Adventures in the mountains

The coincidences in life often lead us to places we hadn't thought we'd end up in. Making a friend at a swimming pool some years ago that turns out to be more than a meeting of chance has led me to wonder how much is really destined for us. I

 am up in the mountains of Mae Hong Son, Thailand, with this friend and she was keen on having me share about the programme for the spiritual empowerment of junior youth. I did my part in these two days and they want to initiate a process of identifying animators and bringing them for training. They're all at a refugee camp and belong to an indigenous community in a country that I've also 'just happened' to get involve in in the past year.Last year, in a visit to Ottawa, i met a family which i believe lived at one of the camps here and might belong to the same community.

What are the chances that these happenings take place one after another? Are these really just coincidences? I'm beginning to believe that everything happens as it should happen and what is meant to be becomes realized in due time, if we are mindful yet willing for it to take its course. Hmmmm...wisdom, maybe?

By the way, these few days have been a mix of meeting interesting people, having crazy conversations i didn't think I'd have and riding up and down and all around the mountains by motorbike, in really cold weather. Wish I had a camera attached to my forehead so that i could capture the beauty with a blink ;)

 

 The bus ride between Omkoi to Kiuv Lom at 8 in the morning.

I stood at this spot in Kiuv Lom to wait for a bus which I was told would not stop for passengers, that I would have to jump on to, somehow after confirming that it is the bus that heads to Mae Hong Son! It turned out that the bus did stop (thankfully) and the ride was a pleasant one, though it was 6 hours instead of the 3 hours they said it would be. 

It's not yet the end

"Everything works out in the end.  If it's not worked out, it's not yet the end."

A few days ago, I was feeling quite miserable and having thoughts of hopelessness about a particular environment in which I work in.  "Why must things like these keep happening again and again?  Will it ever change??"

Since that day, I have been proven wrong a little more each day.  And long story made short, it seems like everything is going to be ok in the end.  Or, at least, there is hope :D

In the mean time, I've found quite a few excellent translators for future works, too!

Thank God for music

Smile

By Nat King Cole

Smile though your heart is aching

Smile even though it's breaking

When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by

If you smile through your fear and sorrow

Smile and maybe tomorrow

You'll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness

Hide every trace of sadness

Although a tear may be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying? 

You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just smile

The air is still, where is the breeze i felt as i opened the window?

The sky is empty, where are the stars i had seen on my way home?

Silence in the night, no one in the shadows

Swinging in the hammock all alone.

Then, the soft winds whisper to my ear, feel this

And the faint glitter from afar saying, see me

The voices in my mind telling me, remember

Recalling the times He has always been here.

Just as I was getting a hang at doing what, in my estimation, a resource person should be doing, I was put on a call with the Office. After some explaining about the progress of the program in the region, the question came. Hesitation, not because I didn't want to do it, but because I wasn't sure i was ready to let go of what I had just started to enjoy doing that is a part of my role, systematising the learning being generated in this productive and creative community.

Well, I consulted my trusted colleague and she gave me much assurance that this is the way to go. Now, she's confidently on the path of taking on the role i played before while i embark on a significant and steep learning curve, the third in 5 years.

I love what I get to do in this new role! The people i get to meet and build friendships and learn with, the travel to different places to learn the cultures in the region and relish the beauty of seeing the oneness of humanity in its diversity. And of course, to see the progress of the program throughout the region and be a part of it. What more can one ask for?