Alice Kim -  Artist 

I had spent years traveling remote corners of the world and, for the past month, had been exploring the Himalayas, visiting monasteries, nunneries, and various indigenous tribes in the region. Searching for the parts of the psyche that speak Truth to Being. 

 

Through my travels, I discovered that moving through space means unfolding the mind. So there I was, a tiny, long-haired blonde woman holding a huge camera in one hand and a portable sound recorder in the other, ready to uncover the secret to my existence. "But be careful on the road," the monk cautioned. "There's a car accident written into your story." His conviction was so strong that my local guide wouldn't let me cross the road alone ever again until we parted ways in Itanagar, the capital of the Land of Dawn Lit Mountains.

 

My inner skeptic scoffed at the idea of a predetermined reality. "Whatever," I muttered in my head. "I'm the one in charge of my own story." I cast my own spell and continued on my journey. My next stop: learning about the Indonesian tribal way of life.

 

It's been five years since I visited the monk.