sunrise walk

I woke up early and went out onto my porch to journal, but when I saw the pink clouds in the sky I realized it was a rare occasion of seeing a real sunrise, so I let go of all my good intentions to start the day with some kind of "centering" routine of prayer, journaling, exercising, etc. and ran and got my camera and water bottle and flip flops and set out on the shore, watching the sun rise, the tide was the furthest out I had ever seen it so I decided that this will be a chance to walk even further than the other times since the shore will be easy to walk along.

I was surprised to find a small shack with a sign saying that it is an ecological base for caring for the sea. Just the night before we sat around talking about all of the plastic that is in the ocean. The balinese are used to everything recycling on its own since they use nature for all of their offerings, but with the western influence now here, all the candy wrappers and plastic straws and bags are just tossed on the ground like the banana peels or the leaves for offerings...and they do not realize that all of these wrappers do not just disintegrate in the sea like the flowers and branches, but pollute. They believe that the sea is a very powerful force of nature that neutralizes everything that goes into it, so the fact that the rains push all the rubbish through the streams that all lead to the sea, is a guarantee for them that all is well and the sea with its magic power will remove all negative energy and all will be in balance. Yurgen, who is also staying here, is an avid traveler in asia, a former travel agent, and also a diver, and he was telling horror stories of coral reefs all over the world being destroyed and sold in shops at high prices, and how in the most magnificent nature reserves he has visited in far off islands, the boat has to wade through tons of plastic bags…he said that the currents in the pacific ocean form a spiral the size of texas and 12 kilometres deep of plastic! Unbelievable!! I was actually impressed that nature has found such a unique solution! Gathering it all up in one place! He said that when making oil from plastic will be financially viable, then it will be cleaned up since it will be profitable! He also shared stories of how when he dives there are entire areas where the fish are dead because the fishermen take poisoned rice kernels and throw them in the sea to entice the fish to eat and then they put out their nets and catch all the fish….and then we eat the poisoned fish…ahem…I wasn't too excited about eating fish anymore after that story!But i was happy to see that someone is doing something about it in the area.

I continued on and saw a huge huge huge tree with roots on the sand the size of a big car. It is considered a holy tree, and has a little altar on it. I like seeing these little gestures of sacredness. It just shows a sensitivity to the awareness that everything has energy in it, and energy is gods essence, and that recognition of something "higher" touches me.

Towards the end of my walk I was near a school and I saw 2 children come with a small bucket of pebbles and an officer pointed to a place on the side of the street that had a pock hole (is that the word for it??) and they dumped their little bucket there and he smoothed it out with a metal tool. I thought it was so cute that there is a project like that where the kids help repair the street. But later when I reached another school, I saw all the children coming to school with little colored buckets balanced on their heads with either sand or stones in them, and that maybe Saturday is the day for repairing the road?

Next, I heard the sound of the gamelons being played… I followed it and found the classroom where the school band was practicing…I laughed, since every morning at 7 I hear them, and kept intending to try and find them, but it never worked out, and here I suddenly ended up at exactly where I was hoping to arrive! Thank you! I love watching the conductors and teachers and the kids playing…it fascinates me, much more than seeing a performance…I love seeing the process and how they teach them and how they improve and what is important….

Each of the male teachers rehearsing with the male band all know how to play all the instruments too, so each time they stood next to a different child and repeated over and over again the rhythm or notes that needed to be played by that instrument. It all sounds the same to me, but their ear is in tune with something that I can't even hear. The 26 boys were all playing different rhythms, all by sound, without any written sheet music. And the teachers are all dancers too, so they have the beat inside of them and move their bodies along with the quick hand movements.

Many of the kids coming to school also stood at the entrance to the classroom where the band was rehearsing, their hands beating on their thighs the different familiar rhythms of their favorite instrument (drums, cymbals, gamelons, gongs…). I laughed when I saw the kids standing in front of me, each with their little colored bucket placed like a hat on their heads, the most natural thing to do with them, now that they had emptied the sand on the road, no?!

When the practice ended, I carried on home, again hearing the giggles etc. and one man asked if I want "transport" and pointed to his motorbike, but I just shake my head no and smile and he sang out: "wok eng, wok ENG!" and as I walked I wondered what he had said to me…until it suddenly dawned on me that he had said: Walking, walking!

Whenever I see something that surprises me I whip out my camera to take a photo. And they always laugh: "foto, foto!" and today one of the chefs here was carrying a big papaya on her head and I thought, oh, if I just had my camera to take a photo of that! And then I realized that my photo taking is the same as their giggling…we are each seeing things that seem so strange and unknown and different than what we are used to, and I take out a camera to document it, and they turn to their neighbor and nudge them and giggle.."same - same"

I returned just in time for breakfast, and was sharing some of the impressions from my walk. Nicole was telling them about my visit yesterday with the man who is practicing "The Secret" by envisioning and positive affirmations...she said that this is also what she does everyday, and has always done in life and that the Law of Attraction works. she said that it is even recommended to write on a piece of paper a check with the sum of money you want to receive and for what goal, and that she has done that every day and received it. i was surprised! and then as i reflected on what she said, as i sat looking out at the sea from the breakfast table, i remembered that several times i had made collages in the last year, and put them on my wall full of photos and drawings from magazines of sunsets, sea, flowers, forests, wooden bungalows, trees, beauty, stones, colorful clothing, aesthetic surroundings....in short; all the things i love,,,,and i suddenly realized that i was living my collage this very moment! i have actualized everything i glued on those big sheets of paper that i placed opposite me whenever i was on the computer at home. and now 6 months later i am in it.