life, no matter what it brings.

The second, to live your dreams despite your fears.

Twenty years later, on July 1, 2005, after much hard work and deep personal sacrifice, my dream of seeing the world is coming true.

This journey is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Carol Ann Gunn, who was taken from this world far too early.

Now, please pull up a chair and enjoy the ride!



This is the introductory text to Rick Gunn's beautiful online travel journal, with hundreds of truly heartfelt photos like the one above. You can savour his pictures and words at:
http://www.rickgunnphotography.com/project.php

His lessons are important ones to be learned -- which is: experienced. Life itself is the experience shared here.

Photo above: water brings bliss ©Rick Gunn