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Today I’m sharing the second excerpt from my memoir about my year-long solo travel adventure, where I talk about a special moment I experienced in Sri Lanka. If you’re interested to learn about some of my favourite places in Sri Lanka, check out this blog I wrote. If you haven’t read the introduction and first excerpt of my memoir, read this first! If you prefer to listen to me read instead, you can check out my Youtube video.
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Solo Travel Journey Through Sri Lanka
Funny enough, this story takes place in a city which is not on my list of favourite things to see in Sri Lanka. While in Kandy, I visited this popular temple, famous for the large statue there. The name of the temple is “Sri Maha Bodhi Viharaya” and it’s located on the west side of town.
There’s only one thing I want to note before we get to my excerpt from this chapter.
I’m not an expert on Buddhism. To be frank, I don’t know too much, even though I have travelled around Buddhist countries quite a bit. So, I made sure to do a bit of research before writing this for you.
Essentially, lighting of candles, and the presence of lights in Buddhist temples, signifies the illumination of wisdom from the darkness of ignorance. Light is supposedly accompanied by the transcendence into Nirvana, which is particularly important for Buddhists. Because of this, the use of candles, and the more recent use of LED lights has become very popular in many Buddhist shrines.
When I first started travelling in Sri Lanka, I was confused when I saw these LED lights flashing in bright colors. I didn’t understand them, and didn’t bother to ask anyone at the time. It wasn’t until I was in Kandy, that I found my own explanation for the seemingly obnoxious lights in the beautiful temple.
Below are some pictures of the outside of the temple, the picture of the shrine that I am writing about, followed by the excerpt. I hope you enjoy!
At the Temple Entrance
At the temple gate, I kick off my sandals and drape my scarf over my shoulders. Shallow steps lead to a massive white stone Buddha at the entrance. Pale pink stone lotus flowers encircle the Buddha. The sun-soaked black brick steps warm my feet and ease the tension from walking uphill. I lock eyes with the colossal Buddha. He stares at me with half-shut eyes. At the top, I roam the garden and take pictures of the pink flowering bushes around the temple’s courtyard.
I step through a wooden doorway into another building. Smoke lingers in slow-moving swirls. The familiar scent of burning incense drifts into my nose. Yellow blossoms, some fake, some real, give color to the white walls. Bars of light surround a small gold Buddha relic at the altar in the back of the room. LED lights blink from red to green, to orange, and then to blue. I’ve seen this before in several other places in Sri Lanka. I love how colorful everything is, but these lights seem bizarre in such a tranquil place. The vibrant lights remind me of that neighbor who keeps the entire street awake at night during the Christmas holidays.
Seeing With Closed Eyes
I close my eyes for a moment. Through my eyelids, I see rhythmic pulses of light in faded hues that send me into a soothing hypnosis. It’s otherworldly. Maybe all this time, I’ve been looking at the lights wrong. I had been looking at them directly when it’s the indirect perspective that reveals their true beauty. On my way out of the temple, I observe the enormous Buddha statue’s squinted eyes again. I imagine his face coming to life and winking at me, acknowledging that he has seen what I have too.
A brief online search later, once I’m back at the hostel, I learn that flashing lights have a spiritual significance. They symbolize the extinguishing of darkness and ignorance. I extinguished my previous opinion and found a new light. I don’t know if the lights are meant to illuminate with shut eyes, but profound discoveries often come in surprising and unexpected ways.
Everything in Sri Lanka appears foreign and strange, but like individual strings of the spider’s web being spun together in a circle, I’m starting to find my place within it. I’m finding comfort in being alone in the unknown here in Sri Lanka. Still, the uncertainty of what I’ll do when I return home haunts me even though that moment is many months away. Like the bright blinking Buddha lights, I wonder if I’ve been viewing my failure to get into vet school from the wrong perspective too.
Solo Travel to Broaden Perspective
That’s a wrap on the excerpt folks! Now for a quick discussion about solo travel…
A lot of people talk about “finding yourself” when going on a solo adventure overseas. Well I’m here to sway your mind from that idea, which is the backbone of my memoir. Today is just one example of how solo travel can do more than just find yourself.
Solo travel is an opportunity to broaden your perspective.
When you are travelling with other people, you are always somewhat influenced by their mood, their energy, and their wants and needs. When you are travelling alone, you are more likely to be open to new and foreign things, because you don’t have that familiar friend drawing you in towards what you are used to. You are more likely to find yourself doing new things that perhaps you would consider strange, and wouldn’t try if your travel buddy was with you.
What is normal? What is beautiful? What is fun? What is tasty? These are just a few examples of some of the questions we can think about when perceiving the new things that confront us while abroad.
Rather than focusing on how we may change as an individual, we could instead be focusing on how we are perceiving everything around us, including aspects of our own life. Maybe with a different perspective we will view parts of our life differently, or we will understand them better. Maybe with a new perspective, our view of our accomplishments, our relationships and our experiences may change for the better.
Solo Travel to See New Things in Bright Light
In a sense, I suppose in being open to changing your perspective, you may find yourself. But there’s something more important. Being constantly open to seeing things in a differently light, has the ability to make us into more compassionate, understanding and happier people, for ourselves, and for the people around us.
Thanks for reading folks 🙂
I hope this blog helped broaden your idea to the lessons we learn from solo travel. Remember to subscribe to my email list for future excerpts and lessons, and for helpful travel tips!
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Much love,
Danika
