Namaste.
A single word – beautiful in its simplicity – yet saying so much.
If you’re a yogi, you’ll have heard “Namaste” being used at the end of your practice…but in Nepal, it’s the standard greeting given to everyone you meet – with hands pressed together in prayer, and heads bowed in reverence…in recognition…in appreciation.
There are many translations of “Namaste”, but the one that speaks to my heart is:
“The light in me honours the light in you”
“Namaste” honours and sees the divine in all of us. It says, “I see you – I acknowledge and recognise the sacred spark in you – in all of us.”
It’s about the spiritual oneness of heart and mind – and sending messages of peace, love and gratitude out into the world. It reminds us that we are all one. That we are connected. That we are all on this journey of life for a purpose deeper than just existing.
The emotion created by this single word is transformational…
It supports the belief that we all have the power to influence positively through our thoughts, words, actions and presence.
And if ever there was a word that will forever speak to my heart – it’s “Namaste” – because in every way it completely encapsulates my recent journey to Nepal.
Just to recap – I’ve just spent the last month following my heart and a dream to give back to Nepal – a country whose culture, people and breathtaking natural beauty, captured my heart over 30 years ago.
My dream initially started with me wanting to build a school.
But after struggling to get traction before I left, I had a light bulb moment – finally – and realised that I was pushing too hard. In trying to give back, I was being driven by my “What” – what I wanted to achieve – rather than my “Why”” – why was this journey so important to me.
Sure, I could build a school (my What) …but that actually wasn’t important. What I had to get clear on first was my Why. Why did I really want to do this??
Eventually – after I’d let go of my pesky “achievement” ego – my “Why” emerged…
My Why is to help children and women out of poverty through education. It’s as simple as that!
So… armed with my Why, I headed to Kathmandu…full of confidence and commitment. That is – until the plane landed!!
Firstly, Kathmandu is insane. There is no other word to describe it. I’d forgotten – or chosen not to remember – that it is a cacophony of chaos, colour, culture and cows – not necessarily in any order that completely assaults your senses like no city I’ve ever encountered.
It’s a combination of diesel and dust, potholes and power lines, traffic and terror with bikes, scooters, cars and rickshaws all choosing their own path, using lanes as “guidelines” and believing with total confidence that the head on traffic will swerve around them and that the cows will eventually move out of their way.
And yet – in all this chaos – there is harmony…and again – Namaste. People undertake suicidal traffic manoeuvres in front of you – but there’s never any anger or road rage…everyone stops, gives each other space, allows a death-defying dodge to take place, and then carries on peacefully. We have a lot to learn in watching traffic in Nepal!!
But I digress!!
Arriving in Kathmandu wasn’t just terrifying because of the traffic – instantly I was hit with a deep and gnarling fear. And frankly – if I could have gone straight home, I think I would have!
I was fearful about what the hell I was actually doing there…not knowing what I was trying to achieve…and scared of coming away with nothing! Surrendering to my Why was all well and good, but what would happen if my What didn’t emerge??? I’d held this dream of giving back to Nepal for so long… what would happen if nothing happened??
So…as with all great moments of panic and being overwhelmed, I went back to the basics… and just focused on the next best step…not needing to know all the stages of the journey…just the next best step and trusting that that the process, and my Why, would get me there – eventually!
With that in mind, I set out to investigate a number of projects that had come across my path.
And they were all breathtaking…heart breaking and heart-warming at the same time…schools in remote locations in desperate need of infrastructure – like classrooms, and toilets – that hadn’t seen a book in 12 years…a beautiful school for young deaf children – many of who had been shunned from their villages, where this school was their last hope…an incredible “girls only” school – who’s commitment to challenging cultural traditions and creating a powerful future for girls through education was inspirational.
Everywhere I looked, there was a need…
And a big one. And once again, I was overwhelmed… the questioning and second guessing was relentless!
“How could I help, what could I do, what difference could I make, where was I supposed to put my effort and focus”…my mind was spinning with possibilities and potential – but also uncertainties…I really couldn’t get clarity on how best I could give back.
The deeper I looked, the more confused I got. Were any of these or all of these projects how I was supposed to give back?? My head was saying yes, but I just couldn’t get a steer from my heart. It wasn’t giving away any clues!
And then I went to Annapurna…
In visiting my projects, a convenient 9 day “gap” had emerged – and on the recommendation of a friend who suggested I trek to Annapurna Base Camp, with a guide and porter in tow (yes – I wanted to do it by myself…but that’s another story!!) I headed off into the spectacular Himalayas…as you do…desperate for some space and some thinking time.
