My friends call me the woman who walks with tigers. This is how I got that name, because the courage it took to earn that name is also the courage I bring to a visionary project I am creating in Middletown. Adventure, growth, education and pleasure led me to begin this project and to travel to Thailand in 2003.
I heard of a place where Buddhist monks live in harmony with orphaned tigers of Northern Thailand, and I knew I would do whatever it took to get there, find the tigers and spend some quality time with them. After nine hours of arduous travel, by bus, taxi, and tuk tuk, I arrived in a remote area of jungle housing a Buddhist temple and a tiger sanctuary. The air was calm, the peace between the monks and the tigers was evident. But they were tigers, real uncaged cats. The kind I only read about or seen in a zoo. Before me was a group of 10-to-15 tigers ranging from small orphaned cubs rescued by the monks, to large 700-pound cats of the wild.
One by one each visitor was given the opportunity to meet the cats. Some chose to stand on the sidelines and take photos, but I took a deep breath and followed the monk, who guided me in close to sit with the tigers. The only instruction was not to wear the color red and not to look the cats in the eyes. As I sat with a 700-pound beast, his phenomenal presence was apparent. His massive head filled with sharp, white teeth. His enormous paw rested on my leg. If he decided to stretch, his 4-inch claws would have penetrated my thigh like a hot knife in butter. I was elated and humbled. I allowed his majestic nature to consume me. I knew this was exactly where I was supposed to be on that hot, tropical afternoon.
After two hours of timeless stillness in the sun with the tigers, it was time for visitors to leave. The monks were about to escort the tigers back to sleeping quarters. As I watched them start to walk away, an undeniable inner voice spoke. I knew I had to walk with the tigers. I approached the monks slowly. We spoke different languages, how was I to communicate my desire? I chose a beautiful, soft, compassionate monk, and in awkward silence I gestured insistently, ?I”m coming with you!” Somehow he understood that it was a calling beyond me and beyond rational thinking.
We began our mile walk. I walked beside a male Bengal tiger, my hand resting lovingly on his back that stood 3.5-feet from the ground. I remember feeling his spine undulating back and forth as he moved with powerful grace, one of Earth”s most commanding, agile creatures. I remember the tone of his muscles, his strength, as if I were once a tiger myself. I felt an electricity of excitement in my body. One wrong move could have ended my life, yet I was without fear.
We walked together, monks in golden robes, each leading a tiger on a thick chain, some in front of me, some behind. This unforgettable procession sits with me as a cherished highlight in my life. I did it. I successfully managed to share time and walk a mile with the magnificent striped beasts of the jungle. My ability to envision and realize a goal, even one that required enormous courage, was transformed after my experience with the tigers. Since then, I have been thinking and visioning big, beyond traditional ways. After all, it”s impossible to settle for a kitty, once you”ve experienced a tiger.
My vision is to have community center hostel to Middletown. I have lived and worked in this area for 10 years, I think I hold an experienced perspective of what will serve us all. I would create a place for people who want community and culture outside of the bars and casino, a place for theater productions, open mics, poetry readings, creative arts and possible community gardens. By way of international registry, a hostel will draw international travelers into Middletown, bringing more revenue to local business and diversity of culture into our mountain town. I have found the location, a former church sitting in the heart of Middletown, next door to the flourishing charter school, across from the upcoming senior center and library complex, and a few miles from Harbin Hot Springs.
I can see a large group of people benefiting from such a place, so I am putting out the call for a project manager and others who would like to be included. It takes courage to make large steps, to traverse unknown territory and I am being called to walk again, this time bringing people together to share skills and talents in a unified way. I hold the torch for this manifestation and our non-profit establishment needs $290,000 for purchasing and remodeling the future site, for our community and beyond. Maitreya24@gmail.com
Maitreya Maria Carrino
Middletown
