Looking Through the Veil

I had an opportunity to travel to Chiang-Rai and step my feet into the soil of Burma this past week with a group of Indians. Things could never be more interesting.

In my whole life, the closest contact I've had with Indian is the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". India and its culture seem very vague to me. Though I heard of people going to India, watched a bit of their "run-across-the-mountains" videos, had some Indian food, I never got to interact to one. So living with a group of 6 authentic Indians for 3 days this past week was beyond my expectation and wild imagination.

Indians have very distinct features. Their thick black hair, smooth dark skin, deep penetrating brown eyes, arched brows, full lips and robust frame make them stand out so much in the midst of Thais.

Their lives are closely entwined with their culture. Women still wear their traditional dress anywhere they go. Men grow beard and mustache. They use hands instead of spoon and fork for eating.

I don't know why I'm ranting about this. After saying goodbye to them, I was still haunted by their faces, their thick accent, their strong scent and their sorrowful eyes. These people come from well-off families and have respectable status in society but in their eyes hidden something beyond my reach...something unpleasant that their country has gone through since the past.

The lesson I learned 2 weeks ago from David's life - "For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" became a real experience when I encountered with these people. I think the world offers us a standard of beauty; and we are often lured into judging ourselves and people around us by looking up to this standard. Often enough, the outward appearances blind our eyes to see the real treasure in a soul of a human being. Even I myself.

People can be loud, demanding, rude when they are in need but behind that wall of "look" and "manner" lie the unmistakably perfect masterpiece of the Creator - a human being with thoughts and feelings.

It's one of the greatest challenges for me as my role in life right now is equivalent to a tour guide - to see people from their heart not their look. Sometimes I see people as insignificant, a sea of faces, I could say. Or some other times they are just numbers, like children in Compassion or world population.

Each and everyone of us is uniquely different. If we open our eyes wide enough and look closely, we may see something different in the faces we never paid attention to before....something through the veil.