In many cultures, people "light a candle" when they think of someone or want to give something attention.
In India, Nepal, Tibet they do this in the form of a simple oil lamp with a wick. That wick is then suspended in butter, or some other kind of fat or oil. The person who lit the oil lamp initially prays at the lamp and then leaves it burning, just as we do here in the West.
I found this oil lamp with a brightly colored African, along a path, during a trekking through the Himalayas, without seeing any statue of a god or other religious sign nearby.
The image was beautiful in its simplicity and colors.
Everything was just right!
Real encounters with people all over the world have attracted me from childhood. Traveling uninhibitedly unknown countries and continents and making contact with their residents. Those contacts with people in other parts of the world have taught me that the basic emotions of all people are the same. Unknown makes.. Read more…