Nepalese children in a remote village playing. © W. Lee Baker
The Art of Living Blog explores the act of living a truly rewarding, balanced life. Find what works for living a richly satisfying life in these pages. Not too long ago, I was on a trek adventure in Nepal. As you may know, it is a place where the basics of life are quite prominent in the countryside. During the hours of day hiking, the footpath almost never gets more than one person wide, and winds along hills and alongside small groups of houses which may be scattered here and there. It is easy to see the basic style of housing and at times the path we traveled would come within a few steps of several front doors to homes. Many times I could see daylight between the boards of the front doors, and through to the other side of the house, all the way through. Children were sometimes outside, yet I never saw a child playing with a toy, as if toys had never been invented. On one of these times passing through a small group of houses, where several kids were playing together, with an adult nearby attending to chores. I was immediately struck by how happy three of the kids were just sitting on a ledge together. I asked the woman if it was alright to take their picture, and she said yes. Just as I approached the group of three, another boy ran over and put his arm around his pal, and this image happened. I felt that it was a very simple and yet special moment, as plain as any moment could be, and these four were showing me their joy that I will remember forever.