Someone said that travel is all about the people you meet. Examining my inner response to what happens in a day I find that this is mostly correct. In the ancient Qing dynasty tower I stood talking to a student from Beijing and a photographer from Korea. Meanwhile, a Chinese girl is watching me with a kind of knowing smile on her face. She's wearing a sweatshirt from Pinetree Secondary school. I think, "isn't that in Coquitlam?" Turns out her father is an artist and a professor. He works in Taiwan and his wife and children are in Coquitlam. Oh, there he is. Delightful man with longish hair swept back and a distinctly 'art professor' look about him. I feel as if I'm in a kaleidoscope, entranced by the extraordinary, beautiful and ever-changing patterns.
Then there was the street vendor of corn (ripened in February). It was delicious! When I bought some they said: "Thank you for supporting local farmers". I put a photo of it on FB.
A saying of Charlie Brown goes: "I hate good-byes. Why do we always have to say good-bye? I hate good byes. I need more Hellos."
So I'm having so many hellos, but there's a price. The price is having to be not attached. Its different from detachment, which would mean a sense of distance. Meeting people without being attached allows us to appreciate the exact moment and in that moment is the possibility of a heart connection. It's not difficult, it's in the eyes; in fact you have close yourself somehow to avoid it. I wonder if that is what Jerry Jampolsky was referring to in his book, "Love is letting go of fear."
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