'Child of Tibet' ---- Soname Yangchen
'Sweet Mandarin' ----- Helen Tse
Women's situations and women's feelings that a woman can instantly vibe with. Reading about Soname and Helen and their families confirmed so many of my feelings, thoughts and beliefs. As with Maya Angelou, I felt the instant connect...
One belief Soname and Helen shared and which makes the greatest possible sense is their belief in karma - at no time---NO TIME---did they ever rail against their fate of grinding poverty, having to do the most back-breaking work, the long grueling hours, or the way they were cheated or treated. Never ever did they ask the question, 'why me?' Nor did they question the kind of work they had to do, whether it was cleaning the public toilets, or washing and scrubbing the house from top to bottom every single day...or cooking, or whatever...BUT, best of all, they believed in themselves and their ability to rise above their condition, and the impossible situation life had put them in. They did not question the harshness of the life they found themselves in - EVER - it was just something that happened to them, something that was meant to be for them, and they had to do something about it. They believed they had it in them to do something about it. They believed that this is not what they were born for, and knew that only hard work would take them out of where they were. To that end they were totally, and completely unafraid of working their hands raw.
They believed that while they were in the situation they were in because of some past karma, if they worked cheerfully and well, they would be creating good karma for the future. So, they never thought negative thoughts either, because that would create the karma for the future as well - only good thoughts, cheerful acceptance of what life handed them, and hard work were the mantras.
While I've read about karma and know it makes a lot of sense, and in fact, have on more than one occasion seen 'cause and effect' happening in my life, (seen it enough to believe in it), reading how Soname and Helen (and the other women in her family) actually lived it has really struck home.