Perfect Manifesto
Everyone is creative and everyday is an opportunity to perform a new creative act. When it’s hard to paint the clouds, we draw the mountains. Making things make us feel good (GRATITUDE). We learn to do something by doing it. When we are brave, our life expands. Risk is what transforms us. Imperfection is our ally. (HUMILITY) We like to slow down and do one thing at a time (or we try). We take pleasure in ordinary everyday details (SIMPLIFY). Simplicity takes time. Being mindful helps. We don’t mind if we’re not too flash (cool, lekker, awesome). We care about being authentic. Living a modest life makes us happy (HUMILITY) We’d rather ride a bike than take a car. We’d rather read a book than watch TV (except for sports). We like to travel light. It’s good to work with others. It’s good to listen. Sometimes we name our chickens before they hatch. Many things can be solved with a strong cup of tea and a long walk. When you get right down to it…the essential thing to do is to do what you do with your whole heart.♥
We landed in Denpasar, Bali on Friday and quickly headed for the coast at Sanur Beach. We had a beautiful, upscale room, with a colorful view, a pool and the beach just a few steps away. How do we simplify in a place that has everything? We started with looking, enjoying and embracing the simple follies of nature. We tried to steer ourselves away from shopping, lingering, expensive restaurants, sugary tropical island drinks with alcohol. Instead of an entire big sized chocolate bar, we learned to be content with the 2 small pieces left on our bed each night at the hotel. We found the yoga shala and the kite boarding lessons. We did indulge in both, but kept it fun, focused and relaxed. This “simple” thing is a shift and shifts take time. It has not been easy, but we have made headway.
WE prepared ourselves for four days at the Organic Side by Side Farm where we would move to next. Our posh lodgings became a humble abode and I would describe our experience as a notch between camping and glamping. Our bed was situated above three garden pools that were home to the fish we would eat in the next few days and we did sleep outside with a mosquito net. Our bathroom was private, but open air, no flush toilet, cold shower and rustic. The food was farm to table and all organic. We ate what we saw hanging from trees, growing beneath our feet, and sprouting from vines. We had no dairy, used only palm sugar, no flour, nothing processed and everything from the farm. The food was amazing, but our tummy adjustment also took time. We had some rumbling and tumbling and more trips to the rest room than we wanted. But, we ate and ate and loved the fresh and new tastes of everything our lovely chef, Elo, fixed for us. The green mystery banana pancakes with freshly grated coconut and fresh honey were magical. We drank water or blended fruit juice..papaya, lime, banana, coconut to name a few. Our tummies adjusted. We wandered instead of hiked through the lush rice terraces and a tropical and very traditional Balinese village. Life here is simple, but hard. You work (farm), you eat what you grow and harvest each day, you sleep and you pray (Hindu offerings several times a day). The dominant religion in Bali is Hindu. They celebrate, give offerings and pray a lot. We were very fortunate to celebrate the Galungan Holiday with our host Ketut. It marks the time when the ancestral spirits visit the earth. Families gather for several days and visit the temples to make contact with the spirits of their families. They visit and make offerings at their family temple, the village temple and the provincial temple. We visited the provincial temple and one of the most difficult to get to in Bali (duh…we would pick this one) named Pura Luhur Lempuyang. 1700 steps cut into the mountain took us to the top. Before the actual steps was a grueling up hill 3km march up a narrow road from the parking lot. Instead of simplifying the toll this would take on our bodies by opting to take the bus, we marched with Ketut. In total, the pilgrimage took us 4 hours and we marched and stepped 7 miles. We stopped at each sub temple to offer and pray and we were allowed to partake in all of the ceremonies. We only had to remove our shoes at each temple stop and wear a special sarong (everyone else does this journey in their flip flops). And, of course, it was raining. We were blessed with the holy water and, embraced by everyone around us. Hindus accept anyone and everyone into their religion, their temples, their festivals and celebrations. This was a very special and humbling experience for us. Needless to say, our legs were a bit lethargic the next day.
I think we made some significant gains towards our goal of simplifying. It just isn’t easy. It took work and made us realize how very fortunate we are to be on this journey together. We felt gratitude for so many people, places, experiences and each other. GRATITUDE seems like a no brainer as our intention for week 2.
