hello dear friends,
sending you heaps of sunshine from lovely bali. the rainy season is over, snakes are still around (and abound..), puppies have tripled in size (guess what.. we are still fostering..), the biggest butterfly in the world hatched (do butterflies actually hatch?) in our garden, mosquitoes are as annoying as ever but we do not react as much any longer.. anything else i wanted to share? probably yes (-;
we have had our fair share of guests and they keep coming!!! or as you say in czech “s navstevama se nam rozrtrhl pytel”.. some of our guests even came for the second time.. i mean guys.. come on.. give other people a chance!!! we are very happy to see you all – just need to mention we are fully booked till august (-;
as i wrote in my previous email, trash is a huge problem in indonesia (and elsewhere in asia i guess). quite a few amazing people got together and organised a first ever “all around bali” beach clean up – our school’s initiative “bye-bye plastic bags” was one of the organisers. it was amazing to participate – and see so many people joining the cause – expats, tourists, locals.. estimated 12.000 people collected 40 tons of garbage in 55 locations. awesome! it was also very sad to see what is on our beaches )-; and of course – cleaning is not the solution. the solution is to change our habits. so – if you plan to come to bali – please bring your reusable water bottle, refuse straws (or go restaurants that use bamboo or glass alternatives), refuse plastic bags.. you will do us all a huge favour. and if you are not doing the same in your home country – start.
i spent 5 great weeks totally immersed in yoga, joining an amazing group of women – ranging from early twenties to late fifties – and our inspirational teachers. what destinies, what stories… we didn’t know each other yet we shared things we would never share with complete strangers, sometimes not even with our close friends. it was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time! the craziness of human condition.. we also did some physical exercise, learnt a lot about different aspects of yoga, ate the nicest and healthiest food ever.. the last week was week of silence. no talking, no eye contact, no reading, no going shopping.. no electronics (our phones and computers where resting in a safe – i guess it was a well-deserved holiday for all of them!!!), 6 hours a day sitting without moving (kind of.. ;-), trying not get carried away by our minds.. it was very interesting and educational!!!!! i thought the biggest problem will be with electronics – my love and addiction to iphone will be tested.. but actually that was the easiest bit – once you don’t have it you just don’t care what’s happening.. it felt so good!!! not talking was easy too, but the “non-thinking” part.. that was the hardest job ever. it’s hilarious what is stored in our mind, what comes up.. and the alternative universes we are creating with our thoughts ((-; i think i will do it again!
dan has submerged himself into – guess what? free diving (-; it’s not surprising and he seems to be enjoying himself a lot! as it is his way of doing karma yoga it doesn’t bring any income – but it brings a lot of joy (-;
kids are doing great too. linda came from school yesterday asking me: mom, do you know where i spent my whole environmental studies class? in the rabbit enclosure! apparently she doesn’t mind cleaning and picking up the poo as long as she can be with the bunnies ((-; i have never laughed reading kids reports before but the green school ones are really hilarious – “at times, he acted a little silly but on the whole was an excellent student to have in class..” or “he was a fun person to have along and while he did find several reasons to procrastinate in the hard work elements of the dome, he contributed significantly to the advancement of the project..” i love the teachers!!!!
they are both looking forward to seeing some of their best friends coming to bali soon! and we as well ((-;
hope you are all doing well, lots of love,
jarka
xx