7 May 2013

Himalayan Learnings

To the Himalayas I wanted to go
Of the Himalayas I thought and dreamt
After years of dreaming and waiting
To the Himalayas I finally went

Loudly the Himalayas called to me
And to the Himalayas I did troop
And this time I travelled with the people
I loved most dearly in a group

In the Himalayas I sit right now
Nestled cozy in Earth's Paradise
A part of me is feeling very good
And a part of me is feeling very nice

But another part of me inside
Is feeling lonely and alone
But having arrived in Paradise
How could I possibly groan

How can this heart be not content
How can this heart need ever more
How can satisfaction elude me now
When I have everything I wanted before

What is this endless search I'm on
What will fill up this heart of mine
Where is this place on planet Earth
Where desires and fulfilment really align!

        It is interesting what I realised soon after writing this poem. Since the realisation did not come in verse I am writing in prose now. I had been feeling frustrated that being in the Himalayas and being in pristine nature was not automatically making me happy. My flash of insight came when I thought of the many monasteries that abound in this place (including the two I had just visited in the last two days). Clearly the monks were striving for similar things as me; peace and happiness. However, they were not just sitting idle amidst the mountains in the belief that nature's peace will rub off on them. They were working hard on their inner landscapes to make this happen. They were following rituals, meditations, exercise, diet, abstinence and carefully crafting the inner and outer experiences of their life to move towards greater peace and happiness. So too I must! :-).
      With this flash of insight I shifted gears from being a seeker of peace and happiness to being a creator of the same. Even though I might have been in the most conducive environment of the Himalayan mountains, I realized that I could not let go of the responsibility of crafting the inner landscapes of my mind. So for the rest of my trip (and hopefully I will continue doing it for the rest of my life) I took responsibility to co-create the happiness and peace I desired. I co-created these feelings and experiences with other human beings, with nature, and indeed with the wonderful Himalayan mountains. I must admit that once I started making my own inner efforts, the presence of the mountains did give an amazing lift and buoyancy to my inner experience.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Blog Archive