Post-Testimonial from Eve Smith

Our dear Eve Smith, senior instructor at the University of Macau, sent us these words of praise after her day trip to Paris, France.

Dear Guru and Sherpa:

The Paris hotel you booked me was wonderful. I loved staying there. I loved that it was quaint. Honestly, that's probably all the amount of space one really needs. :) I ate loads, made it to an amazing church just further up the street from the hotel, the Moulin Rouge, and the Arc de Triomphe…all in less than 24 hours. Thanks again, dynamic duo!

We're very glad that you enjoyed your trip, Eve, and hope you plan to do more traveling with us!

Heaven Would Be A Lot Better Than This Earth?

Sherpa Don shares his thoughts on the ending of this world:

“I was hoping for it because I think heaven would be a lot better than this Earth,” said Mr Bauer, a tractor-trailer driver, who took the week off work for the voyage.

I woke up this morning to my usual schedule before work: saying This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad, as I start up the coffee pot; find out what flavor toaster pastry I want to eat today; and opened up the computer to read the news. The first article I read was BBC's ‘Rapture’ Believers Perplexed After Prediction Fails, and the first thing that caught my eye was Mr. Bauer's quotation.

At first, I felt startled, and a bit confused, as I repeated his words and brushed my teeth at the same time—which, much to my chagrin, left my mouth and chin rather rabid-dog-looking. It was enough confusion that I halted my usual morning plans, deftly stole the stole of spiritual guidance from the Well-Travelled Guru, put it on, and thought about what I thought needed to be said about those words.

Mr. Bauer's attitude is an interesting one, because it is a statement that came from an ordinary man; but it's also a statement that, I feel, is said by so many in our current world: “My world, my reality, is terrible; and I wish something—anything—would happen to end it, because this world will always be broken, and there's nothing that I can do to get out.”

I can only imagine the disappointment of all the people who felt the world was ending; and to all who were hoping for some change—any change—to a world that never seems to change I give my deepest, most sincere sympathies.

But, my mind goes back to one of my particularly favorite ladies of philosophy:

I will say that never before has the world been clamoring so desperately for answers to crucial problems—and never before has the world been so frantically committed to the belief that no answers are possible.

My friends, what I want to ask is, “Is the world as terrible and broken as you think it is?” Yes, reading current events nowadays has the potential of paralyzing the soul because of all the disasters that happen all around us. Yes, sometimes more bad things happen than the good things. Yes, sometimes I spend too much time in my pajamas writing instead of going to work. But is reality so terrible, and life so broken, that you choose to drown it in whiskey, to smother it in ice cream and Titanic (my own personal vice on bad days), and to scream to the heavens and to the LORD himself your request for the world to end? Frankly, the only time I'd scream the latter is if I wake up wearing a toga, equipped with wings and a halo, and realize at that moment that the rest of my life is spent on a cloud.

Life is too precious, and too big, to drown in whiskey, or ice cream, or screams for death, or any other vices or obsessions one might use to escape from reality. Despite its hardships, life is too wonderful to keep one's eyes closed to all it's splendor and terror. And, despite our naturally-fallible and naturally-imperfect faculties of cognition, life is too valuable to say, “It can't be helped,” or “There's nothing I can do,” or ”What's the point?” or ”What if I try to live life, and try to show others that life is good, but nothing comes of it?” , then do nothing about the terrors that we all see.

If one concentrates on Heaven, one forgets that the LORD made life here on earth, and said that it was good. If one concentrates on escaping the world, one forgets that this world is real. My life is precious, your life is precious, the lives of all that are suffering in today's world are precious. Instead of proclaiming the end of the world, and shouting it can't be helped; perhaps, today, everyone should meditate over these words, “You are loved, and [equally as you] so are they.” Ponder what that means, and reconsider, for a moment, what life would be like if we all stood up and acted in the love we have for ourselves and for others.

The message that “We are all (and I mean everyone in the world) the LORD's children” in the world he made and declared good is a far more comforting and hopeful message than the world's destruction, eh? Let's remember, today, what that means to be the child of the LORD, and what dignity, respect, and love the LORD equally has for all of us. Think about the gifts of cognition, of volition, of thinking we all have, and think about the unique talents and abilities we all have, and ask yourself “What can I do for the LORD's creation?”

