EBC

My Trip to Everest Base Camp

Our 30 minute you tube video of the excursion.

Took the Qatar flight from Houston to Doha to Kathmandu. Prakash met me at the airport and welcomed with a scarf and smile. He had not been able to get me in the same hotel as the group for the first night. So, at 2:00 o’ clock I stayed at a completely new hotel all on my own. It was pretty safe and I rested. In the morning after breakfast I went for a stroll and found the hotel where the others were staying and met the group. Bhumpi (Kavita) and Sudhakar bhai had just reached the hotel and Shant bhai and Ishu were sick. Got my luggage and after settling in a bit went into the market to look around with Bhumpi. Had lunch with Shant bhai and Ishu. They were pretty sick and had masks on. Fever and cold. More shopping and made small packs of everyones snacks combined to take each day in our backpacks. Had dinner at Big Buddha place and had Punjabi food. Everyone tired today. Met Khushant in the market who was going to leave early tomorrow. Slept early

The next day was sightseeing day. Saw monkey temple, Parshuram temple and Darbar. Was nice. The guide at Darbar took some nice pictures. Came home and packed with Prakash’s help. He was pretty good about advice of what to take and what to leave behind. Shared stuff with all.

EBC

Day 1: After a relaxed yummy Indian breakfast with yoghurt and tea at the hotel, left for the helicopter ride to lukla. After delayed flight, Met Prakash and team there. There were going to be four porters and Anil Mogra our guide and Sam who was an accomplice of Prakash with us. Total 12 of us. After a snack we started. It was tiring but not too bad. Bought the tickets to the park at the entrance. The water followed usto the accommodation. Loved the views and mountains. What a pleasure. The moving bridges were always a thrill between two mountains and above the water. We had sumptuous lunch of dal bhat shak and ginger lemon honey tea. Thoroughly enjoyed it. It was evening by the time we passed phakding and stayed little bit further at a place right on the road overlooking the falls. It was cold but had attached bathroom with running water. Do not remember if we took shower but most probably not as no hot water.

Day 2: After a good breakfast, headed to Namche Bazaar. The hike started beautifully. It was the best part of the whole trip. Lovely views and not so hard walking initially. It was a tough day of hike after lunch. At many point(s), after the lunch, it was like ‘no more’ please. Prakash took over my bagpack but it was still hard. Sat down at every possible place. But people recommended not to sit too often but take rest standing. As sitting just pushes you back. But we made it and Namche bazaar was beautiful. Khushank and party were thinking of going back as Amishas fathers hand was hurting and Amisha not feeling well. Their team was one day set back because they did not make the flight from ramchap the day they were supposed to and they were bundling more hike time. Tried to convince them to come with us but they had made up their mind. My head was hurting too. My blood pressure had reached 120 and oxygen was also 70-80. Was advised to drink lots of water at night and in the morning. Sitting down in the evening with everyone in the dining area was a fun time. Played cards and chatted next to the hot stove. Tomorrow was acclimatization day. Met some kids who knew Pawandeep of Indian idol. They were from the same village. We talked to them but day after found them to have different eyes towards Bhumpi so cautioned Prakash and Anil to have them stay away from us.

Day 3: After morning breakfast went up to see the most famous view of the mountains at some museum and to the Everest View Restaurant. The view from the restaurant is supposed to be good but we were hindered by clouds. It was tiring. Came back after 3. Were hungry. The others in the group went to the town to move around but I did not have the strength. Or wanted to rest. Did stretching before dinner. Drinking water helps. Earlier in the morning, met Khushank and party. They are leaving tomorrow by helicopter.

Day 4 : Today hike was also supposed to be hard after lunch and it was. We reached Tengboche. Prakash had to take my backpack again today in the later part of the day. There is a monastery next to our hotel. We went there after lunch. The views from hotel and monastery was very good. We went inside the monastery and were blessed by the monks. They tied a string around our neck which we kept till we were in US. All along the mountains, we always feel a presence of spirit and physical presence of monastery and temples and bells and flags. You always go around a shrine from the left side is a rule we follow. Our hotel owner at this place has been to the summit multiple times. Last two days there were lots of people travelling with us. I tried to take shower but there was only burning hot water in the shower so came out without.

