His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet

I bet you spent hallow's eve eating candy. Well... I had to wait to eat mine until I got back from Toronto. There were more important things than that for me to do.

The Dalai Lama came to Canada! He is now an honourary Canadian citizen. Only three people in the world have this honour. He was here to make a speech on the Art of Happiness, which is something he's recently written a book about. Alex, his mother and myself had tickets that seated us in the front row of the balcony. Poor Alex was tired when we arrived at Union Station!

I must say it was an incredible experience. It's a whole different point of view. Incredible how a man who has seen such turmoil and injustice can find it within himself to laugh and spread joy. I am SO incredibly lucky to have experienced this opportunity in my life time.

Some things he talked about were the things we assume will make us happy. Even the richest man can still find himself depressed. Money doesn't make us happy. Happiness is found within. "You can't go to the supermarket and say, 'I'd like to buy peace of mind!', everyone would think you were crazy, isn't it?" (When he says isn't it, he means along the lines of 'is it not so'. He says it a lot)

He also stressed the fact that we are all interconnected, and whether we are the kind of person to like people or not, we still depend on them. It is important to have compassion for all people, no matter who we all are. Not just those who seem needier than ourselves, but those whom would not normally evoke compassion from everyone. Such as those who are rich, famous, or well off. They still get hurt, feel emotions, and go through troubles as we do ourselves. Therefore it is important to recognize people and show compassion based simply on the fact that they are human.

Nearing the end his holiness was brought a white scarf by the host. This is a sign of deep respect. His Holiness took it and placed it back around the host's neck. Then he answered a few questions that had been sent to him, bowed his namaste and left.