He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother.....
Yesterday night, a friend shared a link on my status post.
It was an old Neil Diamond's song called: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother."
It has been ages since I've heard this song,...... but the title of the song, did crossed my mind two months ago, while we were hiking in Cambodia.
I am sure that you have heard the story called "Footprints," which tells of a man who died and went to Heaven, where of course.... He met Jesus.
From that Heavenly view point, they stood together and looked at the man's life journey, shown as footprints on the sand.
Jesus pointed out that there were TWO sets of footprints in the sand, where he always walked with the man... And Never left his side....
The man got pissed off and said: "Some older brother you are.... You were suppose to walk the path of life WITH me ALWAYS.... But look at the footprints,......when my life got REALLY difficult, there is only ONE set of footprints..... I was walking alone and lonely..."
Jesus smiled and said: "But little bro, when things got difficult and you see only ONE set of footprints, this is 'cause I carried you on MY BACK...."
The story is a little schmaltzy.....especially after hearing it a thousand times... And seeing greeting cards of it, in every truck stop along every highway in America....
But...... I got to experience it visually and emotionally, when we recently visited Cambodia.
I love it when LIFE, gives me a visual image of a story or an idea.
When I get to see a manifestation of the truth, as it happens and I get to experience it first hand.
It was an extremely hot day in Angkor Wat, and we wanted to do something different, beside visiting amazing temples every day.
The Angkor Empire, has hundreds of magical temples that are situated throughout the area.
Some restored and in wonderful conditions, while others are intertwined with overgrown jungle vines.
But I have been visiting temples daily, and I wanted to do something different...... So we went to climb a mountain.
My husband was barely recovered from a bout with the flu, which kept him laying in the hotel's bed for a few days.
Still, he decided to join me and Chen, our guide, in the climb up the KBAL SPEAN MOUNTAIN.
The mountain is climbed by visitors as an opportunity to see a lush waterfall and an ancient river, which flows on top of it.
They call it the river of 1000 Lingams, because there are 1000 Lingams symbols, thousands of years old, carved into the rocky river bed.
The linga-cult was a sect of Hinduism centered on the god Shiva, who was worshipped in the form of a linga (i.e. a Penis or a phallic symbol).
Most of the Hindu temples at Angkor have at least one stone lingas, which is cared for and worshiped.
The locals climb this mountain, as a pilgrimage.....
An opportunity to offer gratitude to the spirit of the mountain and the water, that flows from the top, into their rice fields, thus offering food and life to the villages below.
It is believed that water that passes over these Lingas, becomes sacred, even magical,
and is able to ‘fertilize’ the waters that feed the rice paddies below
Despite the heat, it was extremely enjoyable to hike through the jungle on the foot path.
We climbed some very large stone blocks, made our way up dry creeks and waterfall beds and around huge Sponge Trees, laden with jungle vines.
At the end of the day, on our way down, we stopped to gather our breath and to try to cool off under a tree, when a group of locals, passed us smiling.
They were walking in a line, dressed in faded sarongs and worn out t-shirts.
The last man in the group, stopped and smiled at me with a wide smile.
He was carrying his brother on his back.
His brother, who had the same facial features and the same large and happy smile, was born without legs.....
Here they were... Making a pilgrimage together, through the rocks and the jungle,....... climbing a tough, narrow, and often steep path... Making a journey for the fun and joy of life.
One can argue that it is easy to care for a disable person at home.... But that it is something else, to put him on your back and go hiking up a mountain on a very hot day.......
This brother was giving his brother a big gift.
He was not seeing him as a burden that needed to be dealt with, by merely providing for him the necessities of life, like food and shelter....
This brother was taking his beloved brother along for a hike, because he ENJOYS his brother's company, and wants to have a fun day together outdoors...... with his legless brother whom he loves.....
I bet you if I could muster enough Khmer to ask him if it was heavy..... He would have told me: "He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother.........."
P.S.
If you want to read an amazing and wonderful biography about a spirited man who was born without legs, look up this book:
"Double Take" by Kevin Michael Connolly
He is a competitive snowboarder, who is also a photographer (the book has some of his amazing photography) and he gets around the world, on his skateboard.
Here are the lyrics to the song:
"He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother"
The road is long with many of winding turns
That lead us to who knows where,
who knows where
But I'm strong,
strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother
So on we go
His welfare is my concern
No burden is he to bear, we'll get there
For I know
he would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother
If I'm laden at all,
I am laden with sadness that
everyone's heart isn't filled with the gladness
of Love for one another
It's a long long road
From which there is no return
while we're on our way to there why not share
And the load doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy , he's my brother
He ain't heavy
He's my brother
to listen to the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1KtScrqtbc
It was an old Neil Diamond's song called: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother."
