Sitting in my office the other day, I was reflecting back to a trip Deanie and I took to China a few years ago and I was reminded once again about the simple life and how so often we tend to take our time for granted.
Our trip started in Beijing where we saw the hustle and bustle of big city life, in a lot of ways not too different it seemed from the hectic pace of life back here in the states. We ended our trip though in the West Lake Region in a very small rural community. Small except there were some 600 teahouses!
Our visit with various tea growers in this beautiful area of the country was of course the highlight of our trip! The scenery was spectacular as were the customs of the people who lived and worked there. While in the US we walk our dog (or occasionally our cat), in China you see people walking their birds! You see people together in open areas socializing with many generations and really taking the time to spend with family. In our constant faced-paced on the go life here, we have unfortunately drifted away from such togetherness. We need to get that back.
More than anything else we experienced on our long trip, what Deanie and I learned most was how other cultures can teach us a lot about what is important in life and how sometimes just the simple pleasures are far more important than the material things.