Day 5: We went to Dingboche. It was nice walking through trees initially but then at some point it was a bit hard with lots of mud flying around. We had our faces covered. I believe Bhumpi got a sore throat here which never left her until we came down. My situation was good because of the water though blood pressure is always above 110 and oxygen around 80. But felt much better. I think the will to do it was so big that I kept going. I think this was the last room with bathroom attached. I believe our bathroom had carpet. There was a girl at this place who supposedly had taken a shower and was not in good shape. She had washed her hair. She was strong and fine though afterwards though.

Day 6 : This day was acclimatization day. I do not remember exactly what we did but I think we went up a hill about 5000 meters and came back. We could see yaks sleeping in the fields out of our window. Close by. The walk back through the village was very nice. The villagers kept everything clean and neat. In the afternoon after lunch Prakash took us to a bakery. Could not believe how many things this bakery had. It could have been a bakery in US. She had oat milk, almond milk… you name it and you could find there. The pastries and desserts were yum. The Everest movie was running and travelers were all comfortable watching it while enjoying their desserts and hot drinks. It was a fabulous place. After the movie we played UNO there. It was a fun time.

Day 7: Off to Lobuche. Slowly slowly the green trees are going away and we are above the treetop. They said it got harder to breathe but I never felt like that too different. It did get hard climbing. It is so much fun though just walking and walking seeing the views, taking pictures, snacking when resting, and aching to rest. Passing travelers and never getting tired of asking them how it is up there. Is it worth it? I have seen parched lips and dark red skin because of which  always have chap stick with me and put cream on my face every morning. Reached Lobuche. No bathrooms in the room now. The dining room was very crowded. There was a boy who reminded me so much of James, Ruchirs friend that I had to ask him his name. He was waiting there because he was sick and taking rest and taking medicine to get him going. Sudhakar bhai started the medicine too over here the next day after talking to a girl doctor from a group of doctors who were camping. She had come to get a piece of the feeling about how it is over here. She was a high altitude doctor. Do not remember what they are called. She was very sweet. For Sudhakar bhai, two points in front and two points on the back were hurting and the doctor said it was perfectly fine to take the d… medicine even latein the game. So he did. Shant bhai also has trouble breathing. The other day Bhumpi had gone to their room to give something and she was saying he was wheezing. He is strong though. Every morning and evening we buy a big bottle of hot water and some bottles of cold water and fill up our bottles. The hot water stays warm in our thermos at night and we use it to brush inn the morning. We try to keep them among the sleeping bag to keep it from freezing. We started using the sleeping bags and bundling ourselves in it sometimes with the warmers there. We have our mittens on and our beanie caps. Mostly me and Bhumpi have gone to the bathroom together once even at 3:00 in the morning. There is no flush and there are tubs of freezing water from where we use the water to flush. I have a supply of bathroom tissues in my pocket always. Last five days we did not even change the first layer.

Day 8 : Lobuche to Gorakhshep. Going was getting harder. After the first few hours, after the memorials, the hill was pretty tough and I saw the horses. It was so tempting. And I gave in and said I want to do the horse ride for next few hours. It cost me 200 dollars and it was pretty scary. First the horse did not like it and no helmet and no fixed road. Repented a few times. But seeing people on the road who were dead tired made me feel good. There was an Australian couple from India and she congratulated me on my decision. By the way, was surprising to see quite a few Indians on the way. I guess all Indians have the bug I have. But I made it on the horse. Gorakshep was something. The mountains and ice was right there. We went through the Khumbu valley which was pretty good looking. After lunch, went to Kala Pathar, only half way as guides said even from top you see the same thing. It was tiring but very beautiful. On our way back it started snowing. Sam had gone to the top and was snowed out by the time he came back. We had popcorn in the evening and it was the best snack in our entire trip.

