3 Reflections...

June 30, 2010

In coming to Bali, as with all of my previous journeys across the world, I planned on diving into the culture. What fascinated me the most about the Balinese culture was that Bali is a small island in the middle of a chain of over a thousand Muslim islands that make up Indonesia, and yet Bali has retained its Hindu origins. I figured, if there is something so mystical about the island that it could retain its original religion despite the outside pressures of Islam and the western religions that surround it, then I would be attracted to that same mysticism. And, as of yet, I have found that I am utterly surprised by the fact that I have had little to no attraction to the Hindu influence that overwhelms this tiny island.

But I have found several things that I have found to be exceptional about the Balinese people in regards to their religion and their beliefs in the beyond…

First, their dedication to their god(s) is remarkable to say the least. From my conversations with locals, they are monotheistic (believing in one god) but that that god takes the form of everything and can be represented by various images. To an outsider, it seems that each representation is a different god, and thus the Hindus are polytheistic (believing in multiple gods). However, as a new friend shard with me, god is invisible and is everything and can be seen in various forms at various times. Thus Hinduism is closely related to the religion by which I was raised, Christianity, and the concept of a Holy Trinity. Understandably, faithful servants of god should make sacrifices on a regular basis to show their commitment, love, and trust in that god. What is most remarkable about these people is their commitment to making their sacrifice visible on a regular basis. There are temples and shrines set up literally scattered about across the cities and towns, to represent different characters of this one, omnipresent god. And you always know that you are near one by the smell of incense. Locals weave palm fronds together to make a square vessel in which they place food, flowers, and incense as an offering to god. Every day, and three times each day, these people stop what they are doing and make their sacrifice to the shrines, wherever they are. Some are located inside restaurants and hotels. Others are more conspicuously hidden behind buildings or inside homes. But to any regard, I find great admiration in the fact that they are so committed to their faith that they make public display of such like clockwork each and every day of their lives. Like other religions, the commitment varies across different people. But one thing is clear: there is a clear commitment to the idea of sacrifice and remembrance, and I find that thought completely honorable, admirable, and teachable to those of us who find spiritual journeys so wonderful and absolutely rewarding in its quest…

Second, the Balinese attention to detail is spectacular and would put any American’s work ethic to shame, including my own. Working, in some cases, for less than peanuts, the Balinese people put great care into the work that they commit themselves to. For instance, the reason I have sought the opportunity to work while I am here instead of spending my time lazily, is because I have observed a man work in the garden of my hotel day after day completing meticulous tasks. He has cut the grass, a twelve foot by twelve foot section times about fifteen different sections, by hand using garden sheers slightly bigger than my classroom set of scissors. He crouches low to the ground, at eye level with the grass, and cuts each blade as though he were cutting a person’s hair. He has also swept the walkway each morning and afternoon to remove each single leave that has fallen from the hundred or so trees and plants in the garden. He uses a brush made of straw and a dustpan and covers each step of the walkway through the garden with care. Women in the hotel cut palm fronds and weave them by the dozen into carefully crafted vessels into which they place their daily offerings. Store keepers sweep the street in front of their store, including feces, dead animals, and trash thrown by careless passerby’s regardless of whether they created the trash or not. The wash the street in front of their store each day by hand, ensuring that their pride in their space is well maintained when people pass by. Workers laying stone in the street or walkways make sure that each stone is laid level and in line with the previous one in order to create a perfect product. Woodworkers use hand tools instead of machines to make cuts in wood and to shave each piece into perfection through diligence. I have been completely astounded by the quality of work that I have seen in this, a poor people, and how a third-world mentality might completely change the way first world work is done. I know that I, for one, have been forced to examine the effort and attention to detail by which I go about performing my job. The result: as well as I think I have taught, I have so much more improvement if I am to keep up with the standards of the Balinese.

Lastly, the Balinese use of the word “maybe” keeps me so fascinated and intrigued. When you speak to a local in English, they use the word to describe what may or may not be done. It is a way of recommending, but not demanding that a certain thing be done a certain way. For instance, a man yesterday told me that “maybe I should become a teacher of English in Bali” and that “maybe I could find a young lady to marry.” I shared with him my commitment to my perpetual state of being single, and to the love I have for my students at home, and he said, “and maybe that is fine as well.” Other times the Balinese will tell you that “maybe you should try this restaurant, or that.” They are very accommodating in their use of the word “maybe” and require no commitment from you, nor are they offended if you say “no.” Coming from a “yes or no” society, these people seem to find contentment in the possibility that yes or no might take a while to determine. Their apparent lack of fear of the unknown is admirable and keeps me on my toes as I consider the path that I am taking in life. While it may not be admirable in the professional world to “maybe” commit to doing something, the spirit of the island makes me wonder if maybe I should not be more content in taking life as it comes instead of committing my life wholeheartedly toward “yes” or “no.”

These, my friends, are just a few comments I have on the Balinese. As I have previously mentioned, my commitment to learning to be more like the Balinese has made me different here, and I expect to learn so much more in the course of the next six weeks. I do not know how I will relate what I have learned, or how I will adjust, when I return. But, as I found in conversation last night with a stranger now friend, my worry for the future is unnecessary. The only thing we have is today, this moment, and I am learning in Bali to live in each moment. I have become more aware of the subtle beauties in life, of my deficiencies, and of my pursuit of love and passion and beauty because I am living more in the now than in my worries for the future. I encourage you, wherever you are in life, to consider the present as the most important moment of your life. Live it well, and it will become your past. But do not dwell on the past. If we focus on the present, we will continually be assured of a rather storied and spectacular past that demonstrates to others, not ourselves, how well we have lived.

I have a great desire to live well. And my life, it seems, has only just started in these last nine days in Bali…