Friday, March 11, 2011

tsunami?

life was chugging along as usual and suddenly nicole began to receive phone messages from a friend in australia and another one in sri lanka, notifying her that there has been an earthquake in japan and there is a prediction that it will also hit bali as a tsunami and to leave the resort by the sea.

hmm...everything looks so peaceful and simple, like always, so who do you believe?

she began to try and find out information on the internet, and to check with the locals, but it was a mixed bag....no one could say that this north eastern coast of bali was in danger, but, when it hits it hits, so do we chance it? the gardener and maintenance man, madie, is also the head of the fishermens clan here, so they called him to see if he knows anything. he is so nice and quiet and clever and humble, and he said that the fishermen will keep an eye out and let us know if there is any danger...okay...so instead of listening to all the world forecasts, we will just listen to the fishermen....hmmm....

now there was already fear and tension and uncertainty in the air....along with photos of the damage done in japan, and the warnings of how it can hit australia, indonesia, south america, hawaii....in short, the world!

do we just trust our natural instincts that all of us felt totally safe and normal or do we go along with the precautions necessary if there is a tsunami warning and go inland into the mountains?

we were only 8 of us altogether; an english woman that had just arrived the night before and all she wanted was to have a quiet day here, after finally getting to this lovely paradise, and there was a family with a mother from jarkarta, her german husband, and their 2 sons aged 1 and 5, me, and then the owners, a german couple....as we gathered around the computer and tried to verify what is really necessary to do at this moment, the little 5 year old walked into the courtyard with his just packed backpack and shoulder bag on him, and seriously marched up the steps to the porch where we were gathered around the laptop....

my heart broke. this young 5 year old was so serious and so certain that we must pack our bags and leave now, that that is just what he had done and was requesting us to do also, but in silence. it touched me so, to feel his fear and to want to assure him that we are safe....but he is clever and knows all about the past tsunami and the destruction it did, and he wants no part of that. he just remained silent, prepared to leave at a moments notice.

an attempt was made to verify kinsiologically if we need to leave, and the answer kept coming up: yes. so, what to do? i suggested we rent a car now and drive up to their mountain property that is about 15 minutes away. i was planning on going inland anyways first thing in the morning, and wondered whether i should just order a car and leave already, but there was a feeling of " abandoning a sinking ship" and so i decided to stay with them too, but with my bags packed in the car in case i need to leave from there later.

the english woman was not happy about the decision to leave. she and i were just on our way to visit a balinese family in the village, and not this?! she refused to budge. i went to the car with the things, and met there one of the villagers, out with his knife to cut grass for the cow, we spoke...so sweet...asking me if i enjoyed seeing his daughter dancing on stage the day before, and when i will return, and if i am going to say goodbye to my friends in the village now.

it was so strange to see the men out fishing as usual, life just going on, and us busy packing up our things and driving off into the mountains for safety, the 2 cooks at the resort were sitting on the floor preparing the coconut fish mixture for dinner which would be soon, and couldn't understand why they were being told to go into the double walled cooling room if they see that the sea has suddenly receded very far back. that they should stop the cooking and close themselves inside it ...they smiled and said yes, yes, but asked what time we want to have our dinner? what is reality??

i tried to walk over to the little girl i tutor in english to say goodbye before driving off, and when one of the young fellow in the gang that were hanging out by the sea saw me, he said "tsunami". i thought that was very kind of him...to let me know, even though he and his friends were not going anywhere...he was warning me.

the forecast was that between 6-10 in the evening it could reach bali,so we left quickly at 5:30.. we were the only ones from the village leaving...everyone else just carried on as usual. the english woman was in the car, but angry. the little boy in the back seat was relieved, the owners in the front seat were doing their best to stay calm and confident that we are safe and i was trying to share with the english woman that according to my kabbalah studies, the effort we are invited to make now is that their be unity among us and not dissension and that even if we don't agree, can we agree to go along with someone elses decision and not be in disharmony amongst us, eight people in a van....she was not interested...i let it go...tried to make conversation unsuccessfully, and then just remained silent.

when we got to the property, i took out my laptop to check e-mails and the first one i opened was one that said "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL" from mitha, the 13 year old that i have befriended....she had again saved up her money and had gone to the internet cafe to open her mail and see the photos i had taken of her dancing the day before, and now, while we are rushing off, she is sitting there writing me that life is beautiful...

i was wondering what we should all do now sitting together on an open bamboo platform with a thatched roof for the next 4 hours? sing? tell personal stories? jokes?play games? do a workshop? hmmm...and then i opened up the next email i received which was a "message from the universe" that i receive everyday and it said "wisdom is in silence"...okay got the message! and chose to sit and meditate for the next hour, while everyone else sat their chatting quietly or reading their emails or calling friends to find out what they know and think is the situation at present.

the funniest was that about once an hour madie the 40(?) year old fisherman/gardener would call and say "i look at the sea, it look quiet". or "dinner is ready, you come back home now to eat?" . and here we were looking on the internet at all the headlines and world news reports...who are we supposed to believe,.,,the fishermen and villagers that are so in touch with nature, breathing, living and praising it 24 hours a day, or some professionals that understand global repercussions...and this was global...in almost every direction in the world people were being warned....globalization...

next, each one of them received an email from a different place in the world from family or friends, notifying us that it was safe to return. it was over. our 4 hour stay in the cool air of the mountains, overlooking the sea, with the crickets as our only background sound, and our pleasant time together in this emergency situation had ended...and as we drove back home i wondered how the villagers had chosen to remain in the village? was it from naivete, from intuition,from experience, or from faith?




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