BONUS

Portraits

"People reveal their beauty when they smile".

UDAY – AUGUST

Uday is a beautiful soul born in Mumbai, India. We connect our crazy ideas in a six-hour night conversation in Kathmandu's backpacker district, followed by many more hours a few days later. Under the moonlight, the words release, the spirits open ... philosophy is born.

Savings from a past business, Uday devotes his body and soul for a search: what is the essence making the body moving, the soul vibrating, humans love humans. He fills notebooks, lays down his moods, blessed and mysterious coincidences on the paper.

Memories.

Spirituality.

Enlightenment.

He lives according to daily meetings, signs that he observes through his perspectives, he lives with passion all the adventures offered in a day. Nearly five months after listening to his ideas without clear understanding, it makes now sense through experiences I get.

It is this notion that everything comes to you automatically when the only thing that matters is to hear your heart beats and to share your happiness with those who want to receive it. Whether you pay for it or not, you find what you want(ed) at the right time. Everything comes to those who wait, but who expects nothing from others, who benefits from every second as if it was the last.

From this recent discovery, he was amazed himself and impressed by this new vision of life. Today, I understood what made Uday so radiant and I apply daily the same principle. Sometimes his enthusiasm became excessive as he unearthed stories from his past and found a logic to understand his present (the way I did it during Vipassana - some personal stories do not concern the world - and that's Joseph Sheppherd who wrote very aptly: "moderation is important if the individual is going to get anything out of the experience").

He kept a nice energy in the presence of travelers around.

Uday has helped me with his extraordinary personality to understand some very important keys about spirituality. I do not know where his freelance research moved forward, but it will lead to a positivity turning point he may not fail to take.

SEPTEMBER – GOPAL

I have already made a description of Gopal in the writing 1.1 and I cannot explain with clearer words what fascinated me in this character. An intuition in front of his benevolence, his personality, discretion and fair way to give love. I think that by observing him and getting to know him little by little, I was inspired by his way of looking at others and acting naturally and humbly with love. Whether it was Babu's his grandson, his son, the women in the house and his tasks - the concrete slab and the wall - he rarely had the opportunity to take breaks for himself. His wife is there to remind him to eat -the famous love while feeding -unforgettable organic dishes. I cannot know how Gopal behaves behind the door of his room, but when I see Gopini's smile, I feel I can trust him. Gopal helped me to be more humble, not to wait desperately for a feedback in return of gifts or attention. He taught me in secret to close my mouth, not to spread my knowledge in front of adults who would like to be right, nor to boast achievements that I hardly have. However, it does not mean that we should not give our opinion.

I would like to inspire and push others to act against their fears. I have nothing to compare with anyone. I do my things and assume it, Gopal does his, and everyone is happy.

Thanks to him…

OCTOBER – ANIS

Anis is a mechanic settled in an atypical charming workshop. The Haven of Peace mentioned in the text 1.4. The lines of his face reveal a natural smile. Some evening, with Naren and some others, we share Marpha's apple brandy. Without really knowing each other, we are sincerely happy to be together. ‘Cannot communicate with words, my Nepali and English are not enough, however, benevolence and recognition are there. He spends his days stripping down and put it back together scooters, motorcycles, maybe even cars; his ability to solve mechanical problems created his reputation in the neighborhood. Seeing it in real do reinforce my respect. With a single tour around the blocks, he starts to work after identifying the problem the most precisely. Great patience and peaceful strength emerges from his movements and attitude. He is a trustworthy guy Naren can count on and he tells me so many times: from the friends with whom he hangs out, he prefers to spend his afternoon in the workshop... With him and Manoj, another millennium, Naren will not be alone, and even if he is currently stuck in a situation that does not necessarily please him, I know that one day he will slowly reach the kind of happiness he wants.

Thanks to Anis for accepting me as I am, as a sort of member of the family. He is one of those people who do not ask a thousand questions before smiling to someone.

NOVEMBER -LUCY

A woman who knows a lot. With the generosity of her sharing, she lights up, transforms herself... and speaks, a lot. I admire her culture and her enormous knowledge, the frankness of her words, her kindness and respect for the dignity of the people she mentions in her stories, her empathy despite her strong resistance to trashy images and the stories she lived and that she tells me. His studies, the hospital, his hearts stories, the big rest. Everything is exciting, she has abilities to analyze, observe and judge. It destabilizes me sometimes, as I keep silence most of the time. I put into question my bad prejudices against others. And in the times of doubts, she can give tips and positive Cartesian reminders.

