Wellness Coach & Founder Who Travels In Wonder

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to expand my horizon which led me to India. While I was on my trip, tasting new foods, listening to other languages, and learning about other cultures, I took some time to contemplate why the work we do is so important. As we work to build the first Indigenous & World Music Hall of Fame, at the heart of everything we do at DIVINA WORLD Foundation is a deep respect for different cultures and how they shape how people live and move through the world. Protecting cultural treasures is critical to widening our own way of living and while I was sitting at the Taj Mahal, I was reinvigorated by our mission to remember our ancestors and celebrate our roots. After all, the past is always also about the future. That’s why I wanted to share some of my recent article for LEVERAGE UP, which reexamines a famous photograph. I hope it resonates with you too. 

Alone at the Taj Mahal

There was much speculation in 1992 when the now-famous photo of Princess Diana sitting alone in front of the Taj Mahal was released. It seemed the whole world had something to say. About her. About her feelings. About what was going on in her life.

But what if…

What if she was simply happy to experience the Taj Mahal for the sake of experiencing it, in quiet solitude, on her own? What if she had dreamed of visiting India and was in awe of finally arriving at such a magical place, without distraction, without conversation and without the need to share the moment?

What if she was simply at the right time, in the right place, on the right bench…for the sheer joy of it?

I remember thinking, even then, how quickly the narrative of “loneliness” was assigned to her, how confidently the media, primarily men, I would guess,  projected their story onto a single image. And I remember thinking, quite frankly, what nonsense! There were other possibilities. I never thought she looked lonely. I thought she looked lovely, graceful and poised.

Ever since I first learned to fully comprehend what I read in English, my second language, in Mrs. Swanay’s second grade class, I was captivated by stories of faraway lands and magic. Books like The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett transported me beyond my immediate world and planted a dream deep within me: one day, I would go to India. I didn’t know when or how but I knew I would. It was always on my radar.

Years later, life began to align in the most unexpected ways. In 2015, I met Chef Ranjan Dey, owner of the iconic New Delhi Restaurant, at one of my local mobile art gallery events in San Francisco. Over time, a beautiful friendship developed and I learned that he had been curating immersive trips to India for nearly three decades, sharing his homeland with passion, care and deep cultural pride. 

And that’s how I found myself sitting on a bench, by myself, in front of the Taj Mahal.

In awe.

In gratitude.

In wonder.

Reflecting on how I got there.

And not for one single second did I feel lonely. Not one.

It was never about being alone. It was about being present.

Carmen Milagro, DIVINA WORLD Foundation Founder, at the Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is more than a destination. Commissioned in 1632 by Shah Jahan in honor of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, it stands as a symbol of enduring love, built over 22 years by thousands of artisans. Standing before it, or rather, sitting quietly in its presence is an emotional experience that transcends the self. And that’s the point.

It’s not about us.

It’s about the moment.

It’s about the story, the architecture and the emotion of it all.

Yet, culturally, especially when it comes to women, people often misunderstand solitude.

We are not lonely. We are busy living.

We need to rethink the stories we tell about others and about ourselves. We need to stop confusing solitude with sadness. Stop projecting narratives onto moments we don’t understand.

Stop assuming that being alone means something is missing. Because sometimes, nothing is missing at all.

Sometimes, everything is exactly as it should be. So…

Be bold with your plans.

Be bold with your dreams.

Be bold with your desires.

Be bold with your ideas.

And if you find yourself sitting on a bench, somewhere extraordinary, all by yourself…

Take it in. You might just discover that you’re never alone when you are at peace with yourself.

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