In Bali, the devotion to making things beautiful moves me deeply—all
offered in gratitude to the gods for the good in life and to the demons to
appease help them. Daily offerings of flowers in small palm leaf
baskets are placed at each home, shop, school, banyan tree, rice field and every possible
sacred place.
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| C(h)anang, the daily offerings |
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| Vegetable field shrine |
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| Daily offering on weavers loom |
Benang, the stunning ceremonial offerings, and the offerings
for the many special days honoring and being grateful for fire, metal, cooking
utensils and other everyday objects.
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| Offering on a car to honor the spirit of metal and the fire that forges it. |
To be in a culture where gratitude is a consistent part of
everyday life, for both the very poor and the very rich, is a very positive
kind of culture shock. It makes me imagine what life would be like in my
country, my city, and every town if we did the same thing.
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| Goa Raja at Besakih, the Mother Temple |
We are so busy wanting more, we rarely take the time to be
grateful for what we have, who we are, those we love. Bali reminds me that the
time is now, three times a day, morning, noon and night, literally.
Maybe that’s why I love it here . . .
I love the small offerings, for the little and big things that we take for granted. Like the one on the car, which honors not only the spirit of metal and fire but of the thousands of laborers, miners, and slaves of industry who make it possible for you to have a clunker!
ReplyDeleteThe little time spent in making those offerings is the best form of meditation I can think of. Do something for the sacred every day...
The Goa Raja picture is awesome, very mysterious.
Thanks for reminding us and big hugs from this cold latitude:-)
Thanks for saying this so well Arturo. It is indeed a lovely form of mediation. Remembering the sacred everyday is a gift, not a chore. I have beautiful video of Goa Raja ceremonies, an unexpected delight.
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