One Small Thing: Alice Adams

This is a Tibetan singing bowl my father brought back from a trip to West Nepal to make an attempt on a mountain he first tried to climb way back in 1984 along with his friend and sherpa Gombu, who was also on the original expedition.
I grew up hearing about Da Gombu Sherpa, and his face was a rare and exciting human element in the interminable multi-hour slide shows that inevitably followed my father’s climbing trips (‘Here’s a mountain… Here’s the same mountain but at a veeeery slightly different angle…. That? Nothing, just a bit of frostbite, don’t make a fuss… Now, take a look at this mountain…’)

The picture is of Gombu on a visit to London. I was going through some old emails yesterday and came across one from Gombu many years ago saying his son Jangbu had drowned in a river on a trek, a great loss. Years later, when someone I loved was in hospital, another of his sons went to the monastery to pray for us, and to know that this rooting for us, this human connection, stretched right across the world was a comfort at a difficult time. Gombu himself died some years ago and he and Jangbu have been in my thoughts today. During lockdown I’ve been making an effort to meditate daily. It doesn't come naturally to me but it helps to clear my internet-addled mind, and having a ritual around it encourages me to actually do it. I begin and end my meditation with a tap of the singing bowl, which produces a note that resonates through the air for what seems like an improbably long time if you sit quietly and listen. Meditation increases alpha waves in the brain, which are characteristic of relaxed awareness. I recall reading an interview with Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens, saying that he does a thirty day silent meditation retreat each year. While my life (and temperament!) do not allow for that, I do find meditation deepens my concentration and ability to tolerate stress. Lockdown is the antithesis of many of the things the singing bowl has brought to mind for me, mountains and travel and freedom - I should have been doing an ultramarathon in the Azores this weekend and am instead here at home - but I am keeping in mind that there is also a universe to explore within. As Lao Tzu says: Without going outside, you may know the whole world. Without looking through the window, you may see the ways of heaven.

You can find Alice's work here

Stay well, stay safe, stay home x