Sacred Moments in India: Healing, a Cow, and the Dalai Lama

On our trip to India, Alan and I were part of a humanitarian acupuncture team, providing care to Tibetan refugee women and children. Over just five days, our team saw 550 patients — an intense, humbling, and deeply moving experience. We were exhausted but filled with purpose, holding space for every person who came through, offering what healing we could.

That morning, on our way to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak, we encountered a gentle reminder of the sacred in the everyday: a cow, standing calmly along the road. In India, cows are revered — symbols of patience, abundance, and peace. As we paused to take in this quiet moment, it felt like the universe was reminding us to slow down, to breathe, to honor the journey we were on.

Later, hearing the Dalai Lama’s words, I was struck by how the grand and the small weave together to make a meaningful life. Yes, the teachings, the spiritual insights, the large gatherings matter — but so do the small, tender moments: the kindness of strangers, the touch of a patient’s hand, the calm gaze of a cow in the morning light.

It was an amazing day — one that reminded me that healing happens not only in treatment rooms but also in the simple, everyday encounters that awaken our hearts.