I finished reading The Mountain People by Colin Turnbull. It is his account of how a group of people when taken away from the stability of their village life and need for connection can lose their ability to love and care for others, their family ties. Though it is about a group of people in Africa, he sees it as foretelling something about "us," and the book was written in the 70's. This group of people put their children outside the house at three years of age. He sees the way we put children in preschool and our elders in nursing homes as the beginning of distancing in our own society. I don't think our intention is the same, nor the result, but it is another reminder to nourish connection and the circles in which love flows.
I was so excited this morning I could not focus, but I am beginning to settle a bit now. There is something about the words "Hong Kong" that are stimulating to me. Chris and Frieda took off work today to look at places for their marriage. Jeff says he can help me install something on my computer so I can talk to him from Hong Kong for free. Tiger and Bella are keeping me in sight, suspicious that I might be planning to slip away, and all is well in my world as I prepare to fly from mellow San Francisco to bustling Hong Kong.
I was sad to read that Luciano Pavarotti died this morning. The Nepalese believe that all souls when they go circle Mount Everest, "the churning stick of the gods." Perhaps, I'll feel him on his way as I fly through the air.