9th Day : To EBC….. Yes, final push. Saw couple of avalanches further up. It was all so beautiful. Saw frozen lakes and caves till we made it to the base camp. There were lots of camps. Though I somehow think you could not think straight. Wish I had gone exploring a little bit there (after coming back I have seen the episodes of earthquake on 2015 and the very place we were in saw humongous avalanches and people have dies here) We took good pictures and were ready to head back. I had decided on a horse all the way to labuche. The horse took me to Gorakhshep where we had lunch. Met an Indian guy from Ahmedabad, about 65-70 years old who goes to all  kindsof hikes. He was here just with one guide and him. He was having a spring roll which I had too for lunch. It was nice. The food we have had all the time has been good. Except a few times for breakfast when I could not eat my porridge, had no complaints. They serve hashbrown with veggies which is really alu paratha. We found that out later but after that had a feast. They also made me just fried veggies in the morning a couple of times. Throughout the journey our accountant was Bhumpi and everything we spent were paid through her. She did a good job. Said bye bye to Gorakshep and went to Labuche in the afternoon. Me and my pony. The rider took me through a route where there was absolutely no one on the road. If he had taken me somewhere, I would not have known where to go. It was a scary half an hour before we were joined by people. But thinking about it now made me realize how peaceful it was. Missing my time there. Just us and mountains. I think I paid about 450 for the horse ride. Snoozed while waiting for others. During all these, I was perfectly fine, no hurting of any part of the body. Just tired. The horse ride also was fine. I am glad I did it. It was an adventure of its own. We had decided to take a helicopter ride tomorrow after a hike to Pheriche. It worked for us because instead of taking the flight from lukla to ramachap and car ride to Kathmandu, the helicopter would supposedly take us from pheriche to Kathmandu. It cost us 700 dollars each. It felt so worth it that time.

10th day : It snowed whole night so our hike was beautiful the whole way to Pheriche. This was my most memorable hike. We were done and going back today. Yes, showers and no more climbing. It was long. Had lovely lunch. Was so glad to see toilets with flush here. Our helicopter arrived and we bid farewell to the porters and Anil. We would meet Prakash and Sam at Kathmandu. We had given about 250 dollars each to the potters and some more to Anil and Prakash. We ended up giving some to Sam too for his help. Me and Bhumpi gave extra 100 to Anil who had so patiently been behind us always and helped us move on with his patience and his music. We are going to miss him. What a nice presence he had. Our helicopter took us to Lukla. We thought we were going to Kathmandu. There was lots of confusion at the airport. How the helicopters work is during day time they help everyone who is in themountain get to Lukla and after end of the day the pilot goes to Kathmandu when he took us. At Lukla airport we met a couple from Dubai who had come to just go to Tengbuche monastery with their daughter. There was another finance lady from New York who left her group mid way coming back like us as she had enough. She said she did not have to show anyone anything and just decided to go back on her own. We reached Kathmandu at last and ohhh… it was so good to be back. The showers were the best. We went to the Buddha place for Punjabi food. Everyone in the group is crazy about Paneer. Not me.

The rest of the time was spent shopping and going to Pokhara but could not see the mountains from there because of the fog. The Nepalese were celebrating their New Year. Prakash gave us a treat on the last day. And then it was time to head back. Till we do this again. So glad I could get this off my Bucket List.

Embracing New Family Ties

Family is a tapestry woven with love, shared experiences, and an unbreakable bond that ties us all together. As a mother-in-law, I am blessed to welcome not just one, but two incredible women into our family. This blog is a heartfelt message to my cherished daughter-in-laws, a reflection of the love, understanding, and unity that we strive to build together.

Chapter 1: A Warm Welcome into the Family From the moment you both entered our lives, you brought a spark of joy and happiness that has enriched us all. Every family grows stronger through the threads of love that newcomers weave into its fabric. I want you to know that your presence is not just acknowledged but genuinely valued.

Chapter 2: Embracing Diversity and Unity Our family is a beautiful mosaic of different backgrounds, experiences, and cultures. Just as I have so much to share with you both, I am equally excited to learn from your unique perspectives and traditions. Let’s blend our stories and create a rich tapestry that reflects the strength of our unity amid our diversity.

Chapter 3: Building Bridges of Communication Open communication is the cornerstone of any harmonious relationship. My dear daughter-in-laws, I encourage us to create an environment where we can freely express ourselves, share our joys, and seek comfort during challenges. Let’s make room for laughter, deep conversations, and even those moments of vulnerability that only strengthen our bonds.

Chapter 4: Honoring Traditions, Creating New Memories As we navigate through family traditions, let’s also create new memories together. Our shared moments are the building blocks of a legacy that will live on for generations. Whether it’s celebrating festivals, sharing recipes, or creating new family rituals, your input is invaluable and will shape the traditions we pass down.

