Namaste in Nepal

Tea brought to me from my host after a hands pressed greeting in reverent salutation to the divine in me, a bow, and spoken ” Namaste” was a perfect beginning to my first day in Nepal. I returned the greeting. Which , it turns out, is actually the common way to greet everyone everytime you meet. A recognition that I will treat you with respect for we share a common divinity. It was perfect. There is a garden, and walkway with tables and chairs in the center of The Kathmandu Guest House in the Thamel district. Not a restaurant or cold cereal and bagel counter at the Holiday Inn Express. An actual garden that they strategically ( with Zen qualities) placed accommodations to sit your bum and place your teacup. I listened not to Frank Sinatra or Boy George on a satellite loop approved from corporate, but the tweets and caws, flitters and flaps of the birds. The honks of the cars beyond the walls and the blurred ambience of 1 million voices positioning and planning, posturing and bargaining as the small street businesses do, but this background does little to move my soul as the birds have taken me by their beaks to a higher place

in the tangled web of 52 year old electrical wiring. Mostly discarded and not firing but remnant memories like dead-end paths of a labyrinth. Who would want to untangle that mess. Best to be creative and let the birds have their nests. The worms of my mind will bring good karma to the blind open- mouthed youth.

Did you notice that the older gentleman wiping morning dew from the seats asked me if he ” could please” bring me another cup of tea. He then thanked me for allowing him to serve me. Upon offering money he said it was free. I somehow feel we BOTH profited by that exchange. The birds watched and approved of the humans interacting in peace and god-like sharing. Oh, those moments of bliss.

It was hard to tell who was more grateful, me or the host. I believe he won. He has had more practice at being grateful and I, not so much experience of being gracious OR grateful. This however seems to be “the garden” to plant and see the growth, and to use the senses to appreciate its beauty. It is immediately apparent that FIVE senses are not enough to see whats going on here.

I was bombarded today on my walk through the streets by those that wanted ” to help” me. Several just wanted to walk and talk until I basically paid them to leave. There is a nice way to say that, but if I was THAT nice and enlightened, I wouldn’t be here. It is OF COURSE the human interactions that are important, since I am sure that ‘The Almighty’ has the love and kindness thing figured out. That would be an easy task to work toward God loving you. You literally DO just have to get yourself out of the way. Stop hating yourself and your past decisions and perceived failures to please others…and BOOM, you will feel God’s love.

The more people, the fallible, needy, greedy, irritable asses we are…the more variables in the equasion thus the more unpredictable the outcome. Even if I WAS a constant the addition of even one variable makes the outcome complex to me with infinite possible outcomes. Relationships, even street interactions are more avant-garde art in their progress than an equation. Once again artists have the advantage on seeing life’s beauty versus us rigid scientists. At least one saving grace for this clinical analyst is that mathematics has developed with quantum states to see the possibilities. The many dimensions and timelines occurring at once…and the subtle changes from the butterfly’s wing, the constant change, the flow of the buddha stream. Is it a flow of One consciousness or a kindergarten class all throwing pebbles into the reflecting pool? Perhaps the Almighty anticipated the field trip. Perhaps he drove the bus.

In any case, come 5 a.m. in the light rain and fog on the mountain above Lukla, I roll the dice on the historically most deadly airstrip in the World. I hope the Almighty knows how to fly a plane.