TEDESCO NOTES – March 2016
Dear Mentors, Colleagues, and Friends,
Flora and I recently visited Siem Reap, Cambodia to see the ancient ruins of Angkor. I was so moved by the history and culture there that I've dedicated this March newsletter to the trip. Watch out for a bonus section at the end challenging you to think a little. Have a magnificent weekend.
Best,
Daniel
1/3 The City of Angkor
At its peak, Angkor was larger in area than modern-day Paris, and used more stone than all known ancient Egyptian structures. The 72 major temples that remain today reveal little about the approximately 1,000,000 people who occupied the city centuries. This makes Angkor the largest urban center in human history until the industrial revolution. Between the years 802-1431, it was the center of the universe for millions of people. Dynasties rose and fell without any consideration that someday Angkor would no longer be the economic and political pinnacle of human civilization.
Today, the city has decomposed and the temples are rubble. The endless farmland and suburban centers are gone, replaced by dense forests, many generations old.
Angkorian civilization declined and the city was abandoned for hundreds of years. Even local people didn't venture to the temples. Imagine if you had been a French or Chinese explorer and were one of the first people to see this site 500 years later. Such an incredible treasure! It's like stumbling upon an alien civilization on another planet that had disappeared long ago.
2/3 Sunrise at Angkor Wat
Every morning, thousands of people from all over the world trek up to the front of the temple and cluster around as the sun rises over its towers.
We were dropped off in the pitch black of the early morning and made our way following the throngs of other people on a march to the edge of the small lake pictured above. From across the water, we could barely make out the ominous silhouette of a temple pushing up into the dark sky. People started to gather. First dozens, then hundreds, then a few thousand. Light slowly made its way to us, and we could start picking out the temple's features. Soon we could see a near-perfect reflection among the lotus flowers in the lake. Then, for a few brief moments, the whole crowd gasped and stood in silence as the sun appeared. We could feel the energy of the tightly packed crowd, all eyes locked on the horizon. It was as if some sleeping ancient deity was awakening right before us. My picture does little justice, but you can watch a 1-minute time-lapse here for a better feel.
The temple's historical and religious functions are even more fascinating.
3/3 Ta Prohm & A Reflection
You might have seen images of this temple before. This is where the first Tomb Raider film was shot. While many of the Angkorian temples have been restored as much as possible with original stones, Ta Prohm is different. A forest had grown on top of many buildings and often into the temple. Accumulated dirt and dust allowed for saplings to sprout. Over decades, the trees worked their roots down through the stone, distorting the structures and holding them in new, fixed positions. Restorers decided to let them be, and the temple has since become one of the most famous and frequently visited.
The ruins of Angkor are the most beautiful set of buildings I have ever seen. Not simply because of their grandeur and the fact that they were even more brilliant in their initial state a thousand years ago. They are so beautiful because nature and time has eaten them, decomposed and started digesting them. It's a reminder that human works are fragile. Everything we do will one day crumble and disappear. All our culture and stories will be forgotten and melt into the ground. But the ethereal nature of life also makes today, everyday, even more special. We have a chance to do something beautiful, to create things that go beyond ourselves. We all do.
The slaves who carved these stones had unforgiving jobs. Maybe they were in a quarry hammering out stone for their lifetimes. They saw their friends die in horrible mining accidents. They were away from their families. Did they ever think that they were changing the world? Did they ever consider that millions of people would look upon the fruits of their labor with awe for thousands of years? What if we thought of our work from a long-term perspective. What are we contributing to that will be here in a thousand years. What can we build that will make people in the future glad we existed.
Maybe that isn't a stone temple, but there were millions of teachers and craftsmen and mothers of whose work we have no direct evidence today in the Angkor ruins. They just melted into the sands of time faster than the stones. But that doesn't mean their work was for naught. They were just as essential as the stone carvers and miners in producing these temples.
Take a moment to think about your work. I've focused my work on creating connections around the world, whether through mentorship or friendship. If it leaves any legacy, I hope it's one of stronger bonds among people for generations to come. How about you? What might be your thousand-year impact?
That's it for this edition. Let me know what you think and if there's anything I can improve. Reply to this email and it will go right to my inbox.