Chapter 5: Supporting Each Other’s Journeys Each one of us has a unique journey in life, filled with dreams, aspirations, and challenges. I want you both to know that our family stands as a rock-solid support system for each other. Chase your dreams, pursue your passions, and know that we are here to cheer you on every step of the way.

Chapter 6: A Place of Love and Acceptance In our family, love knows no bounds. I am immensely grateful for the joy and warmth you bring to our lives. This space is a haven of acceptance, where you can be your authentic selves without fear of judgment. Remember, you are loved for who you are, and your happiness is our happiness.

Chapter 7: Looking Forward to the Future The road ahead is filled with adventures waiting to be discovered. As we continue this journey together, I am excited to witness the growth, laughter, and shared moments that lie ahead. Our family story is just beginning, and I am eager to see the beautiful chapters we will write together.

Conclusion: To my dear daughter-in-laws, you are not just an addition to our family, but an integral part of its very essence. The love, respect, and unity we foster are the pillars that will support us through all of life’s twists and turns. Together, let’s build a legacy of love that will shine bright for generations to come.

Stronger Together

 In a fast-paced world where priorities shift and time races by, one constant remains: the importance of family. Family ties are more than just connections; they are the foundation upon which we build our lives.

In this blog, we’ll explore the significance of family ties and how they shape our identity, provide unwavering support, and serve as a source of enduring love.

1. The Bonds That Define Us: Family ties are the threads that weave the tapestry of our lives. They help us understand our roots, our heritage, and our place in the world. Through shared stories, traditions, and values, family ties provide a sense of belonging and identity.

2. A Support System Like No Other: In times of joy and sorrow, family is often the first to stand by our side. From celebrating achievements to offering a shoulder to cry on, family members form an unbreakable support system that guides us through life’s ups and downs.

3. Lessons in Love and Patience: Family ties teach us patience, compromise, and the importance of understanding one another. Living with diverse personalities under one roof provides countless opportunities for personal growth and learning to navigate differences with love.

4. Preserving Traditions: Family ties keep traditions alive. Passed down from one generation to the next, these customs and rituals connect us to our cultural and familial heritage. They remind us of the values that have shaped our family over time.

5. Sharing Milestones: From the first steps to major life achievements, family ties provide witnesses to our most significant moments. The cheers, the tears, and the heartfelt conversations become an integral part of our life’s journey.

6. Creating Lasting Memories: Whether it’s holiday gatherings, summer vacations, or simple family dinners, these shared experiences create memories that last a lifetime. The laughter, inside jokes, and unforgettable moments become cherished stories to pass on.

7. Overcoming Challenges: Family ties are tested during challenging times. It’s during these moments that the strength of these bonds truly shines. Supporting one another through adversity fosters resilience and reinforces the idea that we are never alone.

8. Celebrating Individuality: While family ties bind us, they also allow space for individuality. Each family member’s unique qualities contribute to the rich tapestry of the family unit, fostering a sense of acceptance and celebration of diversity.

9. Lifelong Learning: From grandparents to siblings, every family member brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. The exchange of ideas, stories, and life lessons becomes a lifelong source of education.

10. Passing the Torch: As time goes on, family ties take on a legacy-like quality. We become stewards of the connections that have been nurtured over generations, and it becomes our responsibility to carry them forward for the benefit of future family members.

In conclusion, family ties are the heartstrings that connect us to our past, ground us in the present, and guide us into the future. They are the safety net that catches us when we fall and the cheerleaders that celebrate our successes. So, let’s nurture and treasure these bonds, for in doing so, we build a strong foundation for ourselves and the generations that will follow.

(Chat GPT generated this. I could not have said it better so posting it as generated)

Communicate

Growing up in the 60’s, life was so simple. Read my diary. You will see. The Above picture has all my siblings and cousins from dads side and I love all of them. And I can say with conviction that they love me and I can count on them.

How did we complicate it?

Is it all because of mobiles and social networking? Is it feminism? Is it our individualistic mindset? Are the comforts to be blamed?

We knew that life is not meant to be perfect. We had struggles but we overcame them. We did not need psychiatrists. Sure, we felt like dying but we had hope and love and trust. Our struggles made us stronger. We struggled within ourselves, our life was not broadcast, we did not need to always have a happy profile. We fought and made up and understood and tried to understand.

