Two travelers, 

A beaten path covered in footprints, 

A worn map, detailing

Where to go, 

Where to go,

Expectation, joy, challenges

Harmonizing

Creating learning, hope, 

Traveling on land, 

Traveling in heart

… 

中国有一个说法: “身体和思想，总有一个在路上…” In Chinese there is saying that with one’s  mind and body, there must always be one on the road. In whatever you do, there must be a spirit of travel and energy that moves you forward, whether your inside an educational establishment or outside on the beaten path. 

My feet are getting a little itchy… 

Photo: Shangri-La, Yunnan. 

“长夜沾湿何由彻！ 

安得广厦千万间，大庇天下寒士俱欢颜，

风雨不动安如山。

呜呼！何时眼前突兀见此屋，

吾庐独破受冻死亦足!”

“When will this long night of drizzle come to an end??

Now I dream of an immense mansion, tens of thousands of rooms, 

Where all the cold creatures can take shelter, their faces alight; 

Not moved by the wind or the rain, a mansion as solid as the mountain

Alas, when shall I see such a majestic house?

If I could see this, even though my poor house were torn down, 

Even though I were frozen to death I would be content.”

This was the first poem I read by Du Fu. One of the SUPER famous Chinese poets of the Tang Dynasty. I visited his cottage in Sichuan a few months ago and felt his life and words take a few steps closer to my heart. How long ago was this poem written? Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, during a time of rebellion and unrest. His hope for a house that would ‘shelter’ all us ‘cold creatures’ is as relevant now as it was then though. I think… In each of our own ways, are we all not builders trying to make this new ‘home’ where all the diverse peoples of the world may find comfort and contentment? 

Not in my lifetime will I see this new home, but sometimes I feel I get glimpses of it when (among other things) I’m with different friends, when we’re discovering and learning together.

Actually, when I’m in China. How so? Well, I believe the Chinese people are forward thinking. There is an inquisitiveness that characterises many Chinese people, and they aren’t afraid to ask questions and to think about how new learning can be aplied practically.  

Being here sometimes makes me feel as if I’m looking through a little peephole in a door, I can’t see exactly what the house inside looks like, but I can hear warm voices of a family. Like good old Du Fu there is a feeling of contentment… Even though outside it may be freeeeeezing!

…. Know what I mean?! 

(Photo: Sichuan Province, Chengdu. Poem: Translated in Joe Carter’s book “Some Thoughts on China and the New World Order”) 

Yes! The Chinese love to laugh! Let loose and also have silly moments! 

Sharing in laughter (perhaps even silliness!) and happiness is one of the best ways of bridging those man made limitations that can often stop us from crossing that bridge, where on the other side lies new experiences with new friends. 

When sharing in the patterns and expressions of the heart (happiness etc…) I feel that true friendship can arise. Not just a friendship that’s based on feelings of “hey, you speak Chinese/English, therefore you can be like my key to help me improve my language, to success!” or “You eat with chopsticks?! Oh cool! Haha…wow…you understand Chinese culture…. (awkward pause afterwhich either part continues slurping on their noodles) 

From experience here, friendship is created when either person starts exploring what is more meaningful in their life with each other, when either person is willing to learn and grow from another. When either person is willing to LAUGH, and share in each other’s joy.

When finding yourself at this point in the path of friendship you might start hearing things like: 我跟你风雨同舟I will stick with you through wind and rain, through all the challenges in life. 

That’s the kind of friendship I wish to seek and create with the Chinese, 没错, yes sir indeed!
 

突然领悟了。中文是我心里的一种语言。怎么说呢？因为我感觉这个语言就像艺术一样。

中文把我带近了一个新的世界。这个世界好奇妙啊，好有magical的感觉。

Getting all romantic again on the Chinese language. 

Chinese is art. It’s drama. It’s emotion. It’s history. It’s magic.

Chinese is art. It’s brought me into a new world, “a dazzling place place i never knew”. (why not break out the magic of disney to describe the magic of Chinese huh?!)

I think I love it so much because.. It’s a harmony of two of my greatest loves: conversing with the Chinese, and art. It’s a harmony that’s music to my heart. And we all know that music is the food of love, so in the context of learning Chinese… all I have to say is PLAY ON. 

加油, jia(add) you(oil)… add oil in Chinese! In other words… Come on, you can do it! An expression commonly heard in busy times/exams/work/challenges/competitions…

…

Yes, I need to 加油 in the face of these coming weeks which are packed with (what seems like) endless amounts of deadlines (I’ve never liked that obtrusively negative felt word), but, the warm hand of summer has been knocking on our fairly chilly spring door these last couple of days… so seeing as the sun is making such a manifest appearance these days, I will be getting my energy from SOLAR POWER… none of your non renewable oil resources, thank you very much!

… Apologies.

In my defense, my heart and head have been buried in Chinese and in research about sustainability, indeed, research IN Chinese about sustainability and our environment!

 Well, in whatever place/situation you are in right now… 加油friends! May whatever energy you draw upon give you motivation to keep moving forwards step by step…

… And..

Don’t forget to 加soul! :)


Photo: Walking around campus in Ningbo, taking a break and snapping some photos of the flowers that are in full bloom. 

心里平静，心里平静，心里平静。inner peace inner peace inner peace. 

deep breath. 

a busy month. 

forward.

and

don’t forget 

to

smile.

:)

photo: walking round beautiful lijiang in yunnan. 

