70.03 Nepal: Pokhara: A night on the town. On second thoughts, a night above the town, lake, minor mountains while way below the fabulous Annapurna Range. (An introductory few)

'Cry the Beloved World' continues after the pictures. 

This is definitely easier than climbing the monster.
The sun has set...well, nearly but certainly over Fewa Lake and the City of Pokhara.
Shanti Stupa welcomes sunrise, above Fewa Lake.
Annapurna I welcomes the evening.
'Morning has broken, light the first day'.
Jen through the jungle, for a change.
One of us has a favorite: Machapuchare Mountain, losing snow each day. A height of a mere faction below 23,000 feet.
When clouds get in the way...on second thoughts, when they enhance.
The clouds decide to be on their way...to wherever clouds go.

In the early stages of the hike, we are still at ground level but seem to be above Annapurna I. (Well, the reflection at water level.) 

 A view as we approach Shiva Temple one early morning, and turn to face our commencement point.
A perspective of Pokhara on the way to Shiva Temple.
We close the photographs with Jen closing in on the peak...well, a little more to go. Pokahara in the background, Shanti Stupa a little way down.
                                                

                                                        Cry the Beloved World. 

  It is so difficult to watch the suffering caused by evil people in the name of ...what? One cannot help but wish to lash out in some way, to express one's outrage, to try to at least develop a consensus that evil behavior is exactly that...unacceptable, dastardly, abhorrent. That one has to even try to convince people that evil is abhorrent is in and of itself, a sign of just how low we have descended and unfortunately, continue to sink. Without wishing to overstate the obvious, something I have mentioned ad nauseum, is that when you allow decent values, morals and behavior to become something voluntary, maybe 'okay' to tolerate, you have lost the moral compass and thereafter, anything can and will happen. 

  It was not that long ago, well I am old, but then again relatively young in terms of the Earth's age, when people knew by teaching, strict instruction and an element of instinct as well as being corrected by the neighbor what was expected of them in the field of behavior, manners and decorum. I fear that age is long past and yet it was only a few decades ago. We were taught to be good, to do good, to help others. Clearly, after this was becoming an awful burden on people, a change occurred when it became the ideal to: 'Do no harm to others'. 

  No doubt, a major change but in the scheme of things, nevertheless, a pretty decent ideal. This has been superseded by: 'Do what suits you, be guided by your feelings, do what works for you. After all, you've earned it. Who has the right to tell you how to behave? Sounds a little individualistic one might deduce. After all, when you can select your own gender, who is in charge? Should you not find your medical insurance premium to your liking, murder the chief executive of the company. Sound ridiculous: Yes, but true. 

  Imagine being a person of a certain group, say ethnicity, religion, or otherwise, let's even say a Jew, which then makes you a target for a death squad, a group that hates you. They know nothing about you. Yet, not only do they decide that you do not deserve to live, an opinion that people 'might' be entitled to have (dubiously), of course, but not permitted to act upon. (I am appalled to even mention this). They then act upon their evil desires and go ahead and murder a person randomly in the name of a personal fictitious concept/opinion. It's preposterous. I find I have to pinch myself to believe this is actually occurring. Add to this evil behavior, there are those who applaud these murders and murderers. It brings joy to their lives. Surely, this cannot be true. Yet it is. How is it possible that there are so many soulless people walking the streets, our parks, the cities? Hmm! Evil flourishes when good people do nothing...how valid. 

  "Hey, Jeffrey, there are only a few bad people around—most people are decent." 

  How often have you heard that? There are millions of decent people living; I have no doubt. What I do know though are two things: The first being 'good' is too easily categorized and accepted. To be a good person takes much work; it takes deliberate effort to do good and perhaps even more difficult, to be consistently good. Thus, whereas I know there are many good people (and we have benefited from them over the years) but not as many as those who are wont to state: "People are basically good". To the contrary, people are neutral in behavior until proved otherwise. 

  The second point is that it is no longer uncommon for one to accept the concept that each one of us has had the odds reduced of being murdered randomly. Makes you think differently when the concept is not that abstract. 

  How does one deal with these issues when the ruling classes are awfully corrupt and untrustworthy; the new prosecutorial officers appear to be more interested in taking care of criminals than victims; and the new age of 'do-gooders' deem a police force no longer required to enforce the laws. I agree, it's a wonderful idea, but they do forget that people are not naturally good. After all, people are basically "good" and yet, corruption and evil behavior, are flourishing. Has there ever been a time when societies were trustworthy? Give me a positive answer and I'll sell you a bridge. 

  We have no formula for success, perhaps even survival. (Depressingly, our ages are now an advantage as we reach the latter stages.) Alas, the former system of values which the world nurtured, the ethics, codes of behavior, are drowning, and most sadly, disappearing. So what do we do? 

  We look to the other part of the world, that aspect which is nothing short of miraculous. We join nature and seek and enjoy what was given to each and every person born to the Planet. We seek, we explore, adventure, learn, appreciate, and always sweat as we take in the glory of the natural world. We are also bolstered by the many kind and decent people we meet on the trails and land. And when these aspects come together, funnily enough, bonded by sweat of the physical challenges, our souls find comfort. 

  How this occurs, we know not. However, on each occasion we complete, we are boosted, though temporarily, until the joy wears off. Such good feelings invariably disappear the day after, by which time the process has to recommence to re-establish itself. The sweat, effectively the glue, needs to be generated productively, positively, which allows for the binding of the physical, mental and spiritual aspects. 

  Unfortunately, behind the scenes, less hidden than in earlier days, the evil behavior lurks much closer than we have ever experienced. Yet, still worse, no plan for elimination of evil seems to exist. 

   With acknowledgment to Alan Paton for title assistance: "Cry the Beloved Country".