I didn’t plan to post anything else about Bhutan, but then Emme came home and showed us her pictures. I can’t resist sharing a few more, with her permission. There may seem to be little connection between these prayer-flag-bedecked mountains and my tree, but for me they evoke everything that prompts me to climb the tree every day. Sometimes we have to make our own sacred landscapes.
(These pictures suggest a solitary quality to the trip that is a little misleading; some of the most beautiful pictures I’m not using because they include the new friends Emme was fortunate to make among her fellow travelers, and I don’t have their permission. This camaraderie was one of the highlights of the trip, alongside the extraordinary warmth of the Bhutanese people, whether farmers, nuns, cooks, radio hosts, or young children. On the other hand, many of the moments that Emme remembers with the greatest pleasure were in fact solitary moments.)