Getting stuck into uni work these days makes me long for the unrestrained (in some ways!), experience filled life of being on the road… 

But then…

Who says I can’t experience that here? As I go on the treturous adventure of reading articles and journals.. Exploring new truths, witnessing new landscapes of learning and tasting diverse flavours of human thought…

哎呀….

Of course saying one thing is always easier than doing it. 

But then…

I think of the genius film ‘Up’. 

‘The Spirit of Adventure’.

Yes. Of course there can be wonder and beauty in my day to day life. Of course. 

For that is the meaning (one of them at least…) of the true spirit of adventure, is it not? Knowing that each day we are given the opportunity to be amazed and have our breath taken away by our interactions with both friends and strangers, knowing that this day is a day where we can take another step. A small step, but a step nonetheless and learn something new. 

‘Adventure is out there’ friends, today/tomorrow is another one :) 

…

Photo: Horse riding in northern Yunnan by the mountains.  

As there are angels in the west, so there are dragons in the east. Poised above temples.

Photo taken in Xiamen.

A while ago, I read a quote that said “…Children are the most precious treasure a community can possess..”

Reflecting on this quote now as I think back at a joyful, challenging, get-inside-your-heart-and-twirl- around-the-waves-of-your-watery-thoughts, experience that I took part in yesterday. Helping at a small, humble school at the top of a worn down building, where inside life, noise, tears, smiles and screams were all being mixed together as autistic children aged between 2-12 were being accompanied by tired yet strong Chinese mothers, grandmothers and aunties.

With some Chinese students from school, dressed in a white hoodie with symbols of hands and faces on, twiddling my thumbs and wondering how I had thrown myself into the deep end again, we set out. Though nervous, I was aware of a feeling of gratitude that helped me see what a privilege it was to, once again, walk with the Chinese youth on a path of service.

I was paired with a little girl called 悦悦，yueyue, meaning pleased/happy/joy. She was gangly in figure, with spindly legs that looked like chopsticks, but which I soon found out loved to be moving and dancing. She didn’t speak much. Words were replaced with lots of laughter (laughter which came from touching and joyfully squeezing my very ‘western’, large and ‘tall’ nose!) and a curious nature which caused her to bend half of her body, then cock her head up, gazing at you with her almond shaped warm brown eyes.

With her spindly legs and my twiddling thumbs we found a common language.

The disabled and vulnerable are, for the most part in China, still tucked away in a labeled box that might read ‘we don’t know how to deal with you’.

But children are the MOST precious treasure a community can possess. In light of what happened yesterday with curious yueyue whose ears would hearken to the sound of children crying, who would then grab them and stare at them with her owl eyes, I ask the question: Is she too not a precious jewel? A jewel that can also cause the stirring of life in our hearts? A jewel who can cause the realization that caring and utlizing our energies for the care of the vulnerable is a gift and responsiblity for all of us? A jewel who laughs and feels joy, thus serving and changing those around her in an invaluable way: by feeding the spirit of all those whom she comes in contact with.

Dear Yueyue:

You move in your own world,
Can I join you?
My legs are not so spindly,
But they can move.
Can you teach me the dance
Of your
Joy?
I will be patient,
But can I ask for your patience
Too?
With the words I read
For all,
For you,
The body of the world,
Reverberates,
With the laughter
Your heart
Speaks,
So I will try,
And hear with my spirit,
The language
Of your world,
That moves
Our world.

…

Chinese lady who was so in love with this bright little one here today at my friend’s Hawaiin ‘luau’ themed baby shower!

I love this photo. I feel like it’s a snapshot of our future. 

This little boy is growing up in China. He will speak at least one language when he’s older, and I’m sure his heart will be so open to embracing cultures and peoples, just as he is being tenderly embraced here. 

Will always surprise me. 

人们总是让我吃惊。

~

:)

The Chinese will always keep me on my toes. And oddly enough… Will help me listen to the people that are a little closer to home, and remind me of the gems that can still be unearthed in every.single.country. 

Love.  

”人类的是界有一双翅膀，一边是男人，另一边是女人。 只有当两翼均衡地成长后，这鸟儿才能飞翔。“

“The world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female… When the two wings or parts become equivalent in strength, enjoying the same prerogatives, the flight of man will be exceedingly lofty and extraordinary.” ~ ‘Abdu’l-Baha 

…

Hands. 

The warm, weathered and capable hands of a Tibetan woman in Shangri-la. Leading us on a path toward the mountains. Unaware that she was setting a very profound example to us through her strength; a strength that wasn’t just visible in her tanned and worn hands. 

Striving for profoundness, simplicity. 

As reflected on in Chinese class the other day: 简单也是深刻！Simple is deep. 

Sometimes I am overwhelmed with thoughts, messy and tangled like a ball of string that’s been in the paws of a playful cat for way too long. I am comforted, however, by this: 

“The spirit of man is itself informed and strengthened during meditation; through it affairs of which man knew nothing are unfolded before his view. Through it he receives Divine inspiration, through it he receives heavenly food….” ~ ‘Abdu’l-Baha 

Through quietness, through letting that big ball of string unwind and fall away, perhaps simplicity and profoundness can walk hand in hand. 

Photo: Walking up Emei mountain in Sichuan province. Encountering many Tibetan monks.  

A whisper, 

A wisp, 

A wish, 

What did you say?

Flit, float, fly

Pearl drops from their eyes,

Collect, gather, unite.

~ In the clouds. Flying from the East to the West last summer.