Himalayas

Last Thursday we left at dawn and headed to Dhulikhel...about an hour east of Kathmandu. Our colleagues from Bangladesh were enjoying a few days there for a retreat at a local guest house, and we went to spend the morning with them.

As the taxi made its way upward on gently winding roads, the noise and traffic soon gave way to greener, quieter air. The sun rose, revealing a strikingly clear morning. Soaking rains from the previous night had painted the hills in brilliant greens. Small hillside homes, brown and simple, dotted the vast landscape. The sky was enormous, and seemed to grow larger the further we went.

Towards the end of our journey, the road narrowed and was shaded by a canopy of trees. Birdsong welcomed us into the unexpected forest as we left the taxi and walked along the path to the guest house. It was a short walk, but a beautiful one, through the glistening forest. Men and women could be seen performing prayer and cleansing rituals at shrines and fountains as we walked by. The sound of bells echoed through the hills...the now familiar sounds of the day's beginning.

Upon arrival, we were of course invited to venture up to the roof to catch a glimpse of the hills, or the mountains if we should be so lucky. And lucky we were! The mountains in all their snow-capped glory filled the horizon with unbelievable beauty, reaching in and out of clouds, dwarfing the hills and valley and homes in their shadow. I fail miserably with words here, because these mountains are beyond description. They are beyond capturing on camera, but we did try anyway.

It is, I hope, likely that we will witness a similar scene many more times here in Nepal. This was a glimpse only, I'm sure. But I hope it never loses its magic. I hope that every time my eyes lay upon these God-given miracles of creation, I will let my breath be taken away again and again.