After that thinking, go sit down somewhere, watch the sunset, and ask again, “Is heaven really that much better?” I hope your answer will be, “No. This world is worth trying to save.”

sacred spaces...

atorii is a traditional japanese gate typically painted brilliant red and found at the entrance of shinto shrines and japanese buddhist temples devoted to particular gods. adherents to those religions believe it marks the point where one leaves the secular world and enters the holy. a large and famous torii stands off the shore of miyajima island in the hiroshima prefecture of japan. visitors are informed it’s “sacred” space.

sacred sites are common in most religions. hindus trek to varanasi, located on the banks of the ganges river; muslims make their pilgrimage to mecca, neopagans to stonehenge. a sacred space is where God, gods, or spiritual power is thought to be unusually present.

to the greeks of athens, the apostle paul(of the new testament) stood on sacred ground as he spoke to them on the areopagus(mars hill). with its links to the gods mars and ares, the hill also stands a stone’s throw away from the parthenon—the temple of the goddess athena. among a plethora of gods, paul had seized an opportunity to talk about another “unknown” God. this God, paul explained, was Creator and Lord of the whole world—rather than parts of it, like the greek gods. greece’s gods had limited powers, but this God knew the destiny of each individual on the planet. greece’s gods had limited spheres of influence, but this God was literally everywhere.

if indeed paul’s message is true, if there is one true God that is present everywhere, then it follows that anywhere can be a sacred space. therefore, we all have the power to create our own version of this space and christen it Holy; be it our workplace, campus, and/or home.

(special thanks to sheridan voysey for contributing to today's blog)

guru tips for dealing with jet-lag...

*  skip the big meal and get to sleep if it's bedtime at your destination
*  forgo the alcoholic beverages; they're dehydrating, and you'll get drunk
   faster in the air
*  use an eye mask, ear plugs, soothing music, or sleep aids to help

you're welcome. :-)

Testimonial from Eve Smith

As a Senior Instructor at the University of Macau, and someone who occasionally does consulting work for the U.S. State Department, my schedule keeps me too busy to properly attend to the details of researching accommodations and other travel deals. However, as I am not a trust fund baby, and budgets are tightening everywhere, I've been having to look harder for deals.

I recently booked a trip to the Ukraine, requiring a one night stop-over in Paris. Imagine my surprise when I realized that the BUDGET accommodations in Paris were running around 200 EUR per night! For a week, maybe; but a night?! After a moment of barely contained panic, I consulted “the well-travelled guru” to find an amount that would fit into the per diem with which I was working.

Lorna Rockey assured me she could work within my budget. I was utterly astonished when she found me a place commensurate to the standards I have come to expect in a hotel, informed me it was in a great area for cafés and sight-seeing, and would only cost me a little over 50 EUR per night.

Thank you Lorna! I will definitely be consulting the Guru with future travel plans. :)

Eve Smith, as she mentioned, is a senior instructor at the University of Macau.

remembering my precious mother...

i love you mama, and miss you so very much. happy mother's day.

One lamp - thy mother's love - amid the stars
Shall lift its pure flame changeless, and before
The throne of God, burn through eternity -
Holy - as it was lit and lent thee here.

~Nathaniel Parker Willis~

de-planed for NO good reason...

in the words of the 60's rock group the Youngbloods,

"Come on people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together try to love one another right now."

is it really that difficult? apparently. :-(

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/05/07/muslims.kicked.off.plane/index.html?hpt=T2

15 items or less...

i had something happen today that i allowed to disturb my peace. i say "allowed" because everything that happens in life sets up a series of personal choices as to how we will react.
the day had already started out stressed. i didn't get a lot of sleep, and had to be up early for the closing talk at a seminar i had attended all week on "building a better future". as i left my house, i noticed little snowflakes falling.
it's May 1st, could winter just finally be over in Minnesota please?
anyway, the seminar ended in an uplifting way(putting me in a somewhat better mood), so i decided to stop and get some groceries on my way home.

