true smiles

Hi,

Just sharing these photos today as they give me a bit of a smile, which is very needed at the moment with the bit of a battle that is going on for me right now.

They were was taken in street and on the riverbank at Bodhgaya one morning when I managed to wander away from the touristy and pilgrim area around the famous bodhi tree where Buddha became enlightened.  I walked through the great local markets and down some back streets to see a pair of girls running happily along and eventually found a whole bunch of kids sitting on the river bank.

It was a great contrast to see the kids here just being kids, playing and enjoying life.  While a couple of hundred metres away in the tourist areas kids of the same age were working as professional beggars to support their families.  With this responsibility of earning came a loss of innocence and joy in their eyes which was hard to comprehend.

Getting down to the markets and a great spot on the river and be free of the exploitative vibe of the popular areas brought a lot of peace and joy.  It got me away from the chasm between beggar and tourist where i felt completely uncomfortable as a ridiculously rich westerner and purely a source of money for survival.

While down on this river bank I felt a part of  a compassionate humanity and envious of the joy these kids showed in a place of extreme poverty when we struggle in the west, surrounded by material goods that we are told are a necessity for a happy life.

So before I get too deep with all this. I will leave it at that for today.  If I have time i will do a bit of a post tomorrow on another part of town I loved.

Cool bananas

Bill