In my marital adapting, I learned after few years that communicating your feelings has a profound impact on the relationship. I married my husband after knowing him for 15 days. And then moved to America. Of course, there were struggles. I will not say that the D word was not thought of. But we endured.

And now you say, why did you? We did it for you. And of course, we did not have financial freedom, so we latched on because of that too. It was so much better handling the burdens together. After about 45 years of togetherness, we are comfortable with each other. And right now, we are bearing the fruits. Do not tell us we did it all wrong when we have just learned to turn our reflexes off.

There must be some reason you liked your partner. I say again, communicating is your best aid. Who has not heard ‘Men are from mars, and women are from Venus’. In order to bring both to earthly terms, communication is the key. They do not understand why you are sulking. Unless you tell them so they can improve. It is hard, I agree. But believe me, I have seen over years and experience, the other choices are harder. Strive hard, work for your beliefs, communicate harder, stay strong and work for what you think is right.

Live the life you have imagined. I agree that the younger generations can have better ways of doing things but do it with respect. Do it with empathy. Do it with understanding. If elders do not understand, communicate. Maybe you will learn from their experience while they learn from you.

Whichever way, always keep the door open for communication. Again, I reiterate, life is very simple. You get what you give. If you have earned it, the whole universe will work so that you get what you deserve, may it be bad or good.

Borders – A Novel

Our world is so small. At any point in life you are bound to run across people from different parts of the world.

There are so many struggles and conflicts going on in the world. We will never know what those people are going through.

Wouldn’t it be nice to feel closer to these people while reading realistic stories about them. Or much better having the people from all over the world trying to collectively find solutions to the problems of the world.

That is what the series of books starting with ‘Borders’ does.

Read the book in Kindle : Borders : Among Taliban

Smashwords : Borders : among Taliban

 

Three students of the ‘Borders’ school, a United Nations Accredited Institution, which has 27 kids from all over the world trained for diplomacy, launch on their first expedition to save a colleague’s friend who has been kidnapped in Afghanistan.

meeting_1 copy

Join Phil from the USA, Zeina from Saudi Arabia and Ismail from Jerusalem as they go on a journey to Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas to search for their friend.

Join them.

Travelling Log

[2004]

My husband and I agree that our favorite place is Death Valley in California. It is about 1 ½ hours away from Las Vegas. The first time we visited that place was at nighttime. It was not a good idea as there are very few lights and absolutely no civilization around. A man we met on the road said “Who needs lights when there is this big light (he pointed to the moon) to light your way”. I fell in love with the place in the morning when we saw the sunrise among the mountains. We were surrounded by mountains and the hotel was the only civilized place for miles. Whenever we are here (we have been here 3 times after) it always feels that we are far away from urban life. When we retire (I mean when we do not have to worry about our kids entertainment, though they also have loved the hiking and the desert and the wildlife) this will definitely be the place we will come to rest.

If you ask my 11-year old son, he will say that the Everglades in Florida is one of his favorite spot. This is surprising as he must be 6 years old when we were bicycling on a trail there and were swarmed by mosquitoes and our only way to get out was to cycle fast at the same time swapping at the mosquitoes. On that trip we saw crocodiles just inches away from us. At Everglades it is very peaceful. My most memorable moment was at this place where everything was so quiet and peaceful and I just stood there against the railing enjoying the effect. I was looking at couple of lazy crocodiles and the turtles and the long necked birds. I remember taking a boat ride to go further down in the river to see the wildlife there. It was very peaceful and quite there. On our way back the dolphins followed us. The most adventurous thing we did was take a boat ourselves and went canoeing and us being between lots of birds. Thankfully we did not see any crocodiles. Everglades is fun.

 My 14-year old son would advise you to go to Puerto Rico. The water is so good with huge waves. The kids took surfing lessons there. We had this hotel, Villas Del Mar Hau, right on the beach. You can walk from your balcony right onto the beach. The kids loved the water and the waves. So did my husband. I do not swim but I was fully satisfied with my long walks, water gazing and my book. The food was great, my son could practice his Spanish, we saw a new culture and were happy to be among friendly people. We found a shop on the road which made our luggage much heavier then what we wanted.

[2016] 

Have visited Guatemala when Romil did his summer there at a village health clinic (2008). Loved the  mountains and the ponds in the mountain. Very green.

