Interview by Thriveni C Mysore
Congratulations. You have written a beautiful book for children. It is one of a kind compared to others in the market. Tell me something about your inspirational childhood, please.
I grew up in a working class family so we didn’t have a lot of the finer things, but my mother always believed in me and my father modeled respect and kindness. They were both creative as my father played the guitar and sang beautifully and my mother painted abstracts.
They gave me the best start they could and it was a more than enough. A safe warm home, a focus on creativity, good food, clothes, and I always knew they loved me. That’s a lot.
Minimalist. This is the word that comes to one’s mind when one reads Voyage to the Sun. You have explained some of the difficult concepts in simple words. Tell me about your style of writing, please.
I’m primarily a poet and my mother says I started writing poetry at four years old but I honestly don’t remember that, but remember writing a lot when I was a teenager. I wrote a good deal about my style in the preface to my latest book of poetry which I will send.
For Voyage to the Sun, I had to first understand the concepts which was difficult enough. I credit Ursula Le Guin’s spoken word translation with really opening up the concepts. Her recording is beautiful and she has a Zen Bell sound throughout the recording.
For this book I wanted to explain some of the concepts as simply as possible but stay true to the order of the ideas, all with a simple children’s story line and all with as beautiful language as possible. It was a challenge but I think it turned out well because I still cry each time I read the entire book at one sitting.
When and how did you come across Tao? Tell me how you executed this concept of writing about principles for children, please.
I was given a copy of the classic Stephen Mitchell translation around 30 years ago by this wonderful older woman I worked with. Of course it seemed like nonsense to me at my first reading. But as I grew older, had beautiful friends who helped me understand philosophy and life, got my masters in humanities and four certificates, I slowly started to understand some of it.
Then I listened to Le Guin who inspired me, also given as a gift. Then I started looking for a children’s version to read to my son but didn’t find any. I waited for one for several years and finally decided to attempt one. Now I know there is at least one other out there and probably more.
Tao is a wonderful concept for a peaceful world. You need space to practice. Do you think it is possible to practice Tao in the present chaotic & ruthless world?
It is possible to practice Tao because I know people who practice it. I feel this is where the different spiritual paths mingle. Buddhism teaches me that if I have a little compassion towards beings then I can water that feeling and make it grow. Christianity teaches us to love our neighbor. The earth spirituality teaches us a bigger picture of how we as people fit into the natural world.
I honestly feel that the problems of the world are really too big for any one person. For myself, I feel that I just want to create tiny spots of beauty and that will be enough—all I can do. A little compassion. A tiny garden. A kind word. In this day and age that seems extraordinary.
Voyage To the Sun instills great values in children, no doubt. It is a blessing to see the children adopt such great values. Won’t this goodness be a hurdle when they face the real world? Don’t you think they will be less prepared to face hardships?
I feel it’s the opposite. I know people who had rough childhoods and no matter what they do to overcome it, they are still fragile. I had a more secure childhood with some kindness and help. Yes that is not the way the entire world works and at some point I needed to grow up and learn to face some tougher realities.
However people I know who suffered more as a child seem to spend a lot of energy to make sure they don’t get bogged down again in pain and misery. When I’ve approached these difficulties, such as my near death 20 years ago right after childbirth, I’ve feel like I had a better chance to get thru it because I wasn’t torn apart already.
For any successful venture, there will be huge family support. Tell me the kindness of your family while you worked on this project, please. It may be the readings, editing, suggestions & such like.
I received support from both family and friends. Just having the ok to work on a writing project from my family was huge. It obviously took time and energy that I would probably devote to them. They believed in my creative vision.
Plus I’ve met so many people on social media who are beautiful inside, creative, and talented. I would put out a call for help with editing, and experienced and smart souls would answer. People who’ve edited professionally came forward to help me every time. I’m really indebted. They have helped me produce really decent works.
About the interviewer: Thriveni C Mysore is a science teacher from Karnataka, India. She is locally acknowledged for her critical essays and articles on Philosophy and Education. Her books in Kannada on Philosophy and Science have won State awards. Being actively involved in Environmental Awareness Programs, she holds lectures and presentations for students. Amidst life’s complexities, she finds divine-solace in reading Nature poems.