Nepal – Day (-1)

Instagram practice

I’m on the plane now flying toward Kathmandu and my stomach is in knots. I think it was the dairy in the airplane food. I haven’t eaten dairy in a while before the past few days and I’m feeling it lazily wind its way through my innards.

David and I are getting a long well. We’ve known each other for a long time now and spend a lot of time in silence. We speak when it’s worth speaking and usually we’re bouncing creativity back and forth and diving into existential questions about why things are the way are and what connects seemingly unrelated concepts.

The Doha international airport proved hospitable, opulent, and if I had the money and gave more hoots for cologne, watches, and handbags, it would have also been a shopping eden for me. There were lounges that kept the riff raff out (I know because David and I tried several times unsuccessfully to get in to the swanky clubs) smoking rooms, prayer rooms, and quiet rooms. We found a quiet room with recliners bathed in darkness that we rested comfortably in for most of our nine hour layover. We meditated and cleaned up before leaving the room and to explore the food court.

A lot of the food was priced higher than I wanted and westernized, which I found odd given the low ratio of westerners to non westerners that I observed. There was an exception; a Lebanese/Indian buffet with a smiling man who heaped on the rice, clearly reading our subconscious appetite cues. We ate biryani with veg paneer, tabouleh and hummus with pita. I split the food and David chose which plate to pick – the fairest distribution method I know.

Exploring further we found a spot in front of a gate to Zurich to shoot a video about our intentions in Nepal. I doubt at times if I have something to say that’s valuable, especially in video, but that’s just mental noise. We all have something of value to share. Some more, some less. I think i’m in the middle somewhere. I’m glad I’m sharing, writing, and documenting this. The process is helping me well..process. And also opening me up to feedback from the brave bunch that read this – shining many facets of my growth strategem.

So what are my intentions in Nepal? How solid are they? Do I even have intentions? Yes. Summed up in one word – nature. I want to spend time in nature and understand my nature. That’s my overarching intention. It’s been that way for a while and methinks twill stay that way. I’m upping the antey though. Hiking and meditating in the Himalayas. The altitude rich young mountains have incubated sages and saints for many millennia and I want a piece of the action. I want to surrender to the high vibes and clean out the junk within – the old patterns that bond me – the sankaras.

More specifically, I want to hike the Annapurna circuit and some other routes, meditate in Pokhara for a while, and visit Lumbini: the birthplace of the Buddha.

I know a lovely woman in pokahara who is willing to support my introspective endeavor and let David and I stay at her home until we fly to Australia in mid July. This is the loose outline. I’ll be flexible and sharpen my intuition further, allowing my needs to supersede my wants. My needs, my wants. All sounds pretty selfish. Damn right it is! How am I going to serve others without first serving my self. How do the blind lead the blind? How do the lame lead the lame? The ignorant lead the ignorant? I’ll tell you how. Haphazardly with a lot of suffering. Ultimately, I’m in Nepal to remove the mote in my eye and contribute to world’s wisdom: the planets panacea.

Wishing you well and sending you the good stuff,

Bradley