Back to reality.

     Today I have posted this on my FB page...


          “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the  source of your joy.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh


     Somehow this seems more relevant than ever. Just over a week ago I returned from an amazing experience in Kathmandu, Nepal. The whole way of life is different and though not everyone is spiritually minded, you cannot escape the scale of spirituality infused in the psyche of the people. Around every corner, down every alley, in the shade of most courtyards you'll find a temple or a shrine, some dating back to the 5th or 6th Centuries. In spite of the casual way these monuments to the Buddhist world are treated, you cannot escape the way people will touch the icons lovingly, put a finger to their head and heart when they see the Lord Buddha or stroke a passing calf to bless their day.

     After my return to Cork, Ireland, I came back to earth with a bump. It's hard to keep the inspiration alive when you're back in a city with signs advising you to "Drink Responsibly" on every lamppost. Where I stayed in Kathmandu my host, who got up and practiced Yoga every morning at around 5.30 am, simply doesn't understand the concept of drinking. It interferes with your spiritual development.

     So to be confronted with the night club culture of a western city - reminiscent though it may be of Thamel, the tourist quarter in Kathmandu - seems quite an obstacle to maintaining a healthy spiritual outlook on life. How will I persuade these people that Tibetan Singing Bowl Massage is a worthwhile spiritual escape for them? Don't get me wrong... I'm no saint myself and I enjoyed the odd bottle of beer in Nepal. But right now I was beginning to feel my love affair with Nepal was being challenged.

     And then, like a beacon of hope from the Universe, I received notification that the set of old bowls I had bought in Nepal had cleared customs and were awaiting my collection on Little Island. The excitement was brimming over in me and I felt like Indiana Jones as I loaded two custom built wooden crates into my car. I dreaded to think about the state of the contents of the crates as they'd clearly been assaulted with a sledgehammer somewhere on route. But then if I worried about such things I'd hardly be living in the NOW!

     Once home I set about the crates with a claw hammer and reduced what remained of them to little more than splinters as I gingerly extracted the bowls which will now form the central part of the massages that I offer. They survived the journey intact and are the most beautiful example of a set of seven bowls for relaxation, meditation and healing. I phoned my girlfriend, Beata Anna, and played the bowls down the phone to her. The magical sounds filled the airwaves between us and she could hardly find the words to respond.

     But somehow... the act of the bowls' arrival has drawn a full stop to my trip to Nepal. It's the end of my journey and who knows when I will next return?

     As the melancholy of this realization started to descend on me I lit a fire - an open fire is a such a wonderful booster in any situation. And in an absent minded gesture of defiance or sacrificial grandeur I picked up a piece of The Kathmandu Times which had been used to pack my bowls and tossed it onto the fire.

     And as it started to smolder and then caught, my room filled with the scent of the city of Kathmandu. The memories evoked by the smell of the streets, the temples, the incense conjured the whole magical experience back into my world at that very moment. The smile was instantaneous and in a heartbeat my momentum was restored.

     That smile was so important. Every smile is important. But it doesn't really matter what comes first - the emotion or the smile. The two exist hand in hand and once will create the other under any circumstances.

     Namaste.