UNY Students - Yogakarta, Java, Indonesia
A few years ago I was invited to lecture at a University in Yogjakarta, Java, Indonesia. I was delighted and honored to address over 300 students and faculty. The kindness and hospitality I was shown profoundly impacted me and my understanding of this predominately Muslim community. My biggest lesson was that We Are All One. I was so impressed by these young people and their curious minds and open hearts. I was the blonde Westerner in a sea of hijabs, and these lovely souls welcomed me and put any concern I had of being an American, born into the Christian faith, in a predominately Muslim country, to rest. They embraced me and I embraced them, and it was then I learned that there is no me and them - there is just us.
I stayed in the home of a Hindu botany professor and his family. Their graciousness and devotion to their religion was very touching and beautiful. Every morning they lightly tapped on my door and left a pot of tea on their way to pray at their home temple and deliver their morning offering. As I lay in bed in the early morning, I could hear the call to prayer at the local Muslim mosques. It was quite ethereal and stirring. I felt so grateful to have this strangely comforting experience. I was at peace and at ease and vibrantly alive.
One day, five of the faculty decided to play hooky and take me on a tour of the area. Three were of the Muslim faith, one was Hindu and one was Christian. And then there was me - a recovering Catholic whose subscribes to no particular religion. I consider myself spiritual, but not religious, and on this day, I experienced and embraced many and all religions.
Our first stop was Borabadour, a UNESCO World Heritage sight and largest Buddhist Temple in Indonesia. Absolutely stunningly beautiful. I was overwhelmed by the serenity and shear scale of this sacred place. It is awe inspiring.
Borabadur - Central Java, Indonesia.
As I wandered the Temple with my new friends, I asked for alone time to meditate and pray and absorb the wonderment and beauty of this magnificent place. Afterward, I joined my friends, renewed and refreshed, and we drove onto our next adventure, an organic herb farm where we ate a scrumptious vegetarian lunch and sampled Jamu, an ancient Indonesian health drink primarily made from turmeric. This visit was an honoring of nature and the earth, a true taste of the agrarian Indonesian culture.
We then drove to a village that was devastated by the earth shattering volcanic eruption of Merapi. The locals call Merapi the angry alligator, who broke open with fire and swallowed its surroundings. As we stood amongst the ash of a village lost to the volcano, I met a local man grieving his loss. We were standing on top of his home, with no visible signs of the life he once knew. His pain and the massive loss of his family and community was palpable. He was alive with no where to go. Although we didn't speak the same language, we shared a moment of connection, of humanity, and then he slowly wandered off in search of ...
Merapi Village - Central Java, Indonesia
By now it was late afternoon. As we headed back to Yogja, we stopped at a Mushola (a small Muslim prayer house) so that my Muslim friends could pray. My heart was so full and so open, I asked them if I could join them. And they said yes. I had a scarf for my head, and the women took me to the bathroom to wash and prepare. We knelt on a rug in the back of the Mushola, the men were in the front, and as my friends faced East and prayed to Allah, I sat silently and reverently, thanking Allah and Buddha and God and Jesus and Brahma, Shiva, Krishna and Mother Earth and Father Sky for blessing me with this extraordinary experience and beautiful people full of love and kindness. I was moved to tears of gratitude. And I felt the spirit of the Divine and a deep knowing that We Are All One and we are born to Love.
I share this story in hope. Hope that as people from all walks of life - faith, ethnicity, cultural diversity, orientations - we realize that we are more alike than not alike. We all love our families, our friends, our God and our Country. We all share the same earth and oceans and skies. We all have the capacity to love and forgive and accept and embrace. Now is the time to come together with inclusivity and acknowledge that We Are All One.
Amen, Allwomen, Hallelujah, Right On, Shalom, Salam, Om nama Shivaya. Namaste.
Designer, Traveller, Writer, Global Citizen, humbled and hopeful - Linda Stutz in Bali Indonesia - surrounded by pure love!