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 . . .
