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| Tibet, 2002 |
Written By: Sharrie Shaw
Date: March, 2004
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for dreams, for the adventure of
being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by
life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or
fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let
ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be
realistic, or to remember the limitations of being a human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even if it's not pretty every day, and if you can source
your life from God's presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake
and shout to the silver moon, "Yes!"
It doesn't interest me where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary, bruised to the
bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.
It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself; and if you truly like the company you keep in
the empty moments.
The Invitation
- inspired by Oriah Mountain Dreamer,
Native American Elder.
Date: March, 2004
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for dreams, for the adventure of
being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by
life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or
fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let
ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be
realistic, or to remember the limitations of being a human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even if it's not pretty every day, and if you can source
your life from God's presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake
and shout to the silver moon, "Yes!"
It doesn't interest me where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary, bruised to the
bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.
It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself; and if you truly like the company you keep in
the empty moments.
The Invitation
- inspired by Oriah Mountain Dreamer,
Native American Elder.
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| The Invitation to God's Place |
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One thing I've learned about life is this... we have very different
realities; formed from different circumstances, life experiences &
expectations. In other words, I can try to understand you, empathise
with you & even feel for you, BUT, I can never be you! Still, I find it
tremendously difficult to even begin to put into words what I saw in
Tibet. For majority of them, life-path means having to travel
thousands of miles or kilometres enduring harsh conditions to this city.
It means prostrating full length along the path just to reach here, right
in front of the Potala Palace. I don't know much about Tibet before I
came; I know even less when I left!
realities; formed from different circumstances, life experiences &
expectations. In other words, I can try to understand you, empathise
with you & even feel for you, BUT, I can never be you! Still, I find it
tremendously difficult to even begin to put into words what I saw in
Tibet. For majority of them, life-path means having to travel
thousands of miles or kilometres enduring harsh conditions to this city.
It means prostrating full length along the path just to reach here, right
in front of the Potala Palace. I don't know much about Tibet before I
came; I know even less when I left!
| LHASA is the capital of Tibet. Lha in Tibetan essentially means gods while sa means the place. |
| Tibet! So, what is it that attracts & acts like magnets to people from all walks of life? 1stly, The Mountains - 6 peaks at more than 8000 metres above sea level, 50 higher than 7000 metres & Mt. Everest of course (known as Mt. Qomolangma in Tibet; highest at 8848 metres)! The Earth's summit! Regarded by the people as the most sublime & purest of all things on earth. |
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| Well, no matter where you go or whether you like it or not, you are gonna see mountains, range after range. Luckily for me, I love mountains as much as I love lakes. So, in this sense, Tibet is a paradise for me :) The Tibetans believe that Gods live in these mountains & it was God themselves who give legitimacy to rulers & are therefore respected & worshipped. The prayer flags we so often see on these mountains are part of the purification rituals accompanied by recitation of texts believed to defeat the demons. |
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| 2ndly, The People - 2.3 million of them live up in the mountains, on the grasslands & in the river valleys with a unique & harsh lifestyle in one of the most sparsely populated region in China. Compassion, tolerance, love & kindness are some of the qualities fostered & rooted within the hearts of its people. |
| 3rdly, The Monasteries - Lamaism is the religion follows by the majority of Tibetans & embodies the Tibetans' philosophy of life. Some of the common symbols found in the manasteries in Tibet are the presence of Golden Roofs, butter lamps, prayer wheels, mani-walls & gyeltsen. Devotees' rituals such as CHAK which embodies the prostration of entire body while reciting a particular holy formula that may lasts for hours; KHORA, the journey made around the walls of the monastery whilst praying with the prayer wheel in hand (barkhor) & lighting up all the 108 butter lamps in the monastery, are common symbols of Lamaism. |
| 4thly, The Unexplained - The mystic, exotic, sacred, faith & peace! |
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