Today a old man passed away in the street leading to the most popular bar/club/hangout of the city...
Us "farangs" (that is actually the word that the locals used for the french colonizers and that now has become the common word for any foreigner, mainly of caucasian race) passing by as if it was nothing on the way to have fun and feel alive......I dunno how many of us noticed it...
The ritual of the funeral actually wants people to celebrate rather than feel sorry about it, ten or more tables in front of the house, people eating, talking, laughing and playing cards, a little golden wooden house with flowers and other ornaments and the picture of the man that passed away and another white one.....
I know Asia sees death as a step (the next) in the life of a soul, as the transition into a new life form, the continuation of the real nature of the living being, but realize it as I did tonight, came as a slap on the face; a slap on the face to our odd and limited approach to the topic that is one of the big taboos of the western world....as nothing had really happened, they seemed to peacefully and pretty happily living that moment, actually intrigued by all these white weirdo looking people around!!
There is a lot to learn from each other (cultures) and a lot that will never be fully understood or learned, a lot that needs a proper explanation or most likely a lot that we will never know in this lifetime (or maybe realize in our next?)
Tomorrow I am setting myself to experience one of the most popular yet intriguing activity in all south east Asia, the slow boat (2 days?) on the Mekong river to reach the Golden triangle, where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet (and where they used to meet to exchange drugs and illegal goods...).. from there to re-enter Thailand where I am seriously considering something that I always "feared" (or better believed impossible for me!): a vipassana meditation retreat...
Us "farangs" (that is actually the word that the locals used for the french colonizers and that now has become the common word for any foreigner, mainly of caucasian race) passing by as if it was nothing on the way to have fun and feel alive......I dunno how many of us noticed it...
The ritual of the funeral actually wants people to celebrate rather than feel sorry about it, ten or more tables in front of the house, people eating, talking, laughing and playing cards, a little golden wooden house with flowers and other ornaments and the picture of the man that passed away and another white one.....
I know Asia sees death as a step (the next) in the life of a soul, as the transition into a new life form, the continuation of the real nature of the living being, but realize it as I did tonight, came as a slap on the face; a slap on the face to our odd and limited approach to the topic that is one of the big taboos of the western world....as nothing had really happened, they seemed to peacefully and pretty happily living that moment, actually intrigued by all these white weirdo looking people around!!
There is a lot to learn from each other (cultures) and a lot that will never be fully understood or learned, a lot that needs a proper explanation or most likely a lot that we will never know in this lifetime (or maybe realize in our next?)
Tomorrow I am setting myself to experience one of the most popular yet intriguing activity in all south east Asia, the slow boat (2 days?) on the Mekong river to reach the Golden triangle, where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet (and where they used to meet to exchange drugs and illegal goods...).. from there to re-enter Thailand where I am seriously considering something that I always "feared" (or better believed impossible for me!): a vipassana meditation retreat...
maybe one day we will know how squirrels taste!!!
3 comments:
ewww....lol
ewww about the squirrels....
interesting about life...If we all realized that death is the ONLY thing that is 100% for ALL of us then perhaps we would embrace how other cultures "celebrate" the life that was lived from the human that has passed.....perhaps we would all be more aware of our present and look forward to whatever comes next instead of fearing it. Death is not necessarily a bad or fearful thing....but just another step to life!
Wauw you should really do that meditation retreat Francesco, must be a great experience and do let us know how it turned out!
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