Hi Pogue,

Another letter of home thoughts from abroad. I’m still on the road and moving through Bhutan, a country that is a complete contrast to it’s close neighbour Nepal. There is a sense of serenity and order with none of the apparent signs of being underdeveloped or the overt poverty that I had witnessed before. And I am wondering if this could have something to do with the two nations differing religions, religion being deeply embedded in both countries, Nepal is mostly Hindu and Bhutan Buddhist. But that’s a letter for another day.

Now I’m still thinking about making the most of the hand we’re dealt. Yes I haven’t moved on from last weeks musing but then I am immersed in a culture that views life differently from what I am use to. Have you ever read Paulo Coelho’s classic, The Alchemist? No, well you need to but basically it’s about a young shepherd who has a dream about treasure buried in a distant land. He travels to that land having many adventures along the way only to meet someone who tells him of his own dream of a place with buried treasure which is the place the boy set out from. So he returns to find the treasure. Long story short. As the saying goes, “sometimes what we seek is right under our feet”.

There are people who see opportunity in every situation. Who don’t need to wait for things to be better or declare “if only” and lose any sense of ambition. What I normally call ‘can-do’ people, those who given a little return a lot. And here I am seeing this sort of approach to life. Having been dealt a hand the people find ways to make the most of it. Here’s a picture I took this morning.

Simple wheat fields but fields taken from the hillside by the creation of a series of terraces. How easy for us to look at a slope and see a hill but here are people who looked at a slope and saw an opportunity. OK, so it doesn’t compare to the massive fields we see at home but it does lend us a useful lesson.

And how many times I’m wondering do we let an opportunity go begging because it does not fit into our preconception of what a thing ought to be? Give me the out-of-the-box thinkers. Those prepared to challenge the norm and see opportunity where others are blind to even possibility.

I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.

Stephen R. Covey

Life is full of lessons for the attentive pupil. The Universe speaks continually to the mindful listener. We are never alone on whatever path we walk.

I’m guessing it took hours of hard work to create those fields and that is what I see so many being deterred by. We are now a part of a generation who wants everything immediately and that also deflects many from realising opportunity because if we are not prepared to work we are allowing ourselves to become shortsighted. If we will not see the thing that requires effort to bring about results so much will pass us by. I guess if you had viewed those slopes as just too much effort, even when you had the vision, you’d be going hungry now!

And remember, there are more ways to go hungry than having an empty stomach.

Yours, learning lessons,

Wic