at the store, i grabbed a few items and headed for the check-out.
the lines were long, so i went to the "15 items or less" line. there was only one woman ahead of me, who had about 30 items that she was already putting on the conveyor.

i politely said, "you do realize this line is for people who have 15 items or less, right?" i was at least expecting a sheepish apology, but no such luck. she began to berate me and tell me to shut up several times.

i was like, "WHAT? oh no you didn't!".

she began pontificating about how i didn't know how to be a human being or treat one, at which point i sardonically said, "well at least i can read."

it only digressed further south from there. :-(

SHE WENT OFF! she was going on and on, and with each insult her resolve in doing the WRONG thing only grew stronger.
what surprised me even more, is that i felt like kitty genovese(if you don't know the story, just wikipedia it). there were at least 3 cashiers listening to her entire diatribe, but NO ONE would say a thing. all sorts of shoppers saw her hurl insults too, but none of them chose to do anything either.
when she finally left, i asked the cashier why she hadn't said anything. she responded, "i did say something to her." i asked, "what did you say?", at which point shockingly she said, "i told her to go ahead and come through because my line wasn't busy." flabbergasted i said, "then why didn't you tell me that or say something to her so that that entire scene didn't have to go down?"
she just laughed. however, i didn't find it remotely amusing.

as i left the store, i thought about several things:

first, i knew that there were MUCH bigger battles to fight, and realized i had just wasted my time and energy on the wrong one.

second, i wondered what would cause the woman to be so knee-jerkingly reactionary. i realized she was wearing a hijab(islamic headscarf) and was african. i wondered if she's been discriminated against a lot in Nordic minnesota, and therefore just goes around on the offensive feeling the need to defend herself. that made me sad, because i put so much effort into bridging cross-cultural communication.
lol, she would probably never believe that!

third, i was reminded of how our culture has slipped into a coma when it comes to doing the right thing. no one ever wants to get involved, and that's really tragic(again, reference the kitty genovese story).

then i brought the it home. i thought about how when any of us do the wrong thing(and we KNOW it's the wrong thing), then, like a trial lawyer we aggressively defend it even if it hurts others. i've been guilty of it, but when i was the recipient today, i realized how awful rationalization really is.

so i said a little prayer asking God to help me to stop excusing anything i know is wrong, and to aid me in trying to always quest after THE Truth, not my truth.

progress, not perfection.

Testimonial from Our Own Sherpa Don

I was a little overwhelmed, at first, to go on a trip to Las Vegas. “Sin City” isn't exactly the cheapest place to travel—especially if you don't know where to eat or stay. Nevertheless, I put my total trust in the Guru, and tagged along into uncharted waters.

My allotment of spending money wasn't much; actually it was just enough to hopefully eat modestly, buy a few small trinkets as souvenirs for my co-workers, and dabble in some gambling. Hope for the best, expect the worse (my motto not only in travel, but life in general).

In the end, I was astonished at how the Guru's Vegas tips aided me in successfully subsisting on my meager budget! Though I didn't win much gambling, I won enough to keep me afloat, and got all my drinks for free. This meant even more money for me to use on tasty, economical food on the Strip (yes, all of our meals were eaten on the Strip); and for better souvenirs to acquire for my friends back home.

When all was said and done, I spent a mere 150 US$ on all food and other necessities while in Vegas, even though my expected expenditure was far, far higher! Couple that with the unbelievably cheap airfare and accommodations that the Guru found (and a free Cirque du Soleil show to boot), a trip that should've totaled well over 1,000 US$ only cost me 550 US$.

‘Wow!’ is all I can say to that.

Sherpa Don, as you know, tags along with the Well-Travelled Guru; and he resides in Saint Paul, MN, United States.

Testimonial from Kathryn Nelson

I love to travel, but as a barista, I didn't know how I was going to be able to afford a trip to Egypt. The airline ticket alone would have cost me a fortune, and I didn't have time to search for flights.

Amazingly, Lorna found a ticket price that I couldn't believe! It allowed me to come home from Egypt with money in my pocket. Who can ever say that after an international trip? Thank you, Well-Travelled Guru! :)

Kathryn Nelson is a barista and a humanitarian from Minneapolis, MN, United States.