The Open Road
is a book by Pico Iyer about the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Iyer is a non-Buddhist journalist who has covered Tibet for publications like Time, The New Yorker and The New York Times for over 20 years, and has known the Dalai Lama for over 30. Perhaps because of this unique combination, he’s able to give us an intimate yet critical look into the Dalai Lama’s life.
I deeply enjoyed this book. I didn’t know much about the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism or the recent history of Tibet before reading it, and The Open Road opened my eyes (pardon the pun) to the three topics. Iyer combines power and poetry in his writing; he has the ability to lay bare the realities behind the myths while never losing respect for his subject.
It’s not an easy task, especially when Iyer doesn’t shy away from the multiple paradoxes in the story. For example: How can the Dalai Lama encourage non-violence while his own country is being ravaged by violence? How can the Dalai Lama stress reason over faith while his entire existence owes thanks to prophecy? He contrasts how many want to see Tibet as Shangri-La – an otherworldly heaven on Earth – with Tibet’s bloody history – when the Fourteenth Dalai Lama was a small boy, civil war erupted and the monks of one of the great monasteries killed more than two hundred people.
The beginning of the year makes me think of change and growth. What do I want to change this year? How do I want to grow? It reminds me of that all-important lesson I learned years ago: to always be doing something which scares you but is good for you. To constantly be stretching.
In 2009, I stopped practicing a martial art I’ve been learning for the last 10 years to learn a new one. It scared me, but forced me to grow. In 2010, I focused on photography, pushing myself to go out and shoot, sacrificing vacation time and early mornings to it. In 2011, I learned how to cook. Doesn’t sound like a big deal but it was for someone like me who had no idea how to cook.
What’s something you can do in 2012 which scares you but is good for you?
Like every year, I did less and more than I thought I would in 2011.
I visited New Zealand for the first time, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in my life. I flew up in a helicopter and landed next to a pristine mountain lake inaccessible otherwise. Its beauty took my breath away. One of the highlights of the year, as well as my life. If there is a Heaven, it probably looks like this.
I lost my first car, a classic 1991 BMW E30. I loved little 20-year old Snoopy, and my dad was especially attached to her. Her gear-box had died and it didn’t make economical sense to repair her. My heart still aches a bit when I see old photos of her.
I got engaged during a lovely, happy weekend getaway.
I unearthed my purpose: “A life on purpose is one of fulfillment through growth and appreciation. It is a life of artistic expression and courageous exploration, inspired by love, wisdom and honor.”
I learned how to cook, both healthy and not so healthy dishes.
I revisited my friend the monk in Thailand and filmed an interview with him there. It was the fulfillment of a couple of dreams, and a risk taken on a new one. The final video interview isn’t perfect, but I’m proud of it and I gained more from the trip than I could have imagined beforehand. Thank God for dear, frank friends who pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to do it.
You’ve never seen Life Coaches Blog look so good.
She’s gone through a complete redesign, thanks to the Currents WordPress theme from WooThemes. This is how she used to look:
The previous, third-generation design of Life Coaches Blog.
This is how she looks now:
Life Coaches Blog, redesigned.
Why Revise a Dormant Site?
But you might wonder why I bothered revamping the site, since I’ve shuttered Life Coaches Blog since 2008 and have no intentions to continue posting there.
Over 100,000 Visits in 2011
The main reason is that Life Coaches Blog still gets a good amount of traffic, even though it’s nowhere near when the site was still active. On average, Life Coaches Blog received 11,816 visits per month this past year. Posts like What You Didn’t Know About Bruce Lee’s Kick-Ass Success, 9 Keys to Overcoming Difficult Times and Getting Your Life on Track remain popular.
Besides these three articles, there are over 500 personal development posts still freely available on the site. But the previous design of Life Coaches Blog didn’t showcase the wealth of articles very well, it simply showcased posts in a reverse chronological order.
The new Currents theme changes that, the home page layout shows you more posts at a glance across multiple categories, not just the most recent but also the most popular, recent category posts and highlighted posts. This should help new visitors find interesting posts around the site more easily.