It has been ages since I've heard this song,...... but the title of the song, did crossed my mind two months ago, while we were hiking in Cambodia.
I am sure that you have heard the story called "Footprints," which tells of a man who died and went to Heaven, where of course.... He met Jesus.
From that Heavenly view point, they stood together and looked at the man's life journey, shown as footprints on the sand.
Jesus pointed out that there were TWO sets of footprints in the sand, where he always walked with the man... And Never left his side....
The man got pissed off and said: "Some older brother you are.... You were suppose to walk the path of life WITH me ALWAYS.... But look at the footprints,......when my life got REALLY difficult, there is only ONE set of footprints..... I was walking alone and lonely..."
Jesus smiled and said: "But little bro, when things got difficult and you see only ONE set of footprints, this is 'cause I carried you on MY BACK...."
The story is a little schmaltzy.....especially after hearing it a thousand times... And seeing greeting cards of it, in every truck stop along every highway in America....
But...... I got to experience it visually and emotionally, when we recently visited Cambodia.
I love it when LIFE, gives me a visual image of a story or an idea.
When I get to see a manifestation of the truth, as it happens and I get to experience it first hand.
It was an extremely hot day in Angkor Wat, and we wanted to do something different, beside visiting amazing temples every day.
The Angkor Empire, has hundreds of magical temples that are situated throughout the area.
Some restored and in wonderful conditions, while others are intertwined with overgrown jungle vines.
But I have been visiting temples daily, and I wanted to do something different...... So we went to climb a mountain.
My husband was barely recovered from a bout with the flu, which kept him laying in the hotel's bed for a few days.
Still, he decided to join me and Chen, our guide, in the climb up the KBAL SPEAN MOUNTAIN.
The mountain is climbed by visitors as an opportunity to see a lush waterfall and an ancient river, which flows on top of it.
They call it the river of 1000 Lingams, because there are 1000 Lingams symbols, thousands of years old, carved into the rocky river bed.
The linga-cult was a sect of Hinduism centered on the god Shiva, who was worshipped in the form of a linga (i.e. a Penis or a phallic symbol).
Most of the Hindu temples at Angkor have at least one stone lingas, which is cared for and worshiped.
The locals climb this mountain, as a pilgrimage.....
An opportunity to offer gratitude to the spirit of the mountain and the water, that flows from the top, into their rice fields, thus offering food and life to the villages below.
It is believed that water that passes over these Lingas, becomes sacred, even magical,
and is able to ‘fertilize’ the waters that feed the rice paddies below
Despite the heat, it was extremely enjoyable to hike through the jungle on the foot path.
We climbed some very large stone blocks, made our way up dry creeks and waterfall beds and around huge Sponge Trees, laden with jungle vines.
At the end of the day, on our way down, we stopped to gather our breath and to try to cool off under a tree, when a group of locals, passed us smiling.
They were walking in a line, dressed in faded sarongs and worn out t-shirts.
The last man in the group, stopped and smiled at me with a wide smile.
He was carrying his brother on his back.
His brother, who had the same facial features and the same large and happy smile, was born without legs.....
Here they were... Making a pilgrimage together, through the rocks and the jungle,....... climbing a tough, narrow, and often steep path... Making a journey for the fun and joy of life.
One can argue that it is easy to care for a disable person at home.... But that it is something else, to put him on your back and go hiking up a mountain on a very hot day.......
This brother was giving his brother a big gift.
He was not seeing him as a burden that needed to be dealt with, by merely providing for him the necessities of life, like food and shelter....
This brother was taking his beloved brother along for a hike, because he ENJOYS his brother's company, and wants to have a fun day together outdoors...... with his legless brother whom he loves.....
I bet you if I could muster enough Khmer to ask him if it was heavy..... He would have told me: "He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother.........."
P.S.
If you want to read an amazing and wonderful biography about a spirited man who was born without legs, look up this book:
"Double Take" by Kevin Michael Connolly
He is a competitive snowboarder, who is also a photographer (the book has some of his amazing photography) and he gets around the world, on his skateboard.
Here are the lyrics to the song:
"He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother"
The road is long with many of winding turns
That lead us to who knows where,
who knows where
But I'm strong,
strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother
So on we go
His welfare is my concern
No burden is he to bear, we'll get there
For I know
he would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother
If I'm laden at all,
I am laden with sadness that
everyone's heart isn't filled with the gladness
of Love for one another
It's a long long road
From which there is no return
while we're on our way to there why not share
And the load doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy , he's my brother
He ain't heavy
He's my brother
to listen to the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1KtScrqtbc
