Sometimes you have to get away to gain perspective. On my
recent cycling tour to Vietnam, one of my greatest pleasures was experiencing
passing interactions with the locals. How generous was their spirit? Smiles and
hellos came easily and frequently, To see how difficult their history has been,
how hard they work but then how seriously they take hospitality and caring for families.
The country is in a great transition as the capitalist
market overtakes the nominal communist philosophy. Yet the Buddhist heart
remains – compassion, acceptance, discipline and kindness was demonstrated
every day.
We also got a taste of their violent past and for sure they
carry the memories and consequences daily but they are such a resilient people
that they remain hopeful for their children and understand how important the
future is for their children.
This 70 year old man was seeding rice as he has done for so
many years. Yet when we stopped to take photos he was kind enough to come over
and demonstrate and talk through his work. The new challenge is convincing
younger people to pursue agriculture as an option – the work is too hard
apparently!
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