A month in Bali

I have just landed in Bali where I will be living for one month. The last time I spent a month in Bali I was 31, confused about my life and where I was going. This time I’m going with my husband instead of a solo-trip; I have a suitcase and not just a backpack and I’m bringing not only my journals and pens, but my laptop and business too.

This is the life I was dreaming of when I visited Bali eight years ago on a break from my corporate law career. I took time to go travelling on my own for 3 months in Indonesia and the Philippines and kept going; I travelled for 9 months making my money stretch by staying in hostels and eating street food. My time in Bali changed something within me. It awoke a desire for a different way of life and a reconnection to my spirit that I had lost.

I was mesmerised by the young people working on laptops in the Ubud cafes. The ‘grown ups’ that were living a young and vibrant existence. And the couples travelling and living in exotic places in the world. It inspired me and it helped to widen my perspective on what my life could be.

I think there are certain places on the earth that we are destined to visit. Places where we collect clues for our soul’s path. When we go to these places we meet people and have experiences that will guide us. We won’t know it at the time, but when we look back on our lives we will see how important these adventures are in shaping them. There are so many places to go in the world, but I feel if we listen closely we are guided to places especially for us.

Bali gives me inspiration for my life. It widens my perspective on all things. It challenges me to look at the ‘shoulds’, societal pressures and what aging and growing older might look like in my life. In Bali I feel the sacredness of the land seep into my bones and I feel it’s a place that resources me and renews my spirit.

So here I am, eight years later at a different stage in my life. I now have my own business and work online. I’m towards the end of my thirties instead of the beginning. I’m more relaxed and confident in myself and I’m no longer searching for the man who will save me; I saved myself and then found my true match.

We have rented a home on the island for one month that will allow us to have a routine and rhythm to our day and work. I have created this freedom to travel, inspired by Bali all those years ago and I have a husband who can also work from afar. Interestingly, however, there is something within me that I have become curious about. Even with all this freedom and a desire for a slightly nomad existence, I met some resistance on deciding to go.

It was my husband who suggested we go to Bali for a month. My spirit was there but my mind had to wade through some old conditioning. Better stay at home, root down, enough of the wanderlust. I followed my heart. And from experience, any time I’ve followed my heart (and it is usually initially difficult to do) is when life elevates. I’m glad I have a partner who loves to travel as much as I do. And I’m glad I have the awareness from years of meditating and journaling to see fears and conditioning for what they are and instead, stay close to my heart.