I woke up this morning thinking of travel.
To be exact, my thoughts were drawn to some of my favorite trips. It was a sweet way to begin my morning, trying to recall sights, sounds and even scents of where I had been before. Some trips were easier to recall than others. The reasons why I loved a specific town, state or country was strangely not about the locale as much as the people I had crossed paths with. It could be a simple kindness that triggered my warm feeling and the longing to go back or watching a family deal with their toddler’s melt down to make me realize that we’re not so different after all.
It brings to mind, that our differences always equal our similarities.
It was November 2010 and I was visiting China for the first time. My sister Theresa and I had decided that we would make the trek from Hong Kong to Lantau Island to visit the remote Po Lin Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha. Now keep in mind Big Buddha as the locals call it, attracts visitors and pilgrims from all over the world. This massive Buddha faces north-overlooking Mainland China with a humbling dignity that belies its 34-meter height. One must climb 268 steps to get a closer look and the views from the top are breathtaking.
I remember joking with my sister that taking the stairs to Buddha was nothing short of being at “fat camp” and that when we reached the top I needed a moment. Who knew with that final step I was about to learn a lesson of a lifetime. Plopping down and twisting off the top of our water bottles, Theresa and I were at once in awe of our surroundings. People from every corner of the globe, every walk of life here with a single purpose, to view this magnificent Buddha. Religion aside, in that moment we were all connected.
It was then I noticed a woman wearing a traditional hijab and in a rather large tour group staring at me. Immediately I worried if my sister and I were sitting somewhere we shouldn’t be or that we had broken some unwritten tourist code. To make matters worse she turned quickly and started walking toward us with a definite purpose. I’m almost a bit embarrassed to say I was looking for a quick exit. Before I knew it she was upon us.
“American?” I smiled and shook my head yes. She paused a moment and looked me in the eye, “Good” and she smiled. “Your smile is loving and your heart is warm. I must tell you that I am from Iran. Please know I am more than my hijab, we do not hate America, we do not hate you, and we are not our government. Please tell everyone that”. She hugged us. I was speechless. Suddenly there were gruff voices, speaking a language I did not understand. Our visitor was gone as fast as she came to us, falling back in line with her tour group and from what I could tell was being reprimanded by her male guide. She had risked so much, to share a message of hope and of peace. When I think back about it, no better place to have done this act of bravery but at the feet of Buddha.
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