People have asked my husband and me why we are taking a sabbatical in Bali. Well, here is one answer to that question.
Click here to hear all about a magical birthday in Bali.
Murray and I are in Bali! We’ve been here a week and have decided where we want to live for the next six months. Meanwhile we can learn more about whether we want to make this our fall, winter, or spring home and keep Corvallis as our summer home. How posh does that sound?
Each day we’ve had a mantra. Day one: Easy. Day two: Go Slowly. Day 3: Gratitude. Day Four: Hope and Day Five: Fun.
These mantras are serving us well as we take care of the details of extended overseas living. It’s amazing how this simple idea can make such a profound difference in moment to moment decision-making. Too many choices needing to be made too quickly can quickly suck the joy right out of any moment. Our intention is to stay mindful, and notice all the sweet things of daily Bali living, and not get overwhelmed by bunches of decisions. This is our intention on any day, anywhere.
For example, that first day our mantra was Easy. When we went to get our cell phones, we didn’t worry too much about trying to get the best deal. Instead we did what was easy. We thought to ourselves what will make our life easy here. We bought a blackberry for Murray, so he can always be on the Internet. He is delighted, although there is a learning curve, as with everything, but we are taking it easy.
We bought a device that will keep my computer connected to the Internet 24/7 for a modest amount of money for a month. This makes our lives easier. Our mantra was not frugal; it was Easy. Thanks to “Easy” for making these two decisions, and our lives easy as well.
The next day we focused on Go Slowly. There are so many things to be done, so many details to be taken care of, and demanding to be attended to immediately. This is how my perfectionism reveals itself under stress. Go slowly helps take care of that problem. Go slowly reduces any sense of urgency. All the little details waving their hands in the air get to wait their turn.
Why Bali? This week’s article will help explain that, plus I’ve already been asked to sing at an Ubud Rotary meeting, teach Nia at Campauhan College, and perhaps sing at the Ubud Writer’s Festival in October. We are following our YES and it is scary and yummy. We know we are alive.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this week’s article or anything else. And we are collecting places to land as we world hop. So far we have Sedona, AZ, New York, Seoul, South Korea, southern France, Croatia, Santa Barbara, CA, and we are looking for more. Let us know if you would like us to visit sometime.