Decorated with colorful flowers and hearts, and big yellow smiley faces, you can’t help but spot this vehicle as you drive by. The background is painted purple, the tires have blue hubcaps, the windows have orange curtains. The bus is just sitting there on a gravel parking lot in front of an old building, strategically placed for all to see.

You also really can’t help but smile when you see this piece of history. In fact, it is so compelling, that you really have to stop and take a picture or two.

Because more than the visual appeal, the VW bus presents a message. You don’t have to think too deeply about the meaning of what is written. You just have to read two simple words, and instantly you are reminded of the two most important concepts of life…peace and love.

As I was sitting there contemplating the words on the sides of the bus, a few additional significant thoughts came to mind as well…happiness…compassion…understanding…

So next time you are driving down a road, whether traveling or not, keep your eye out for life reminders like this. And just because the vehicle of the messages may have been from over 40 year ago, the messages are timeless.

Peaceful and Loving (and Sweet) Travels!

Photos by Debby

My Ticket Stub, the Brochure, and a Reminder

What first made this feel like I was traveling was how I approached the event. I was figuring that with the crowds, parking would be difficult near the stadium, so I chose to park a few miles away, and walk. This afforded me the opportunity of exploring parts of downtown Seattle, where unfortunately, I don’t get to very often. During my walk, I was able to browse in and out of many shops that I never even knew existed. One of the shops I walked into happened to be selling photographs of Native Americans taken by Edward S. Curtis. These were amazing photos showing the people and the land of those that lived here around 100 years ago. Needless to say, the photographs were selling for an average of $5,000 each, so I chose to buy a couple of postcards (which I usually do when I travel) of $1.00 each. More my budget.

Postcards of Native Americans; Photos by Edward S. Curtis

Once I arrived at the stadium, I felt like I was traveling around the world in only a few hours. There were people of all nationalities attending this amazing event, many of them dressed in their traditional clothing. The Dalai Lama pointed out to the audience during his talk of compassion, that we are all human beings, all part of humanity, over 6 billion people around this world, that the whole world should be considered part of each one of us, and that it is secondary that we are of different color, culture, religion, social background, etc. Seeing so many people in this stadium, to me, proved these facts that I also experience when I travel to other countries.

“Seeds” of Compassion

While I don’t want to reiterate what His Holiness spoke of, as you can listen to his talk on the website of seedsofcompassion.org, I do want to say that compassion can be defined in many ways. As the Dalai Lama says, it is “taking care of others,” and a “sense of concern for others.” Compassion can also be defined as acceptance, respect, kindness, affection, peace, love…towards all. Compassion can be put into action in many forms, from small acts of human kindness, to large humanitarian efforts. And compassion can be demonstrated on many levels, as the Dalai Lama says, whether on an individual level, family, community, national, or on an international level.

Braided Bracelets to Weave Your Compassionate Intentions

According to His Holiness, compassion is necessary for lasting world peace. In my opinion, whether one is a traveler or not, compassion is necessary for human existence…

Sweet Travels!

I came across this quote by His Holiness the Dalai Lama a few days after I originally published this blog…

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.”

In last week’s blog, I wrote about the traffic in Vietnam, and how what one could perceive as chaos, I found to actually be cooperation. All of the hundreds of cars, trucks, buses, motorbikes, scooters, bicycles, and cyclos, weaving in and out and amongst each other, with no real lanes being followed, doing so effortlessly and smoothly. But what happens if a pedestrian, such as myself, needs to cross the street in a busy city such as Hanoi? Yes, there were a few places where there was a stoplight and a crosswalk; but even there, some mode of transportation was still moving. Most of the time, there was just a crosswalk, in the middle of the street, without the aid of a stoplight. So, one has to get from point A to point B, with the various vehicles weaving in and out of each other, and with no real great point in time where there would be absolutely no vehicles moving whatsoever.

So, how does one do this; cross the street in the cooperation of perceived chaos? The goal, of course, besides getting across the street, is to also avoid being hit, and also to try not to disrupt too much the cooperation of the traffic that was already in existence. Before I took the plunge myself for the first time, I observed a few of the local people, and how they crossed the street. I watched how they walked, and how the traffic moved around them. And I thought, well if they can do it, so can I!

From my observations, I decided that the way to succeed was to just walk. Walk with conviction and confidence. Walk with a sense of purpose and strength. Walk with knowing your goal, and having the courage to know your direction. Walk with being certain of where you came from, and where you are going. Well, ok, maybe I am exaggerating just a bit, as of course one needs to also still pay attention to the vehicles, and have some sense of timing, too. But amazingly, what happens is the drivers of the vehicles incorporate the pedestrians into their cooperation. They weave around you, too. They do this effortlessly, and with great timing.

And, like that, I crossed my first street!!

Once I accomplished this, as I was at point B, I thought what if life could be approached with the same ideas that I just used to walk across the street? What if I could walk through life with conviction and confidence? What if I could walk through life with a sense of purpose, strength, courage, and direction? What if I could be certain about life, and my goals, and where I was going? Of course, I would still need to pay attention, and also maybe have some sense of timing. But, from that moment on, I decided that one way I could approach my life was just like the way I crossed the streets of Vietnam…with conviction…

Sweet Travels!