Navratri day 2
In a small village called Lijiang in western China lives a woman by the name of Mae. She is short and talks fast, and speaks no English, yet invites me in for tea. I think it’s some sort of a scam, maybe she’ll try to sell me something or ask for money for the tea but she’s so insistent that I concur.
We sit at her table and she brings out bowls of fruit and herbal tea and shows me all the books in front of her, prompting me to open them.
Inside these books were thousands of letters from travelers from all around the world. This little woman, had stopped all these people from the various corners of our planet to talk to them (whether they understood each other’s spoken language or not) and learn about them and had exposed herself to languages, cultures, and people without taking a step outside her village.
There’s a whole story about her in my coffee table photo book which is scheduled to be released early next year. You can sign up for my newsletter to be notified.
But for now, all I can say now about Mae is that she’s an inspiration! Totally outside the norm compared to the people around her, a trailblazer. I love this woman and this photo of her on day 2 of navratri is a part of my series of 9 incredible and powerful women I met on my journeys through the East!
About Day 2: Of the Goddess Brahmacharini. In simple terms, Brahmacharini refers to celibacy, but Brahmacharini is infinite and moves in the infinite realm. She inspires us to not get stuck in the cycles of our lower states of being but go beyond them to embrace our whole! Not get trapped in parts but embrace the whole. That is the true meaning of Brahmacharini.
Happy Navratri!