Our date with a Lama happened some years ago (when travel was safe and viruses weren’t a concern) as the kids were growing up, and I highly recommend it to you all. My wife, Nan, ageless, and daughters Andie, 16, and Erin, 24, at the time enthusiastically joined the adventure.
This was neither a visit to a ranch with spitting animals nor a trip to, at the time, M.J.’s Never Land, let me explain.
Our date with a Lama leader
A while back, a realtor in one of my classes told me of an upcoming visit to this country by the exiled, Tibetan Dalai Lama. His visit to the USA was to include a long awaited, 3 day training, the first to Tucson in over a decade. It was good news/ bad news. Yes, he was coming. No, it wasn’t in L.A. Yes it was open to young people. No, there was no availability. Yes we could be wait-listed. But as with things that are “supposed to happen,” when we let go of concern… reservations opened for us. Our date with a lama was happening!
And while scratching our heads, bemused by our own desire, Nan and I carve time from work, Andie arranges to miss 2 days of her critical 11th grade, and Erin, a therapist, rearranges her client schedule. So here’s the picture – we are packing and traveling as a family to see a man whose books, even in English, are a challenge and who will be speaking primarily in Tibetan. So, off we go.
The experience was fascinating and the message appreciated. My family and I came away with more than a few concepts, lots of great moments from the ridiculous to profound, and with both the gratitude and bragging rights of saying “I was there.” It was, for me, a matter of being in the presence and learning from a world leader who is making a difference in millions of lives. A Nobel Peace Prize Laureate who who refers to himself as a “simple monk,” does what he can to affect peaceful changes for the preservation and good of humanity. A man whose people have lived in exile most of his life…and who holds compassion for his oppressors on the same level as the compassion he holds for the oppressed. Here is a doer and a leader. Whether one understands his teachings, believes or agrees with his politics or adheres to his philosophy of compassion or not; the experience of being in the presence of excellence is a powerful inspiration. And, the event was what most all events, given attention, are; it was a bonding event for my family and we will each and all have stories to share forever.
Here’s my point.
Listening to music, hearing or reading autobiographies, biographies, inspiration, or personal growth and development are important. But, being there in person is powerful and life changing. Don’t we talk about the ball game, the theater event, the seminar, our date with a Lama, the political rally, the rock concert we ATTENDED with more passion than those we see on TV? The preparations, the travel, the sensory stimulations, the contact with other people, the discussions that arise all add to the whole of who we are. What do we talk about days, weeks, months and years later? It’s those things that impacted us that caused us to think, to laugh, to cry, to animate, to grow, to feel, to share and to LIVE.
Presently, going to a restaurant is cause for mention. Gyms and other business who struggled through the pandemic are coming back to near normal. We’ll stop talking about them soon. So what adventures will you be able to share?
Jim Rohn said, “Don’t miss anything.” Woody Allen (in the days when it was not politically incorrect to quote him, declared, “90% of success is Showing Up.” And Nan offers, “Be careful. What’s easy to do is easy NOT to do. It’s easy to say ‘No: I’m too tired, it’s too long, too late, too expensive, too different, too the same, too too too’.” Bottom line is – we have this life and we pay a dear price: we give up a day each day. Memories and magic request our presence.
Life has a way of getting busy and sometimes we lose sight of what is important. Sitting in front of computer screens alone, Zooming, watching television’s lops (least objectionable programs) for hours on end, working alone from home, commuting for hours each week alone in freeway traffic all have a depersonalizing effect, in fact dulling the very senses that cause life to feel worthwhile.
What are you looking forward to?
As the country and parts of our world reopen, I wish you great experiences!
