Wisdom Lost Wisdom Found

I seem to have been born with a feeling that constantly tugs at me, demanding that I kiss my comfort zone goodbye, hit the road, and live life learning through experience. Thankfully it is an experience I choose to embrace, and today I was reminded why.

I set off on a short journey, walking around the island of Bali. I have no idea why; I just knew it was time. I guess it was just that little voice inside me suggesting there is more to learn in this life than what you believe you know. And so it began.

The day was in many ways un-eventful, and then out of nowhere, it happened. I felt a little tap on the shoulder and experienced a moment that I can only define as wisdom finding me. 

I was photographing joyful local life as the sun made its descent towards the horizon. Children played carefree in the ocean as their parents watched on, taking a brief but well-earned break. Groups of young boys fishing for dinner, women gathering fuel for the fires, a slow-paced life unfolding much as you would expect, yet with a grace that always lifts my heart.

 Searching for dinner, I decided to take a shortcut under a bridge, where I saw a man carefully tending tiny flowers on what appeared to be common land, squashed in between two rice paddies. It piqued my curiosity; something inside me pushed me towards this man as he calmly went about his task.

I approached with a smile and a question, and that's where the lesson began. He sat down beside me, looked me directly in the eye and took the time to explain that every day after he's finished working in the fields, he comes to this unsuspecting plot of land to tend to these flowers.

He told me he was growing marigolds, a common flower almost overlooked used for offerings in Bali. I assumed that he was growing them to sell, but he quickly corrected me. He grows them as an offering, but not to the Gods, but for the land itself. The land that sustains him, the land that sustains me; he grows them for all of us, expecting nothing in return.

He explained that although he was religious and did believe in offerings for his Gods, he felt it was far more essential to give back to the land he walked upon every day. 

As we continued to chat, it quickly became clear that the man I was spending time with was a deep thinker who lived life by a beautiful, caring philosophy.

His daily contribution to the earth is a simple reminder that all happiness and fulfilment comes from within. For him praying to God can not make him happy, complete, content, as all of this flows from within, a gift that's shared with everyone who will spend the time to listen.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your flowers.