Gratitude

28 January, 2026. Siem Reap, Cambodia. 92 degrees.

The chanting starts at 5am. 

In the distance, you hear it.  Quiet.  Humble.  Beautiful.  Water runs in the cistern outside of our windows, and birds sing through the night.  Our hotel is a mile from the city, and while that may be close, it is a world away from the upscale resorts in town.  Ours is on BBU road, right smack dab in the middle of a market where we have yet to see a Westerner.  People crouch near their wares, feet and butts on the ground.  Never cross legged.  Skewers of unnamed meat burn in flames, and the smell of charcoal permeates the air day and night. Colorful fruit adorns stalls, and hundreds of small bananas are sold a day, offered up to Buddha in homage to the great teacher.  But I want to eat them.  We are craving fruit, but so far have had rice.  Lots and lots of rice.  There are no complaints here.  As the song goes, I have everything I need.

Need is very different in Cambodia.  This country has seen a genocide and huge economic downturn in my lifetime.  When the Khmer Rouge rolled through Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975, they started the killing.  Their targets:  Buddhists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, architects, anyone with an education.  Their purpose, which, there never really is one, except greed and hate in these things, was to create a society of clean thinkers.  I.e. wipe out the influencers, and leave only the poor sods who couldn’t tell right from wrong, and who eventually became slaves.  And now fifty years later, you still see the remnants of their failed attempt at an intellectual coup.  Infrastructure, medicine, water and air quality-all of it, are still in the early development stages.

And yet, this is the smiley-est group of people.  Gracious, photo-ready, and delighted with a $1 tip.  It is a lesson in resilience.  It is also a reminder that clean water and air, and the development of minds are the greatest of our resources.  I see now why some cultures revere teachers.  It makes me proud and purposeful for what I do now.  And I am grateful.

6am. Warbling birds…