There seems to be quite a few garbage strikes throughout the year in Kathmandu
Garbage Everywhere
Written by Gord on August 29th, 2010Kathmandu Again
Written by Gord on August 29th, 2010Iris and I had to make an emergency trip to Kathmandu on Wednesday. Iris has caught a bacterial infection and her attempts to treat it through an oral prescription were not working. She has has to spend the first three nights here in the city at the clinic receiving stronger anti biotic intravenous interventions. For the next week will have to return to the clinic twice a day for IV infusions.
There is a garbage strike here at this time. Garbage has been piling up on the streets for the past sevan days. Nepal is at its hottest and wettest time of the year. I have talked before about pollution here. Kathmandu is one of the most polluted cities in the world. The traffic smog and carbon minoxide are difficult. The Bagmatti River that runs through the city and the valley is intensely troubled. It is uncomfortable having to walk over or drive near to it the stench being so strong.
Dengue fever, diaharea, Japaneese Encephalitis and a super bug infection have been identified to be on the increase. In some parts of Nepal cholera is being identified. In Kathmandu many people are being treated for various unidentified illneses and infections. Tropical illnesses are always a risk here. Malaria has been nearly eradicated but leprocy and TB can still be a problem here. Funguses and parasites are other common problems that one needs to be aware of and that we have had to deal with here..
I am well right now but I have as well experienced various health and physical complications over the past few months. We have a month to go before we will begin our trip to other parts of Asia so it seems we will still be exposed to tropical conditions for a few more months or so before we arrive in New Zealand in November.
The political situation is till unsettled here as well. There has been five rounds of attempts to elect a new prime minister wiithout any luck. The parties and politicians here can just not get along and come to agreement on anything it seems for the sake of the country. The maoists are still calling for a peoples revolt and they seem to be doing what they can to move the country in that direction.
Kathmandu Gay Parade
Written by Gord on August 29th, 2010
gaijatra_20100828085712, originally uploaded by gord clements.
Up to 1000 gays and trans gendered individuals paraded through Kathmandu this week. Considering the nature of the tradtional culture this was quite an unexpected encounter. I coincidently happened to be in Kathmandu at the same time as the parrade.
Monkeys In Dharan
Written by Gord on August 22nd, 2010
Children of the Morning 5
Written by Gord on August 22nd, 2010
Children waiting for school bus at Zero Point where I live
Children in the Morning
Written by Gord on August 17th, 2010
On my way to the office in the morning I saw this young one working on something so intently
To Be Meditative
Written by Gord on August 17th, 2010To be meditative is to have an open mind, a ready mind and if we listen with this kind of mind we really begin to hear. If we put aside preconceived ideas, a possibility will be created for the truth of understanding and for the meaning of life to become increasingly and startling clear
My master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche said: “The more and more you listen, the more and more you hear; the more and more you hear, the deeper and deeper your understanding becomes.”
Canyon Waterfalls
Written by Gord on August 16th, 2010
I love to paint pictures of waterfalls and between Nepal and Canada I have unlimited sights to choose from. This is one of the paintings that I have completed over the past three days that I have been in a painting binge.
Life is a Canvas
Written by Gord on August 16th, 2010I have just spent the last three days painting. It is as if I went into a time gap and I loved every moment of it. I have more of these moments of becoming immersed in creative expression these days. I am discovering that being creative as an artist is not separate from living. They are one and the same. Painting is an extension of my good fortune to be able to live creatively. They are both inseperable from the other. If I am living creatively I am more likely to be painting in the same way with the same energy.
When I am in meditation I am able to let go of the thinking that blocks my ability to live in this way. These days I can take my meditation with me where ever I am. The two hour bus rides to and from Biratnagar a few times a week to visit with Iris are opportunities to be in this way as are the moments when there is nothing to do here in Dharan. There can be many of them. Living in Nepal has helped me to come to be in this way.
I feel that it is our nature as humans to be creative. It is what we are. Our conditioning can interfere with this natural flow of energy that is one with being. What we may think we know as a result of what we have been told and taught gets in the way of living and loving. I have been blessed with the faith to doubt and I have learned to listen in a different way not often promoted by culture, convention and academia. This is to trust in the direct experience and to trust in what we intuit in a way that is beyond fact and mechanistic thinking. It is the burden of our conditioning that what has been handed and grilled into us in terms of knowledge and facts; identity and culture can block our truly creative curiosity.
Extreme and rigid attachment to nationalism, idealism and adherence and following of religious tenants without examination are some of the ways that can interfere with this quality of openness that is at the heart of being creative. For me religion, nationality, political affiliation, philosophy are just concepts not to be taken so seriously. We can use them in a way that helps s to see but we are more than these notion would suggest. We can go beyond these ways of identifying with life and others and the treasure to be rediscovered is freedom from self imposed limitation.
Sunsari Falls
Written by Gord on August 16th, 2010
Yes I love painting pictures of waterfalls. I am on a bit of a binge these days. I have painted for three days straight.
