Miscellany

I spent over a decade dreaming of visiting Bhutan, imagining what this country is like that prioritizes happiness, protects the environment, and safeguards equality of women. It didn’t seem possible, like a Shangri-la. At one point, I started to like my dream of Bhutan more than the idea of traveling there. When I finally visited, I discovered a remarkable country yet certainly not paradise. Their lives have the same struggles people have around the world – making ends meet, raising families, taking care of their homes and communities, petty work politics, too much time spent on smart phones, etc. Bhutan’s sovereignty also feels fragile given its location between two of the world’s greatest powers, China and India. Yet Bhutan is special. There’s a shared commitment to bringing Buddhism to everyday life – to being a peaceful nation that attends to the welfare of all living things. While there, I thought about how we might apply some of their values and practices in the United States. The Bhutanese would remind me that Bhutan is a small nation, which makes it easier to be cohesive. I suspect they are correct, but what if we thought of ourselves as smaller, more tightknit, more dependent on each other? Sure, I’m an idealist, but maybe we only need a shift in perspective to begin the journey toward a more just and sustainable world.