Let It Flow.

The yogic key to freedom in action is in the Bhagavad Gita: "Your right is to the performance of actions, but not to its fruit." One interpretation of this mysterious and significant phrase is that using your gift is its own satisfaction, so you can do what you do for its own sake.

This sentence reminds me of the rice fields of Bali, where they get this statement's meaning. Deeply.The rice fields are hard work. Feet sucking into the mud all day, the sun beating down on you. And yet. There are smiles on the faces of nearly everyone working in these fields when you stop and look. 

They create these fields the way that they do for many reasons. Number one, they obviously need to make a living. But the fields are manicured and hedged in such a beautiful way. Made (pronounced Mah-day) told me that this is for their art. They are proud to present their rice field as a thing of beauty. They are proud that people come from other countries and see their art laid out in beautiful rows of life sustaining rice.

One of the most beautiful things about the rice fields in Bali is that they do not operate from a source of lack and fear. They do not create dams, but little drainage areas so that when their fields have been watered, the water flows on down to the next person. And so on. And so on. They do not hold and clutch and grab, but let go and let flow. Taking care of each other, they take care of themselves. I was so inspired by the simplicity and faith and community in Bali. Just sharing these thoughts and photos with you in this new year.