Arriving after midnight to Dhagpo way back in 2014 I expected you to go straight to bed, but instead you went straight to greet all the friends who were gathered listening to Pedro’s story of Karmapa's escape from Tibet. You entered the room and the energy shifted in a way that I now know to call “Ole Has Arrived” syndrome. It was like an explosion. Faces lit up, people began to wildly push their way towards you and instead of meeting this with recoil or hesitation you dove right in and greeted them all head on, grinning ear to ear. You spoke your warm welcome in several languages at once, greeting with hugs and intense eye contact to all. From that moment I knew that you were nothing like any of the teachers I had met. You had spunk and some serious energy that I was yet unaccustomed to. You seemed to grab life by the horns, seizing the day, Karpe Diem’ing your way through your life like a raging inferno - and yet every single moment you seem to be thinking of others and how best to serve and help them. This outrageous balance of hurricane and solemnity I wasn’t aware existed in such a way before. The Heart and The Brave - little did I know just how well I was to experience all of this up close and very personally in a few years.
Fast-forward to today and I am bewildered with the connection that I have been able to make with you and the myriad centers and worldwide Sangha that has shown me nothing but the most appreciation and love I could have ever imagined. Your students are a wonderful mirror to your energy and devotion. They have invited me in on every occasion, showing not only to me, but to all a sense of hospitality and welcome that everyone should take as an example of good practice. I have spent time with you on several continents, in Europe and Asia and Australia, I am just so honored to have had this opportunity. I have seen some crazy and wonderful things. I was a newcomer just a few months ago and now I feel like I am home amongst you and your family of students. I am, and always will be hugely impressed with how you give every single moment of your life to all. No matter the hour, the grueling schedule, the heat, the cold, the masses of people beyond counting - without a second’s hesitation, you give yourself completely. Color me impressed.
This small collection of photos comes as a revisit to our first meeting in Dhagpo and then in EC, before I was ever really touring with you or experiencing that which I now know to call the Diamond Way Experience. It was quite a treat for me to look through these again, re-edit them, as many of them never before saw the light of day. With my new perspective and memories they have completely changed for me, looking back on the story of how we first met. I hope it will be a treat for you all as well, these memories which have now grown into such a beautiful part of the story of my present as well.
PS - and of course, here is the download link for these photos as well - yours for the taking and using as you wish. Sharing is Caring!!! :)
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gxng4wc60zmv3vm/AAAb9sejnvPZZ0qy0cMv9mU7a?dl=0