Her purpose in life is honorable: to help the community, to provide medicine, modern healing. She draws, has a dark humor and a morbid spirit, a kind of hyper-creative and impressive outlet that channels the violence of the hospital reality. Lucy does not call herself an artist, but if her feet stay on the ground, in the future, her goodness will take her further into the clouds. She is a strong and sensitive woman that I will not forget. I hope that the Mandala she has acquired for the respect of Buddhist, Hindu and Nepalese culture will protect her all her life against some of the world's disgusting pitfalls that could affect her more. She invigorates me with energy, her personality inspires me and gives me a great motivation to move forward.

I observed Lucy taking a lot of notes, making sketches and drawings, asking questions, asking a thousand questions, asking for clarification, checking the information, staying dynamic in her quest, smiling all the way and talking a fast English pointed with a funny accent.

Thanks to you Lucy for this beautiful meeting.

DECEMBER – ALEKSEI & SERGEI

Those two go together. Mentioned in the text India 2.1, the meeting of those souls gave me a shock of well-being. They are the incarnation of yoga, of soft medicine, of nature itself. They understand, listen to and respect Nature, possess a quiet force, control their movements, their emotions. They are funny and interesting characters. Inspiring. Leaving for a walk in the heights of Rishikesh, Aleksei asks to stop at the bank of the Ganges, on a pebble beach. Divine moment, I watch these shirtless angels enjoy every pearl of sun, the song of the sacred river, the purity of colors, the sweetness of the Indian winter wind. They walk slowly, live every second away from horns. Sometimes Aleksei puts his hands on big trees and closes his eyes. Sergei keeps an understanding silence and smiles, accomplice.

I do not know them outside this meeting time in India. We are a bit different traveling or living in one place. It does not matter. I only know at that moment, I took advantage of their inner beauty.

Thank you, you calmed me in this sweltering India. Maybe we'll see in Goa or in Russia next time for an Ayurveda workshop, no promise ...

JANUARY – RAVI

Sitting on the steps of the main Ghat to chew his Cancer (Indian tobacco sold in small bags -it causes cancer of the mouth but they call it "Indian sweet"), I accept the conversation with him because I have time. His tone is light and does not directly try to prove to me that he is a good soul to marry... No, after a few minutes, we talk about spirituality, this presence in Varanassi, Babas, the chakras and a couple of exciting stories. He explains to me many things that I was missing to understand before leaving the country. Ravi has studied an impressive number of forms of Yoga; he has a ponytail, the speech of freedom and quick wit. Many of our questions and answers synchronizes in a surprising, reassuring way. He travelled out of India for many years, stepped back, educated himself as a self-taught man and enjoyed his life and time. He sometimes sleeps in these cubes of concrete that we find along the Ghats because it's late and he does not want to wake up his parents.

We are never alone in seeking unconditional love, seeing the bright side of faith, finding alternatives to a reality that can be difficult, acting, meditating, praying, taking inspiration from nature in the manner of Buddha ... to prepare his future existence. We are in the womb of Mother Earth for the next world, or not. Thank you, Ravi.

FEBRUARY – FOUZIA

Fresh curls framing a knowing face, I discover a woman, a mother, a godmother. The force of Fouzia strikes me with a resonant slap. What a nice surprise!

We spend a week giggling in a massage school, playing the models to apply the theory, trying on cucumber masks for training, solving papers things and wandering under the burning sun of Chiang Mai. Fouzia is a mother bruised by the hardships of life, overcomes days, sometimes savors them ... Body problems are added. But she is standing, beautiful, funny, inspiring, wonderfully strong. She keeps up her good mood, changed job, gets tattooed, breathes the flowers of the park, buys gifts for her friends, puts her feet in salty water and shows an incredible 'yogi' flexibility. His generosity of love and care missed me a lot the week after she left. The other personalities of the school seemed to me bland and uninteresting. I was in another world of nostalgia.

Thank you Fouzia for this great cleaning face massage with coconut oil, cucumber and lemon, for your strong and marked stories of life, love, hopes and disappointments. You no longer have the choice to believe that in a few years, the bunch of kindness that you send will turn back for you. Thank you for your great gratitude and the strength of your love. A big kiss is quickly sent by prayers and thoughts.