Bali Begin Again
Each morning is a new beginning, a second chance at life, kind of like editing a chapter of the book that is your life...
This morning I woke up in Bali and felt keenly aware of this notion. I guess it's the break with routine, the new setting, the contrast highlighting the picture.
Today’s symphony began with the sound of the Islamic call to prayer, long before the sun came up. It was soothing and exotic. I lay there for a while, listening, imaging what the Muslims of Bali were doing at that moment. What that sound meant to them, and how they were beginning again.
After a while, still dark, I got up, lit some incense and a candle and settled down to do my own morning practice. As I sat, eyes closed, wriggling my body into a comfy position, the Hindu contingent chimed in… Loud ‘aums’ were broadcast from a temple nearby. After a brief chuckle at the synchronistic timing, the chanting lulled me into my own stillness… Silently suspended between inner awareness and all pores open to the otherness of the Bali morning.
Inhale, exhale, begin again.
I felt my being melding with each atom of the place. Molecules quickening, disintegrating my solid form and diving and ducking with the gentle morning breeze and the little bats I’d seen skimming the top of the pool.
When I opened my eyes it was to a new world. Darkness had been replaced by light as the amber orb of the sun broke through the banana palms, and the religious chanting had given way to the buzz of scooters and dogs barking. The world was waking up.
Yesterday was no more and today was unfolding at the front line.
Impossibly magenta dragon fruit for breakfast and a morning spent zooming past rice paddies on the back of a scooter.
In the absence of the jumble of everyday life, the routine, obligations, possessions, there is a space… And in this space there are words welling up, like sweet perspiration on a tropical sun-kissed forehead.
When I started writing this little dittie I wasn’t sure of it’s purpose, but now I realise, born out of the mantras from the Muslims, Hindus, and the silent presence of the Buddha sitting in the corner of the garden, this is the writing mantra I needed right now…
Begin again, and again, and again.
So for me today the 'begin again' is a renewed commitment to daily creative writing. Some days it is to be more patient with my children or to put more time into marketing my business. Whatever it is for you, know that each day is a chance to begin again.
>>> Leonie Orton is a writer, editor and marketing communications consultant. She'll create communication mediums in the shape of words, graphics and webs for your business, connecting you with the people who need you. Get in touch by email, facebook or twitter. And if you're not already signed up for new writings and special offers, get hooked up here.
