The little Buddhas sat waiting on the table looking much fresher after a 24 hour flight than I felt. It only took a minute for the man with the infectious smile to choose the only white Buddha within the group.
In the small amount of time we spent together he told me about his father and mother who had died many years ago, about the brother in Barbados who he had only seen once and about his girlfriend.
Again I enjoyed the simplicity of letting time and presence do the work of connection. He was a man who went about life in a simple way, so at first glance I imagine his knowledge and interests could often be greatly underestimated.
In those few minutes he was able to easily explain why white appealed to him, the vibrancy, the purity. He liked that white contained an equal balance of all colours of the spectrum. And he commented on Renaissance artists and their use of white.

When his girlfriend arrived he asked if she could choose a Buddha too. So a green Buddha also found a new home.
The familiarity of this simple task of handing on some Buddhas, as I had been doing in Melbourne, somehow helped me arrive more fully in Birmingham.

Buddhas donated by Pasadadipa and Inge from UK