All photos courtesy Central Asia Institute

I must admit it is a huge stretch of my imagination to get inside the mind of a person who hears of the second highest mountain in the world and wants to scale it. While the beauty of this mountain is undeniable, I would not ever be feeling the pull to put on the proper gear and head out. You know? But mountain climber Greg Mortensen, bound to a far different call than I, did precisely that. He was motivated in part by grief, the grief of having lost his little sister. The thought of reaching the peak of K2, in remote Pakistan, and leaving a small personal treasure she had bestowed on him prior to her death seemed like a lofty tribute to her life. And so he went. That phase of his journey, on the surface, did not End Well. Mortensen, exhausted and in a thin-air stupor, not only fails to reach his goal to reach summit, he barely survives his retreat. And then Things Get (even) Worse, as he gets separated from a local guide who is trying to get him to safety, and he loses his way completely. Two roads diverged on a glacier in Pakistan, and Mortensen’s life was irrevocably changed. Destiny rules as he is taken in by a tiny village into which he blindly stumbles, and where he slowly makes his way back to his recovery, in a simple mud hut, under the loving and watchful care of a wizened old man, the village chief of Korphe village, and his family. A bond is formed and out of Greg’s deep compassion and gratitude he makes a promise. As winter descends upon Korphe village and the inhabitants dig in for a virtual hibernation, Mortensen returns to Berkeley to work towards his new goal. While you and I were dreaming of a spring and summer filled with red tomatoes and green squashes and a multitude of flowers, Greg Mortensen was dreaming of a school. In Pakistan. In mountains that were deliriously high. For girls.

The incredibly unlikely and dramatic journey that unfolds is extremely well documented in Three Cups of Tea, so beautifully written by Mortensen and David Oliver Relin. This book is a treasure.

To reveal many details of Greg’s life as it transpires would be a travesty, so rich is this story so deftly told in Three Cups of Tea. The subtitle, One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time, however, gives license to sharing these most incredible photos, all shared courtesy of the Central Asia Institute.

Hushe School, Pakistan

The girls of Lalander School in Afghanistan

And their school, Lalander School, in Afghanistan

Mortensen understands what Oprah Winfrey understands, that it takes educating the girls in any culture to create lasting change. Says Mortensen, “Once you educate the boys, they tend to leave the villages and go search for work in the cities. But girls stay home, become leaders in the community, and pass on what they’ve learned [to their children].”

Obviously many tests presented themselves to Mortensen in his aspirations. Can you imagine the locals’ perceptions (and concerns) of an “infidel” wanting to make changes in Central Asia? Yet, time and time again the purity of his heart and intentions, and his abiding respect for the culture are seen and lauded by the country he felt in his heart was his second home. They love him. I feel deeply moved to say that Mortensen is a light beckoning to the day when at last we all recognize that all human beings inhabit this same dear planet Earth, and it will be up to all of us to honor yet transcend our various cultural identities in order to protect the Earth and its inhabitants sufficiently to survive. As long as the old vanguard is rallying the cry of unpatriotism for caring about the broader spectrum of humanity our shelf life decreases. It is not either/or. It is both/and, my darlings. Mortensen, the son of missionaries, grew up in Africa, where his father was moved to build a hospital. The seed was planted for his journey before he arrived. Some of us will be called to “distant lands” to make a difference. This was his. Can you imagine the patience and love and skill required in this day and age to do this successfully? This is a must read book for all who hearken to this calling or, for that matter, any inspired calling.

Need more inspiration? Check these out.

Sitara School, in Pakistan

Greg Mortensen with the children of Sitara School

Baharak School, built by the villagers, under the guidance of Central Asia Institute

New school uniforms–for many the first new clothes ever received

The precious children of Torghu Balla, Pakistan

What impulse is moving through you, is calling you, towards making a difference? Who needs the blessing of having you in their lives? May these little children’s faces lead you there.

I so hope you will be moved to read Three Cups of Tea, which now holds a very special place of honor on my bookshelves.

Love and gardening blessings, whatever lofty dream you dream of planting…

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Goethe

Kathryn xoxoox

Posted on August 27th, 2008 by Kathryn
Filed under: Book Notes | 32 Comments »

Our town is aflame with crape myrtle at the moment. It’s everywhere you turn, lighting up merchant streets, neighbors’ yards and sidewalk strips with vibrant colors. The lovely crape myrtle tree has a special place in my heart, as it takes me back immediately and always to those days when Grandma was in her nursing home in Sonoma. Many of the ladies in the home used to gather each afternoon in the large sunny lobby, looking out through floor to ceiling windows and large glass doors. They poignantly had placed themselves in the best position to see who came and went. It was the hub of unexpected activity. They also enjoyed a ringside view of the quiet sidewalk and street out front. Perhaps someone was pulling into the parking lot, or a child was walking by with a dog, or a group of children were walking to school. One never knew. While there was a well cared for lawn in front, and large, shady trees and several bushes, there was not really a lot of color, I noticed. Between the sidewalk and street was a wide strip of lush green grass, always well trimmed, but I began to see it as an open canvas, begging for a new look, enhancing the view of the clutch of older women who kept their vigil in the lobby. Hmmm…

As fate would have it, I happened upon a sale one afternoon of small crape myrtle trees, each sporting pink or rose or lilac flowers. And I noticed immediately that they were remarkably well priced.

Inspiration and boldness struck, and I rang the nursing home and asked to speak to the head nurse, with whom I had a very caring relationship, and who had decision-making authority.

“Pam? This is Kathryn. Guess what?”
“What?”
“I’m at a nursery down on Highway 12 and they have crape myrtle trees on sale. Yes, that’s right! Can I buy some? I can? How many?”

Five!

So I did. Now to get them “home.” I always say that an Explorer Sport is like those teeny cars I used to see as a child at circuses. The doors would burst open and twenty clowns would tumble out. Anything fits in an Explorer I have said a thousand times. So in the Explorer the five trees went, yes, they did, and off I drove to the nursing home to deliver! Within days the gardener in attendance had put them all in place in the wide lawn strip to begin their lives within the view of many elderly folks living out their last days in that nursing home. It is nearly eight years since they were planted. My witnessing of the crape myrtle here in my town kindles the warm knowledge that several dear souls are down in Sonoma enjoying same, simply because of a moment of inspiration bestowed on a loving granddaughter who sought to make her Grandmother’s last home as beautiful as she had always been accustomed. The ripples of that love spill into the lives of others’ grandmothers today.

In honor of that sweet memory I was moved to capture the spirit of the benevolent crape myrtle to share with all of you.

I was touched that this last one is sporting its next incarnation: berries. I love that as a metaphor, don’t you? Life goes on in its new form.

And so it continues, this spirit of benevolence with which we are all blessed, should we merely turn our attention inward and listen to the whisperings of our open gentle hearts. Oh, my dears, how the world needs you and your own inspirations. Listen and dare to act.

With love and garden blessings,
Kathryn xoxoox

Posted on August 12th, 2008 by Kathryn
Filed under: Plants | 35 Comments »