I think today was our best..day care was successful and fun...a visit to the Tibetan Library and archives complete with a talk from the Dalai Lama's translator himself (name?..) so amazing! I could actually write a thesis on his talk..so I won't bore you. In a nutshell, he spoke about the world, it's politics, the environment and religion. Is that even possible in a nutshell...from someone who is smiling and making you laugh while dressed in a burgundy robe? My worries evaporated as I listened to him, and no..I am not converting to Buddhism..I was just in awe of his truth. The power of his words and delivery was pure charisma without the politician. We followed the talk with questions from the group..one volunteer asked him.."What can we do to raise awareness in our country about the oppression of the Tibetan people?" and he answered.."Thank you for asking this question..but we must not think about your country...we must think about the entire world. We must think about what direction we are headed in as humans...what road to take...and be more concerned with the happiness of our fellow men. It matters not what money we make, but how satisfied we are with our lives. We, as Tibetans, are suffering, yes, but compared to the world we have everything. Two hands, legs, eyes, ears and mouths and minds..many people in this life do not. We must be grateful for these things and give love to those who have less.".

This is simmering in my soul like the best soup I have ever made...or eaten. It all comes down to food for me..which brings me great pleasure..as did this talk.

McLeod Gange and the temple of the Dalia Lama was next on the agenda where the group split into bits and went their own ways until dinner. The temple was fabulous..lots of monks and monkeys all practicing their meditations. Dalai Lama was not in residence so it was pretty low key. We all met up at a rooftop terrace restuarant that served, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and Indian food??! That is just wrong...although it is as strange as a NJ diner owned by a Greek family serving steaks, omelettes, pies and baklava all at the same time, right? Here we are on food again...but...I did enjoy a nice glass of red wine..first in two weeks. And of course can you guess what we ate?...pizza..yum.

Taxi ride home in time to see the soccer game and the US win..which naturally made the house vibrate with cheers. Maybe the fellow villagers thought this was some sort of new chant or prayer..let's hope.

Peace be with the world..I know it's a big prayer, but I'm going to pray it anyway. XO