On Day 4, after we’d dropped down a ravine, crossed a suspension bridge and then come all the way back up the other side (Why don’t they make suspension bridges higher??? Why do you have to go all the way down only to have to go all the way back up again on the other side???), we stopped outside a school gate to take in some water.
As I stood outside the school, a beautiful little munchkin ran up to me, thrust his backpack in my hands – shouted “thank you” in Nepali and ran off to play. I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to do with his pack, other than take it to Base Campo with me…so I figured I should find a teacher.
On stepping into the grounds of this small school, I asked one of the teachers who spoke English if I could look around. What I saw – literally took my breathe away. Five tiny classrooms – with no natural light, no books or teaching facilities, no blackboards, a few chairs and desks…there was a room hopefully called the “Computer Room” but when I looked inside all I saw was three beds pushed together, a couple of rolled up blankets and a wardrobe.
Turns out that of the 30 primary school kids that attend the school, twelve of them are “orphans” who also live there.
Some are true orphans whose parents have died, but others are children whose parents have abandoned them because they were unable to look after them. These 12 little kids sleep all together in one very dark room on three beds pushed together and are entirely dependent on the donations from passing trekkers for food, clothing and shelter.
It’s a government school, so the government pays for their “education” but nothing else.
They’re lucky if they get two meals a day, and most had no shoes – or anything in the way of warm clothes or blankets to protect them from the snow that was due in the next few weeks.
Looking at these beautiful little people who had nothing, but who laughed and giggled, and who hugged and kissed me ferociously, was heart breaking. For the next 4 hours as we walked, tears just poured down my face.
By Day 6, we’d finally made it to Annapurna Base Camp…
The snow had arrived the day before and it was a hard slog climbing the last 1,000 metres in the snow and at -15C. But we made it to the top, had our photo taken by the “Namaste Annapurna Base Camp” sign to prove that we’d been there, and then slowly started to make our way back down. (Remember the sign – it’ll make sense later!!)
Our hearts were still hurting at the thought of the little kids at the school, so we decided to reroute our way home to go back to the school again and to get details of all the kids, so we could create some care packages for them to get them through winter.
Once back in Kathmandu, we organised enough rice, dal, noodles, oats, sugar and other food to last them three months, and then bought blankets and a bunch of warm clothes to get them through winter. We bought assorted sizes in everything from shoes to thermals, ski jackets and hats…so hopefully they’ll all find something that fits them or that they can grow into…and then my amazing team immediately trekked the whole lot back into the mountains with a combination of porters and ponies…beating the snow by a few days!
If nothing else – I know for the next three months, they’ll have food and will be warm.
But here’s the thing…
I hadn’t planned to go to Annapurna…the space to trek came up, someone recommended it and I went straight away…but it was never on my agenda.
But there are no such things as coincidences in this world…
When I made it back to Sydney, I was looking at the vision board that I’d made 5 years ago that had led me to Nepal, and there – in the corner of the board was a photo I’d cut out of a magazine, of…you guessed it… the “Namaste Annapurna Base Camp” sign.
Although I’ve had that board for years and look at it regularly, I’ve always just glossed over it as a Nepal photo – I’d never really noticed specifically that it was a photo of the Annapurna Base Camp sign – which was identical to the photo I’d taken there just a week before. For five years that sign had been calling me and I never realised it!
As was this little school. The school had called me. It spoke to my heart, and instantly I knew that that was where I’d been sent – that was where I was destined to make a difference.
See what happens when you surrender?
When I stopped pushing, the right doors opened naturally and easily.
I’d been trying to make other projects “fit” – and as always, that had been working with my head. But when I finally surrendered – when I finally said to the Universe – “OK – I’m handing this over to you” – it led me unplanned to Annapurna, to the tiny Ghurjung school in Ghandruk that needs all the love and help I can possibly give it.
And my heart told me exactly what to do…my head was nowhere to be seen!!
So…back to Namaste…
We all have our own light to shine. We all have the opportunity to see the divinity in others…to help in any way we can…to remember that we are all one, and that our purpose in this world is more meaningful than just living for ourselves.
When that door opened and I stepped through it, I couldn’t go back. I couldn’t just look at those little faces and “wish them well”. No-one could. But I’m very fortunate – I have the ability to help financially…and in some way that makes it easier.
But shining the light for others doesn’t just need to be financial…it can be as simple as a smile, a loving gesture, a random act of kindness…telling someone that you love them, holding the door open for someone, being truly present in a conversation.
We all have the ability to make a difference in the lives of others…we just have to consciously make that choice each and every day. So hold that thought – choose to connect…choose to see the world through your heart and not your head.
May the light in you always see and honour the light in others…
Namaste.
