“I like your ponytail.” I said in a playful manner. “Ponytail?” he repeated in a thick French accent. There and then began the most extraordinary odyssey of my life. It was a warm spring Sunday afternoon, a perfect day to eat at an east village sidewalk restaurant. My friend and I were savoring the delicious, Yemenite food, basking in the glorious sun; engaged in a lively discussion; enjoying watching the myriad of colorful people passing by - we were drinking each moment of life.

Among the sea of funky pedestrians, his persona leaped out. It wasn’t his tall, slender body, his graceful stride, his artsy garments, or even his thick, long, silvery pony tail; it was the energy emanating from his being. Perhaps it was the twinkle in his eyes, seemingly searching with awe, reminding me of the captivated look on a child’s face that caught my attention. Whatever it was, a compelling need to know him arose within me. I motioned to my friend with a subtle move of my head to look in his direction. It is unclear to me whether he noticed my gesture or the restaurant caught his eye, but he suddenly glided past us toward the menu on the restaurant’s window, standing no more than a foot away from us. It is then that those words tumbled out of my mouth to greet him.

From that moment on, it was as if my life was hijacked by some other entity, a force that would take me into the wondrous world of art, Buddhism, human rights issues, Tibet and China. I would have gone anywhere and done anything with him after learning about his amazing work as a human rights artist. The way he used art as a vehicle to help ease some of the suffering around the world - like his work with poor children in Moscow, where he helped them create a cake mural in the main square; or in India, teaching art to crippled children - captured my imagination on a whole new level. His dedication to use his talents and his life in the service of others, unleashed something in me. There was no way I could have imagined what was ahead of me.

As he was describing his upcoming project to help the Tibetan people, my mind began to reel. His ideas were vague and confusing. I had no sense of what this project entailed other than using artists around the world to bring attention to the human rights violations in Tibet. Regardless, I heard my inner voice beckoning me to jump on board. By the time he left for Belgium a few days later, I was fully committed to the project. The whole thing was outrageous.

The Miracle

When he called a month later to inform me that he met with members of the European Parliament (EP) and they have agreed to coordinate the project with us, I could barely contain my excitement. With the excitement, though, came fear. “But what exactly are we going to do?” I asked. “Don’t worry,” he said, “we will figure it out. I will call you back when I have more information.” I wanted to scream, “Don’t worry, are you kidding me?” But I decided to just flow. Gratefully, a few weeks later, an invitation arrived from the EP inviting artists around the world to participate in a world wide artistic event that will take place in July and August 1998. Although there were no other details like What? Where? or How? at least I learned When. We had less than two years to pull some great project together. The whole thing seemed unreal until I received the notice from the EP requesting my presence in Strasbourg, France, to meet with members of the Parliament and H.H. The Dalai Lama to discuss the worldwide project for Tibet.

I did not know what hit me. Was this really happening, or am I dreaming?