We ARE all the same! How great is that?!

Yesterday, I had the amazing good fortune of being one of the nearly 16,000 folks who had the wonderful opportunity of seeing the Dalai Lama! He graced us with his presence at Gillette stadium, of all places. The whole experience was surreal. At first, I just kept taking in my own awe....after all...here was THE Dalai Lama, # 14 to be exact....at that!

The most wonderful thing occurred though...while his inner most mission was to weave us all together with a common thread...Peace...everyone watched and listened for something we could take home with us and use in our daily lives. The myriad of people was astounding, from all walks of life. The stadium had a whole different tone from that of a football game. I guess it was just understood...the vibe was most definitely peaceful and respectful...kids and all.

We got there just before he began talking and as I settled myself into my seat, I was still trying to make sense of how this all came to be. Not only was the weather perfect, the owners of the stadium gave it to them at no cost. The whole thing was handled very mindfully and that is what I call good Karma.

His message was often light, instigating laughter from the crowd and at one point, when the sun finally broke through the clouds, he produced a genuine Patriot's ball cap and put it on his Holiness' head! The crowd clapped and roared with delight, myself included! He is indeed a human being and was sure to make that point on more than one occasion. His levity was most welcome as much as his insistence on telling us just how much we are all the same...no different. He wanted us to know that each of us is most definitely entitled to a happy and peaceful life. And...it was important to take the steps to bring ourselves to that point. I really liked one part in particular....I had heard it before...but hearing him say it was so incredible....It went something like this: If you cannot help anyone, do them no harm.....So, for me....if we can't be part of the solution, don't be the problem. That is something we could all take home. If nothing else, what if each of us adopted that little piece of wisdom? What would that look like? WOW!

In closing, I was given a poster of the event and have it lovingly placed on our little altar in our living room. Every time I walk by it, I see someone who is just a man, doing his best to spread an altruistic message to the world and it reminds me to try and do the same.