One of the many times I arrived in Bali, I was traveling with my sister. As we were getting off the plane, she sweetly said, “Wow, Bali’s air just wraps itself around your body and hugs you.”
Of course I’d noticed this before, right? I mean…I’d landed in Bali umpteen times by then. But, no, I was too busy pulling out my passport and looking ahead to see how I’d weave and dodge my way through the slower crowds, so I could get through customs quickly. Then I’d strategically place myself to grab my luggage and briskly walk outside to look for my brother, who’d be picking me up at the airport.
I was constantly on to the next thing, planning, strategizing, selfishly moving according to my mind’s agenda, which definitely had a fast pace, no matter where I landed. Get “there” quickly, so I could soak it all in. Do all the doing, so I could just be. Then we wonder why “just being” is hard, right?
SIGH…
It was only when I’d put my luggage in the extra bedroom, stripped off my airplane clothes, put on my bathing suit and jumped in the pool that I’d even begin to notice where I was. Embraced and surrounded by the soft scent of frangipani flowers, the charismatic squawk of the geckos, the incessant revving of scooter engines and the sweet chirping music of the birds.
With my mind in charge, it could take me days to transition and really be where I was, and by then, I’d missed things.
If you think about it, it’s insane! We ARE in one place, and yet, in our minds, we’re in the future or the past. When we lose our bodies, we lose our resourcefulness. We lose ease.
Your body feels everything, whether you drop into it or not. And whatever your body experiences, it responds to.
Every change in temperature, every sound that bounces toward you, every shift of the ground you walk on, every scent that wafts through the air, every mood that fills a room.
Now, I get that all situations and places are not Bali. Some are rife with conflict and hurt and an unresolved past. Some are unsafe, so why feel them fully? It’s simple. So you know whether to stay or go. Whether to engage or step back. Whether to love or leave. So you remain true to your heart. All of these options are tangibleand yours in your body.
Here are 3 simple things you can do to quickly drop in and become your body:
- Breathe deeply and make it a generous act.
- Soften and drop any effort you don’t need in this moment.
- Feel where you touch Earth and let your body settle.
Whether you’re headed to your family home for the holidays, going to a magical island in the Indian Ocean or sitting in front of a fireplace with a generous pour of Malbec, make yourself a promise. Promise that you’ll embody the place you’re in. Then you can respond to what it offers you with all of yourself.
It’ll change your life.
It just started to downpour in Bali after 2 days of heavy, muggy heat. My nephews are dancing in the rain. Their happy squeals meld with the rain drops banging down on the roof and ground. The air is cooling down, and I take a deep breath in.