“We are praying to the full moon…

Life in Bali keeps on unfolding and I find myself realizing that in essence, no matter how much my surroundings have changed in the last few months, I continue to live by the same principles: quality family time, our well being through diet and exercise, our kid’s education and our friendships, yet somehow, there is something about Bali that makes me feel empowered, motivated, receptive and (surprisingly) serene. The “Bali way” encourages me to be present in the moment, to live mindfully, to truly embrace life from the inside out.

Perhaps I am still in the “honeymoon” stage of life in a new place; that stage where everything is new and exciting, that stage where there is immeasurable room for effortless growth and endless discovery. The stage where things seem familiar enough to feel comfortable yet at the same time unexpected surprises arise to turn any given moment into a fun and interesting moment. I am sure this “honeymoon” state of mind plays a role in why I feel so positively strong about life in Bali, but I am also certain that Bali is a special place regardless and my intense sense of belonging in Bali comes from many other factors too.

Bali is nothing like I had imagined. In fact, Bali couldn’t be any more different than everything I thought it would be. So much so, that if I had come to Bali just for a “short vacation in paradise”, I probably would have been disappointed! To me, Bali is a compelling balancing act of chaos and serenity, a game of contrasts between unparalleled beauty and unsightliness. An island of plentiful history, rich in culture, and faithful to ancient traditions, Bali is also, on the flip side, a dreamland for the foreigners who move here following the pursuit of having an unprecedented life of luxury, impossible in their own home country. Bali’s innate beauty of lush jungle, endless terraced rice fields, infinite stone carved temples, pristine holy waters, paradisiac beaches and kind souls cohabit with piles of toxic plastic garbage, horrendous traffic jams and limited resources. But it is precisely this commingling of opposites, this constant balance of contrasts that co-habitate in such harmony that makes my Bali so livable, interesting and fulfilling. Nothing in Bali can be taken for granted.

And if Bali itself wasn’t enough already, there is also Green School and its many student-led, programs: Kul-Kul Connection, Bye-Bye Plastic Bags, GS Green Generation, The BEEP Project, GS Bio Bus, Shift… just to name a few. I feel like a groupie writing these words but I am intensely attached to Green School because of its deep and positive impact not only on our children (and on us, adults) but also on the local communities and beyond. Bali is the land of opportunity where initiatives can start, grow and have an undeniably positive impact. Initiatives with humble beginnings, full of passion, focus and purpose. Initiatives that promote integration and collective efforts as valuable tools to move forward. Initiatives that evolve into powerful avenues that guide us towards the monumental endeavor of working cooperatively to ultimately make the world a better place.

If life as I understand it is indeed about balance, Bali is the quintessential Ying Yang, a bomb of potential for substantial change, fertile soil for plentiful possibilities to take root. Perhaps I am becoming a neo-hippie or maybe a bohemian (ha, ha, ha.. go figure!), but for the first time in my life I see my potential, I understand it, and I cannot be stopped.