We have visited Peru (2004) also which I should mention here and loved the greenery of Machu Pichu

Egypt and Greece we visited in 1997. Nothing beats the history of Egypt and Greece.

When Romil was doing Scuba Diving we visited Cayman Islands (resort was cool), Honduras (loved the food) and couple of other beach places. We had gone to one of the islands of Indonesia and I will always love to remember the peaceful ride back on the boat sitting on top.

When Ruchir did internship in Singapore, we visited Singapore along with Cambodia (Ang Kor and learnt about their bloody past which has left only young people) and Thailand (walked and petted the tigers at the monastery)

We love to travel so much that we have sold our house in Rhode Island after the kids left for college and are on constant vacation. We go to India for five months to do our duty to parents and the rest of the time we are either with Ruchir (25 – houston) or Romil (21 – chicago) or somewhere in between US and India. On Dec 2014 we had a 45 day trip to Italy(relived our honeymoon)-Turkey(kids joined. saw mountain caves, walked up waterfall mountain, historical cities)-Jordan (the best was wadi musa tent sleeping in desert, petra was super specially the 1 km entrance)-Israel(old city was touching)-Dubai(fourth century buildings).

Italy_colwe_3_2monastery_petra

In November 2015, we went to South Africa and visited capetown (table mountain), Knysna (mountain, greenery and beach. We saw a mother and baby whale right from the shore), Kruger National Park (we drove ourselves to see the animals and were scared by an elephant who came marching at us and I had to back up for about 1/4 mile. Nothing beats the fun of driving around and seeing a leopard waiting for us by the side of the road) and to Lesuto village in Johannesburg to see tribal life replica.

IMG_0813township_knysna

We also did a slight enroute trip to see victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. The falls were not in its full form but were still super. Would love to see them from feb to June when they are at their best.

 

Spiritual Healing

I have never liked taking medicine. Nor have I ever liked to give it to my kids.  When the kids were young, I would prefer to have an argument with my husband than to give them medicine without need.  I believe the right way to cure any disease is to allow the body to take care of it and to help the process by good food, rest and exercise.

Thus, when I came across this book ‘Heal thyself – An explanation of the real cause and cure of disease’ by Dr. Edward Bach, I agreed with his views and would like to share it with you all. The book is a 56 page book and I believe the author is from England. The book is dedicated to all who suffer or who are in distress.

Dr. Bach says that modern medicine usually only treats the symptoms of the disease. Disease is in essence the result of conflict between Soul and Mind and will never be eradicated except by spiritual and mental effort. He also states that disease, though apparently so cruel, is in itself beneficent and for our good and, if rightly interpreted, it will guide us to our essential faults. If properly treated it will be the cause of the removal of those faults and leave us better and greater than before.

He further goes to explain that our Soul guides us through life and we are fine as long as we listen to it and we are in unity with the world.  The two great fundamental errors: dissociation between our souls and our personalities and cruelty or wrong to others brings conflicts which leads to disease. This pain and suffering, Dr. Bach explains, can be easily cured if we understand and correct our errors.

The real primary diseases of man are such defects as pride, cruelty, hate, self-love, ignorance, instability and greed.

Dr. Bach, further gives examples:

1) Pride, which is ignorance and rigidity of mind, will give rise to those diseases which produce rigidity and stiffness of body.

2) The penalties of hate are loneliness, violent uncontrollable temper, mental nerve storms and conditions of hysteria.

3) The diseases of introspection – neurosis, neurasthenia and similar conditions – which rob life of so much enjoyment, are caused by excessive self-love.

4) When ignorance and lack of wisdom are allowed to persist, short-sightednes and impairment of vision and hearing are the natural consequences.

5)  Instability of mind must lead to the same quality in the body with those various disorders which affect movement and coordination.

6) The result of greed and domination of others is such diseases as will render the sufferer a slave to his own body, with desires and ambitions curbed by the malady.

Dr. Bach further goes to explain the ways you can cure yourself from these diseases of mind. He explains about our role in this world, the true relationship between parents and children, the faults of modern materialistic world and how to come out of it unharmed. He believes that one of the reasons for today’s unhappiness are boredom and loss of real inner happiness. He asks us to solve this by enjoying every moment of life and live life in the present. He advises us to keep our bodies clean, externally and internally. He encourages us to be cheerful.

I could not agree more with Dr. Bach.