Final thoughts

Jenn and I have had quite the eye opening past 3 days. While we’ve been in India for one month and have been deeply moved and changed by many of the things we saw here, I believe that our visit to the Golden Temple will change who we are for good. We’ve spent two nights now trying to figure out how to describe what we saw, but we can’t. This temple is to the Sikh’s what Mecca is to Muslims. You walk in and see a gorgeous but small golden temple floating effortlessly in the middle of water. Hymns are being sung loudly and clearly from inside this temple and the people are slowly drifting by. Walking around this spiritual place gave me a crazy feeling (and I’m not just talking about the gross squishy feeling of being barefoot on wet marble which by the way took a lot considering my foot phobia). This was the first place on the trip where Jenn and I have really felt like we belonged, we were one of them, we were accepted. What hit us the most was the dinner. All Sikh temples provide a place to stay and a free meal. We debated for awhile about going in for the meal fearing that by eating we’d be taking food away from someone who really needed it. After a long debate we went. You walk into this huge hall, sit on the ground with your plate, bowl and cup as volunteers walk around and serve you never-ending Dahl and roti. Two things about this blew my mind. The first was that even though we clearly weren’t Sikh, we weren’t glanced at twice. We were met with only kind smiles and delicious food. The second thing was the sheer simplicity of it. People that had money donated money and people that had time donated time. The whole operation was run purely by donations. It was such a simple concept and helped so many.

When I first arrived someone told me that Indians will always cram as many people as possible on a bus. No matter how full it is, you can always fit more. Someone will always lean out and grab you if you’re trying to jump onto that moving bus. When I first arrived I didn’t really understand it but took the idea in stride and braced for smelly, squishy bus rides. On the way to the Golden Temple, I was that person desperately trying to get on the moving bus with my heavy bag and all. Two people grabbed me and another gave me a seat. Again, so simple. It’s that sense of community, humanity and compassion that sets India apart from everywhere else.

India has taught me more than any other place I’ve traveled to. It didn’t teach me about who I am but rather about who I want to be. It opened my eyes to a simpler, but I think more fulfilling, way of life. And above all, it taught me that there is always room and time for one more.

Good-bye India, we’ll meet again soon.

HELLO THAILAND!