Wednesday, September 7, 2011


"Haji Ali spoke. ‘If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways. The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die. Doctor Greg, you must take time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated but we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time.’ That day, Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I’ve ever learned in my life. We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly…Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them."
— Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time)

2 comments:

Kenza said...

Beautiful photo and quote. I liked that book very much -teaches you humility in many ways. Thank you for this.

natsumi said...

This is a great quote! I totally agree...

ps. thank you for your kind comment on my blog.
The Hurricane wasn't so bad...

Hope you have a great weekend.