Miracles in Sri Lanka

Miracles may happen everyday, but when I'm traveling, it seems as if they are happening ever hour. I landed in Sri Lanka without any clue of what awaited me. The decision to come to this island nation was so natural it hardly required consideration. It should have been scary landing in such a foreign country without a guidebook or even an idea of where to go. But sometimes miracles just seem to happen when we live in harmony with the world around us.

Immediately, I was overwhelmed by what I experienced. If I had arrived with expectations, they would have been shattered at once. Nothing could have prepared me for the simple beauties of this country. I was so relaxed I could hardly look beyond the moment. The restlessness that usually pushes me from one destination to the next did not surface even for a moment.

As I walked through the town of Negombo, I found a strange sense of satisfaction washing over me. In the smiles of the people I passed on the street, I discovered a sense of acceptance and interest that slowed my busy mind and forced me to appreciate each encounter. My first two days in the coastal town were so much like a dream that even I had to question the reality.

I ran for miles on a beautiful sandy beach and felt as if my body were moving effortlessly through the sand. I savored each step as my feet glided across the beach and felt completely at peace. I dove into the ocean and swam in tranquil waters, my eyes closed and body floating as if I were drifting upon the clouds above. I walked out of the ocean feeling as if I had just been baptized and cleared of all my sins and worries.


I accepted the invitation of two locals to walk the beach and soon found myself surrounded by cuddling couples, children playing in the sand, and grown men swimming in the ocean with youthful excitement. It was Sunday on the beach and locals came from all around to enjoy a day of rest and relaxation. I watched as children covered their faces with melting ice cream and adult men teased the others who couldn't swim, and I felt as free as the birds that circled overhead.

As I dined at a restaurant on the beach, a taxi arrived and dropped the next miracle at my doorstep. Stephanie, from Switzerland, joined me and immediately we fell into a wonderful conversation. I listened as she shared her experiences about living in a remote Sri Lankan village. Her love for the country and its people somehow validated my impressions of Sri Lanka and helped me realize that my 'dream' was every bit as real as the sand at our feet. I thought about my time spent living in a village in Fiji and realized that our experiences shared one main thing in common. In every country there are people with a capacity for love and generosity that we can only experience when we open ourselves up honestly and share with them the beauty that exists in each of us.

I bid Stephanie farewell and as she walked away I smiled knowing that she had been brought to me for a very important reason. Because weeks from now I might not even remember her face, but I'll never forget the inspiration she gave me. I turned around and faced the western horizon where a blazing orange sun was setting behind a dense bank of clouds. I smiled with satisfaction, feeling as if my life were in the perfect place, and then watched as the entire sky became a scene of fire and wondrous color. It was the best sunset that I had seen in Asia thus far, and I knew that it was Mother Nature's way of keeping the fire lit that was burning inside of me.

My two local friends appeared just as the colors disappeared, and asked me to join them for Sri Lankan tea. I walked with them down narrow alleyways and into their home where I was greeted by their mother. The whole family piled in to meet me and I found myself surrounded by beautiful smiling children who looked at me with big, eager eyes. I sipped her delicious tea and flipped through pictures of the family, feeling like a distant relative who had just arrived after so long gone. We all laughed as her 1-year old granddaughter stared at me with big brown eyes, clutching her mother's legs despite their urging her to walk to me. I looked around at the concrete walls, the pictures of Jesus that graced the walls, and thought of the many homes in which I had sat like this. I felt as humble as I did then as their mother offered me food, more tea and then insisted I return before leaving so she could fix me a proper dinner and throw a farewell party for me. As I attempted to relate the extreme gratitude I felt inside, I found myself choking up and completely at a loss for words, unable to express the intensity of my emotions.

This trip has felt so much like a dream, I hardly have any sense of time. I feel as if I'm living in tune with the sun that rises and sets each day and I hardly have time to question what is happening or what will happen next. I'm simply sitting back and letting the miracles happen; and one by one they're carrying me through one of my best journeys yet.