“This is a little fragment of paper from 1968.

I came across it during a time when  I hitchhiked overland from England to Australia.
I was given this leaflet by a guy when I stayed a night in a hotel in Tehran. It just had information on it for guests.

But there was this little piece of text included that I was totally struck by.
It says
‘ Love is like a fire without  it home is cold and dark’

I have always resonated with the idea love is what is basically needed in the world.
Love is what is really important in the world far more than almost anything else.
It was one of the many little things that you encounter during travel, especially when you are young , that opens you up to a different way of seeing things.
I was very aware that in Britain at that time you would be very unlikely to find that sort of sentiment in a hotel.
The people I met in Tehran were incredibly warm. And I found all through the Middle East in 1968, people who were friendly, open, always inviting me in to places and helping me out.
They seemed very trusting of strangers. I grew up in an atmosphere that was quite different. So it’s a memory I have kept all these years.”     Dharmamati