From Boudha, Nepal. This morning I went running up to a Krishna temple with Chandra and Rajeesh. Chandra (center) is hoping to move the USA. He is an excellent cook, a hard worker, and has a good education. Rajeesh hasn’t had a day of school in his life, but he is startlingly clever and can run circles around Chandra and me.
The sky was cloudy as we left town. Raj was leading and felt like going a bit farther, so we passed the below the temple heading for the next hill. We passed the rice fields where women were out weeding, brilliant red and magenta in a sea of green.
As we rounded the top of the hill, circling back around to the Temple from the back side, there was the temple floating pink on its own hill above the green corn and rice fields, with Boudha beyond it and then the dramatic rise of the foothills of the Himalayas.
We descended down the hill, past the corn and up the stairs on the far side of the temple, and just as we reached it, the sun came out, having patiently waited for us to wind our way here.
To be in these places with these men is worth everything it took to get here. These are the unexpected moments that happen when you let yourself be led beyond your plans and beyond your comfort zone. How is that torn cartilage in my knee doing? It cannot shout as loud as the glory of this moment. I'll be limping this afternoon, but it will be worth it.