The miracle of life is something we struggle to understand, and so often fail to appreciate. What an extraordinary privilege it is to be alive on this amazing planet, on this astonishing island, living, seeing, feeling, breathing.
Just stop what you are doing for a second and sit quietly. You have a highly complex body that works virtually automatically, you just have to keep it fed and watered and do some maintenance. You have excellent senses which allow you to experience the beauty of the world in living colour, the scents and odours, the feel of the ground under our feet, the sound of birds & bees. But then it gets better.
You can think. You have great mental capacity to understand this complex existence, to be able to work and to play, to appreciate music and song and literature, to be able to build buildings and create art. What a life we have been given by our creator. We are blessed.
But do we actually do all we can to experience that creation in full? Do we use most of our time for unfulfilling recreation, for meaningless pastimes, for endless musings on social media, and often such unproductive work that brings us no satisfaction, no contentment? The answer is ‘yes’. Do we balance our lives as we are urged to do by the Balinese belief in ‘Tri Hita Kirana’, the balance between humans, nature and God which needs to be actively and deliberately managed? The second answer is ’no’.
No. We don’t. And we must. Now as we celebrate the new year (in some cultures at least!) It’s time to think of re-creation, acts of regeneration or at least preservation and care for our precious surroundings and our own lives.
And where better to do that than here in Bali where it is both accepted and practiced. Here there are places for meditation, for cleansing, for renewal and for revitalisation. As they say on the airline’s safety announcements “make sure your oxygen mask is in place before you help others”. This applies to every aspect of our lives. How can we make others happy if we ourselves are upset, depressed, frustrated or just angry at life?
So put down your phone. Please. I know you have it in your hand or pocket right now. Look up and breathe. It doesn’t matter if the sky is blue or grey, stormy or beautiful, it is ours to enjoy.
So, disengage from electronic madness for a second and think about Baloo, the life-loving bear from The Jungle Book. He had the answer for all of us:
“Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities,
Forget about your worries and your strife.
I mean the bare necessities, Old mother Nature’s recipes
That brings the bare necessities of life”.
The miracle of life can begin again. If you let it.
