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It occurred to me yesterday that I haven't worn "proper" clothes for over a month now. My toes haven't seen the inside of shoes and my skin has been left largely bare to the sun and warm breezes. I love living in harmony with nature. Leaving the windows open. Wearing few clothes. - and never being cold. What will I wear when I return to San Francisco? Black? Closed toe shoes? A coat, Lord forbid? Just now, a large bumblebee enters the open doors where I sit outside by my pond. OK, stay calm. This guy is the size of a hummingbird and as furry as a cat. He hovers over me and my computer, BZZZZZ. I am allergic to bees). I get up calmly (on the outside) and say to the bumblebee, "Excuse me, I think I'll just go outside for a moment." I set my laptop on the bottom step and move cautiously outside. A year ago, I would have shrieked, dropped the laptop on the tile floor and dove into the pond. Yes, I'm getting there. Me and nature in harmony. Two nights ago, I walked home shortly
after the sun dropped out of the sky (in the sudden way it does near the
equator). I hadn't brought a flashlight along, but I followed the sound
of a clear high voice singing while she did dishes. I saw a flicker of
light and a shadow next to my house. I focused my eyes and saw my neighbor
placing 2 sticks of burning incense on the shrine between our homes. I
entered my house happier, more peaceful than perhaps I have ever been.
Each day in Bali outdoes the next. That night as I lay in bed I looked
up at the peaked ceiling and a tiny green light flashed on and off. My
guardian lightbug. All is well in Bali.
Bali nourishes and offers up little resistance. It coddles and pampers the body, soul and spirit with salons (where you can be pampered and massaged beyond your wildest imagination for just a few dollars), holistic healers and alternative medicine of varied forms, yoga classes, and meditation centers and retreats. It is easy to Be in Bali. In almost every way the island supports life and supports it abundantly. It costs so little to live here, and food grows with minimum effort. Ease. Even the language, Bahasa Indonesian, is considered one of the world's easiest to learn. The Balinese are an easy people to be with, kind and carefree, with a spirit that is communal - no division where yours and mine are concerned. And no sense that foreigners are impinging on "their" island. They seem to say, the earth is abundant; there is plenty to go around. Come and share it with us. Bali is graceful. You can see it in the way the people move. In the design of their gardens, their homes, their clothing. Flow. In Bali, life flows in a lazy hypnotic cycle. Water, prana, chi, the life force of the island is on the move everywhere, at all times. And always there is a breeze caressing your skin, music gracing your ears, art pleasing your eyes, and life all around unfolding, flowing, naturally, with grace. It's been said that the Balinese envision heaven as a place very much like Bali. Naturally. I receive a none-too-welcome jolt "back to reality" from the tenant renting my apartment in San Francisco: "Hey Robin- Just so you know, your upstairs neighbors are putting a roof deck in. The construction workers are busy daily from 8:00AM ripping up the tar roof and laying a wood deck. On the down side, we get an 8AM wake-up call daily because the work is loud. On the up side, I expect the work will be done before you or your next tenants come in. Hope things in Bali are still great." In one month, I will have to return to the United States. After 8 months away, I am more comfortable than ever living outside its borders. However, the Unreal World beckons... This paradise called Bali. It is
within me. Was all along. It just took being here to remember it. And going
into the void (like Harry Potter) to find it. I'll be back. Because
Bali is no longer just a dream; Bali is home.
Even as I sit this morning writing this story, two months after arriving in Bali, the beauty, the peace, and the magic of this island blow me away. I hear children singing Ole, Ole Ole Ole from a nearby soccer field. A rooster crows. The cow in my front yard moos. The smell of nasi goreng wafts through my window from Mades Warung. My neighbor is playing his guitar on his porch and singing folk songs. The birds are in concert as usual, a cool breeze rattles the papers on my desk, palm trees do their usual dance, and white fluffy clouds hang in the sky, barely moving....And this is Monday! Does it get any better than this? "Come now Robin," I can hear you
saying. "There must be something wrong with Bali." And yes, there is a
shadow side which I will address in next months' story along with
what it takes to move to Bali and to live here, the cost of real estate
and what business opportunities if any there are. And I'll introduce you
to some fascinating people, the expatriates who live in Bali.
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