As the fishermen slowly appear and push their single hull canoe like boats into the water to commence their daily routine of tending the waters of the Bali Sea, it’s easy to get lost in thought.
The simplicity of the fishing boat lays witness to a life less cluttered with technology and gadgets…a life of needs not wants. A small rope is wound around the starting mechanism and with one familiar pull the two blades at the end of a long pole spin like crazy. A flick of the wrist, a step to the right and a hand swung around to grasp the rudder and he’s off to tender to the needs of his family and village. In less than six minutes he is on the horizon as my eye can see it….just a dot…a lonely dot with only fishing in mind. His intent not worried by the latest post on Facebook, or the latest tweet of someone grasping for recognition…his only intent is to harvest enough sustenance from the waters he is floating on…enough to feed his family and sell to others in the village. His belief is engrained in guidance from his Gods…a prayer and an offering to the Gods made earlier to ensure he will be provided with an abundant catch.
How do our worlds get so complicated that we lose the simplicity of life? But the bigger challenge is how do we balance the simple with the reality we choose? How do we tend to our basic needs without the chaos of a western world?
Will the Age of Aquarius have an impact on our western belief systems? Or is it our purpose in this lifetime, on this planet to stop and recognise our realities are pushing out the simplicity of life…has the craziness of existence created a world of fear, anxiety, concern…a concern to do better than the Jones’ yet not acknowledge and congratulate the Jones’ on their achievements. As fickle as it all seems I take a breath and enjoy the unpolluted air streaming from North-East Indonesia across the open and vast Bali Sea.
This is my now and it can be my choice for simplicity to be my reality. All I have to do is remember to “breathe”.