Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Dream A World of Good, Part One


My Friend in His Shop in Kathmandu

A Shaman's Mask


A very gentle headman lived in a small village, high on the Himalayan mountainside. After his children were born, he began to have ambitions, not for himself, but for his children. The headman gave up his position and status, much to the surprise of the other villagers, to travel to Kathmandu. This was because, at that time, there was not a suitable school for his boys in his village, so he moved them to the large city and opened a very small shop.

His shop carried the most unusual carved statues, butter churns, tantric drums, phurbas, shaman masks, ceremonial shell horns, old coins and other odd objects. I had visited his shop on a few different occasions looking for the more unusual items to sell to my more unusual customers. When the former headman asked me if I would like to come to his home for dinner, I was honored.

His young wife and two boys were beautiful and charming. They offered me many types of spicy vegetable dishes and they began to tell me stories of their village. They told me ghost stories, which I always enjoy. They told me a story about the time that the King of Nepal came to their village. On the wall there was a picture of their father with the King. They read me lovely Hindu prayers. And then the boys explained how they had started a cricket team with other boys in the neighborhood. They said that they didn't have all of the equipment they needed, but the boys shared what they had. And that gave me an idea: Wouldn't it be fun if I could sponsor their cricket team!

The boys' father agreed to arrange for shirts to be made for all the boys in the neighborhood and I would pay for the shirts and the equipment that they needed. They would later send me a photo of all of the boys wearing T-shirts that said, "A World of Good, Inc."

That night after the dinner, I went to bed thinking about the lovely dinner and the boys and their cricket team. At about 3:00am I sat bolt upright in bed. I had had a very powerful dream about making rings for all of the boys on the cricket team. The next morning, I went to a silversmith that I work with and I had silver rings made for each of the boys on the team. The phrase "ONE GOOD DEED" was inscribed inside each ring. Just before I left to return to the United States, I gave the rings to the boys and I asked them to do one good deed for someone else and to pass the ring on to them giving the next person the same instruction. I flew home imagining these boys as my knights spreading chivalrous deeds around the Kingdom of Nepal.

*aworldofgood.com is undergoing a web host change and may be difficult to view for a while.

16 comments:

  1. You are extraordinary....*kowtowing*

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  2. Paying it forward is always a good way to spread cheer through a troubled world. What a great idea! Hope the team is doing well.

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  3. How wonderful that your dream was the catalyst for an idea that may very well change lives. This post is beautifully written. I enjoyed visiting your blog today!!

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  4. I grew up in Darjeeling, surrounded by the Himalayas. It was a blessing that I am proud to carry through life.

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  5. Dear Butternut, oh dear Lady, what a story. If there were more people like you what a world this would be. I wish I could have seen the faces of the boys, and then the people that are handed the rings and so on and so on. I feel so inspired, I want to do something to bring so much happiness. It does start with each of us doesn't it?

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  6. Looking forward to finding out what happens to the rings and the boys....!

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  7. Thanks to David at aurthorblog I have found another beautiful blog. shall come back to read more when I have more time.
    That was a wonderful story and you sound like a really inspiring person.

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  8. A happy story for a bright spring day.
    Still trying to organize a trip to PA.
    GHappy weekend.

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  9. That's a beautiful story. It's lovely to start my weekend imagining those young boys learning a hands on lesson about paying it forward.
    Thank you for stopping by my blog. We were unable to go rock climbing this week but as soon as our friends are back in town I'm there! I have made my commitment to face my fears, on this front at least! Happy weekend.

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  10. What a beautiful act. Those rings will be a constant reminder to those young boys to do good deeds and that someone cared enough to do one for them. Thanks for this post and your wonderful heart!

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  11. Thank you for sharing this story. I really enjoyed reading it, just the thing to lift my spirits. Happy weekend.

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  12. This is a good reading material. I love it.

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  13. I love thinking about those rings being passed from hand to hand. What a beautiful idea.

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  14. Hi Reya, A headman is a little like the mayor of a village. This is the term they use. Although there is democracy in Nepal, I don't know the specifics of how it really works in the very rural areas.

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  15. This is such a wonderful experience. Have you heard back from this family about how the team is doing and what transpired around the good deeds? Thank you for sharing this!

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