Acceptance

He drops his sandal.
It falls between the bars of the railing into the river below.

The sun is setting.
The river is moving fast.
It's  monsoon season.

"Your slipper is gone" his mother says.
The boy doesn't seem to understand and starts to whimper.
He's only 5 years old.

Sometimes the river takes  your things without permission  or explanation -without repayment, and with no promise of what is to come.

Life can be like that.

His mother doesn't get angry, she doesn't scold him.
She accepts the loss.
It's a fact of life.
She seems to move on.
It is clear she expects the same of her son.

The sound of little boys playing and giggling resumes - as does the conversing of mothers.

As the clouds settle in
Over the mountain tops
Over the treetops
Over the plains
Over the river

I contempate whether I, too, am capable of accepting...of moving on.

I was told today that Nepalis smile because "you only have one life and therefore you better enjoy it."

Unemployment is high here.
The unequal gender roles are clear.
Animal and environmental treatment policies are so-so.
The condition of the roads is horrendous.
Poverty is staggering.
And the government has reached an all-time low.

Some, though not all, of these things could be said about the U.S. as well.

As I imagine the boy walking home without his sandal, playing in all the puddles...I can't help but think that perhaps he has just experienced two of life's greatest emotions: the freedom of breaking society's rules and the reality of loss.

In this life sometimes we lose - possessions,  places, and even people.

Acceptance,  perseverance,  optimism - these are characteristics that I have observed in the Nepali people. They are traits that I aspire to.