Stars and Smoke

Now. Right now. Moments have passed......... and the Bali Chick has been living a truly blessed and beautiful life. So I have a weakness and I am OK telling you, the world, about it. I have no concept of time. Absolutely none. I was born on island time....... I was born on Bali time. I live my life in moments...... moment to moment...... minute by minute by minute...... day by day. I live NOW and living like this is such a fresh and new thing, for me. We are only getting older. Accept everything and take it into now...... and live your best life. Choose love. Choose freedom. Choose luxury. Choose simplicity. Choose beauty. Choose to open your heart and send out your love into the world in all the ways you can. Be a good friend. Be a kind stranger. Be a smile........ you never know if it will change someone's day. When you spend money..... send it out with LOVE. Money is a current of energy..... just like the ocean...... ebb and flow....... giving and receiving...... that's why they call it cash-flow, YO. Sorry, I couldn't resist. It rhymed.

So many incredible moments have passed in the past few weeks for me here in Bali. I was very busy with my best girl-friend Candice visiting me, and was involved with the Bali Spirit Festival with her....... me writing and her, being one of the photographers. Live now. Enjoy your moments. Stop talking about what you should be doing or need to do. Do it. Or don't. It's your own beautiful life. Choose Your Own Adventure - Adult Edition.

A moment I truly enjoy is riding my scooter at dusk........... the women are out doing offerings...... incense, flowers, and rice for the gods. The children play in the street on their bikes. The dogs....... do their dog-thing with their happy dog-smiles. As the sun disappears over the horizon..... small and contained fires are lit all through the villages on the island. The smell of the smoke is so distinct, sp purifying. Maybe it's Bali. Maybe it's the air. I don't what it is...... but it smells beautiful. And so when I ride..... and see these things, and smell the smoke, and look up into the sky....... one by one...... the stars come out and I am at peace, in my element and in the moment.

I'm a traveling gypsy these last few days. When Candice left.....  I woke up in Kuta at a hotel I had hooked up the day before through my blog. Post to come on that. Roomorama is awesome. Poolside, sun-worshipping. Next was off the Padangbai to meet up with my Aussie buddy Scott. We snorkeled and then drank Bintangs, and then decided to head to Candidasa, where we spent the night ( separate beds thank you very much ). He took off in the morning after breakfast. I drank coffee, and did float-in the-pool / dry-off-in-the-sun rotations. It was there I met "zee Russians", which meant 2 hours drinking straight Russian vodka in my bikini with Misha, a 51 year old boat captain.

I came to Seminyak last night, to stay with a now dear friend who I met in a grocery store line-up. He told me I was glamorous. I agree, I am.  And so here I am. Another day in and out of the pool. I had my own princess bedroom with a dozen roses and air conditioning. It's a separate house, in fact. My new friend has invited me into his beautiful world and life and showed me what hard work and LOVE can CREATE. He is a beautiful soul and loves his life so much.......... and it shows. Champagne, glitter, new friends. We had a breakfast of fresh fruit, coffee, eggs, bread and black pepper cream cheese. Followed by fresh-squeezed tomato juice and vodka. ( Who squeezes tomato juice? ) It was so delicious. I then spent the duration of the day playing with my friend's beautiful 6 year old daughter who is half Balinese and half African. Biking wearing....... and artfully decorate in blue, purple and gold glitter. Yes, I have pictures.

If there is anything Candice has taught me while she visited...... it's that I left a bubble to be in a bubble. It costs $3 to fill my scooter with gas and I have the world at my fingertips. I need to keep exploring this beautiful and magical island and saying YES to all of the wonderful opportunities that keep appearing before me. We can so easily grow to be "comfortable." When you have a bed to sleep in, a kettle to make morning coffee, a scooter, a gym membership and a telephone....... you have convenience at your fingertips. Communication, physical freedom and comfort. But you have to keep pushing yourself to live..... to grow..... to explore..... to find peace. And even when you find it, peace, happiness..... in that one perfect moment...... you have to remember that these moments.... are fleeting. They pass. You have to work for freedom. For happiness. For independence. For solitude. For growth. For love. For yourself..... for the world. In every moment. The ebb and flow of the universe. It's all within your reach. It's closer than you know. So reach for it. Whatever it is. It's ALWAYS harder than you think it will be, and the journey, however how long or short it may be, is ALWAYS...... worth it. You owe it to yourself. Create your life. Create your moments. One by one. One beautiful moment, followed by another. Tick tock.

XXXXX LOVE