Katmandu, Nepal, 1987

Two women offered me water, unasked, in Kathmandu's Durbar Square. Their matching nose rings marked their friendship and their ties to the Tamang, one of 77 Indo-Tibetan groups and a long-neglected minority. They seemed to thrive in this close, self-giving community. We often feel love, and feel most human, in community.

Bagan, Myanmar, 2017

After a sleepless overnight bus and a steep climb up the temple, I watched 2,000 ancient Buddhist temples rise from Bagan's plain at dawn. The scene was breathtakingly serene, and it brought deep peace. Kings poured a kingdom's wealth into this devotion, built to outlast a lifetime: the human hunger for meaning, shaping an entire civilization.

Bangkok, Thailand 2017

I wanted my daughter to ride a Bangkok tuk-tuk. I did not anticipate how wild our driver would be, weaving in and out of night traffic at blinding speed, lights blinking. It was exhilarating and terrifying, freedom so unrestrained it edged toward fear, and we loved it. Thrilling experiences like this can liberate the soul: losing control and trusting it anyway.

Barcelona, Spain, 2023

Stepping inside Barcelona's Sagrada Família, I gasped aloud. This is Gaudí's soaring, unfinished life's work, a monument to God by a man who never saw it completed: genius poured into stone and light. The architecture shows sublime creativity and invention at every turn. Beauty like this delivers profound, inexplicable delight.

Rajasthan Desert, India 1987

A kind boy, my camel Rupee, and I crossed Rajasthan's desert, sleeping on sand, eating chapati and drinking from natural springs. When we returned and I was broke, the organizers, near strangers, loaned me half their life savings without hesitation so I could return to Delhi. It was sacrifice that needed no explanation.

Yangon, Myanmar 2017

A blue-lit sign in a Yangon rooftop bar reflected Burma's new Western embrace, a great departure from the closed country of the past. I sipped a cocktail and wondered how societies find what is real and true. The bar likely closed after the military takeover. Openness proved fragile; societies keep searching for what's true.

Shanghai, China 2018

I savored Shanghai's nightscape, bright city lights stretching as far as the eye can see across one of the world's largest urban centers. The city is architecturally innovative, technologically formidable and economically dense, built to be large, powerful and self-sufficient. It is raw power compressed into one overwhelming view of beauty.