It has already been a month since we have arrived in Indonesia. We have made a kind of base in Sanur, Bali where the kids can enjoy the ocean
nearby, and I can enjoy feeling a little productive with a wifi internet
connection and a laptop on loan. It is a beautiful place and despite the monsoon season, almost everyday there is some blue sky and warm sun! Everyday starts with a plate of tropical fruit and burst of sunlight on our little balcony.
We have recently spent
a few days with my friend Alex Ryan – who remembers just about every detail of our
‘mission’ to the jungle in Kalimantan, Borneo, some 20 years ago. Alex says
this was a turning point in her life – she met the love of her life in
Kalimantan and now Indonesia has become her home. We hadn’t met since then, but
have heard of each other from other mutual friends. We laughed about the similarity in our son's names (Alex's second son is 'Yan' - nicknamed 'Yani') and marvelled at the interesting timing we both built our homes out of reclaimed/thrown away materials at almost exactly the same time (around 2009).
Alex now lives in the famous Balinese cultural centre of Ubud
with her husband (from Kalimantan) and three sons, doing a hundred things at
once! They’ve built a beautiful home from reclaimed timber and open this to
guests and visitors (http://www.pondoklangon.com/), they’ve been instrumental in the local campaigns to reduce
plastic bag use and recycling initiatives, they’ve supported community NGOs on
a wide range of campaigns and they’ve created a successful family business that
promotes and sells reclaimed timber. If
you know anyone who is looking for a completely ethical source of beautiful
timber, to be cherished for many lifetimes – please check their web page:http://www.kaltimber.com/
We talked for hours and seemed to have come to similar
reflections on life. For both of us the priority is our children, supporting
them in their own life journey and celebrating their joy and passion for life. We still do what we can do in service to the Earth, using the skills and
experience we’ve accumulated over the past 20+ years, integrating this into our parenting by heart. We talked about the daily, even momentary
decisions and choices we must make for their welfare and for preparing them for
what looks to be an uncertain future ahead. It is a constant dance, a constant
juggle of priorities and we can only try to trust that our loving intention will guide us in the right direction…
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| High tech kids at Pondok Langon |
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| The view from Alex and Yoga's home
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