Finding well-being through travel and books. |
Hello and welcome! I have two great passions in life. The first one is travel. After a series of life-changing events, my husband and I decided to spend the kids’ inheritance and see as much of the world as possible (I’m still bitter about Damascus). Our bible? A Thousand Places to See Before You Die. Please join us on our adventures seeing new places, meeting fascinating people and trying new, exciting, and sometimes just plain weird, food. My second great passion is books. Reading expands my interior world in the same way travel expands my external one. And, books are a great way to armchair travel - not only through distance but through time as well. My tastes are eclectic, so we’ll be looking at a wide range of writing in a possibly haphazard fashion. Come along for the ride! My best, Kirsten ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
We entered the Chi Lin Nunnery (left). “Confucius sought order and social harmony, he believed the answers to maintaining both lay in understanding the lessons of history, learning and study. He wasn’t at all big on introspection or trusting intuition. But study would help us to understand how the past affects the present and help us to plan for the future.” “Very left brain,” I said. She shook her head and corrected me. “Very yang. Learning – both knowledge and the proper way of doing things - is the way to develop one’s character, to become a cultivated person, an asset to society and to bind family ties and communities.” She pointed to the inscription under one of the, what I can only assume to be meditation, stones. (below) “There are many virtues discussed in Confucianism, but the most important is the virtue of ren, it’s more than just benevolence, it’s oh –“ She waved her hands in the air as if trying to shape her thoughts like dough. “It’s not only wanting to be the best you can be but to help others be the best they can be, too.” See the rest of the post and the photos here . |