Dalai Lama

Last weekend I had the opportunity to see the Dalai Lama give a talk on "Universal Responsibility". Ever since reading the "Art of Happiness", I have wanted to hear him speak, so when I heard he was coming to Vancouver I had to go to his talk.

Unbeknownst to me, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was also there and he introduced the Dalai Lama. You would think that these two great spiritual leaders from oposite ends of the religous spectrum, would be very serious and unapproachable. However, this is not the case, both are very charismatic and have this quirky sense of humour. I can now see why those two are best of friends. It is like sitting down with two of your grandfathers.

I think the message that the Dalai Lama presented was universal regardless of religion. The fate of humanity lies within each and everyone of us. Each of us has a responsibility to act compassionately towards our fellow man. With this ideology, many conflicts and wars can be avoided.

The Dalai Lama is serenity personified and he just fills you with that same sense of peace and calmness. He can pack a stadium like a rock star but yet hold his entire audience captive to the point where there is utter silence around you. It was a truly unique experience.


Now on a less spiritualy enlightening experience....

Random Man

On a different note, I had an encounter with another random man while driving the other day. I made the mistake of looking over to the car beside me and making eye contact. He motioned for me to roll down the window. We proceeded to have a little bit of a conversation while stopped at the light. Without getting into the details I could have had some Italian man's phone number and a coffee date.

It was a small reminder that even when you are not feeling your most attractive, something like this reminds you that you just might not be as ugly as you think.