Bali, my place to contemplate

This is a blog I wrote last year while I was on holidays.  I probably won't get a holiday this year so I though it would be good to include it.  A reminder of what I am missing out on.

There is nothing like a holiday to get the creative juices flowing and it really makes you re-evaluate what you do and why you are doing it.  It has become a bit of a tradition for me to take a few weeks off in July and head to my favourite place for some much needed R&R.  We farewell one financial year and all the effort that goes into it, and start a new financial year – with a new set of challenges and work.  It is not until you jump off the cycle for a few weeks that you realise how much effort you have been putting in.

My holiday destination is a small island just off the coast of mainland Bali called Nusa Lembongan.  Every time I come here I feel a true sense of peace.  With peace comes disconnection, reflection and creativity.

At home I spend my time being the chief of organisation.  Ok, so it is fair to say I am a bit of a control freak, but if I am not organising things for work or clients, I am organising my husband and children’s lives.  I know I am not alone in this – I see it happen to a lot of my colleagues.  You become the go-to person when there is a problem to be solved – and the better you get at it, the more you are in demand.

While I am in Lembongan, I am not the problem solver.  I am sitting here writing while someone is cooking me breakfast.  I don’t have to make the beds or ensure the washing is done.  But most importantly, I really have no problems to solve.  When the biggest decision of the day is whether to have banana pancakes or an omelette for breakfast, you know the stress levels are not that high.

However, I can’t help being an observer at the way this small island runs, and the way that they are perhaps a little better at achieving work live balance than we are.  They are deeply religious people and have very different values to us, most of which revolve around family and spirituality.  Their ambition is not to have a grand holiday or fill their houses with luxury items, but to make ends meet and support the family.  They are not wealthy people, they rarely (if ever) go on holidays, but they seem very happy and content.

One immediate observation is the pace of life. The people walk to a slower beat.  The food is served at a slower pace, and even while working, most of the Balinese seem happy and relaxed.  If there is nothing immediate to be done, they do nothing.  They chat to their workmates, make jokes, smile and enjoy the incredible views.  I cannot think of a time at work when I am not wearing the “Busy Badge” with a list of tasks to attend to.  I also can’t recall a time at work where I have just sat, chatted to my colleagues and relaxed. 

Now I don’t want my staff getting any wrong ideas – the work still needs to be done and the harsh reality is that we work in a busy office, not on an idyllic holiday island.  But perhaps we should be taking a few moments out each day to take off our “Busy Badge” and let some happy thoughts in.  Perhaps we can bring the pace down a notch, and if we do, perhaps we will find that work can also be a source of enjoyment, not just a pool of stress.

The other observation is that this happy, relaxed state is contagious.  I think all the visitors to the island catch it.  No one seems stressed here and the occasional new visitor who has not acclimatised, and still carries on with their busy western attitudes – well they stand out like a sore thumb.  Visitors happily chat to other visitors, try to speak the language (with many giggles at our poor attempts), and we shrug off mistaken orders with a grin.  My lunchtime ginger ale was mistaken for dry gin.  Oh well, bring me some tonic and it is all good.

I am just hoping I can hold onto this attitude for at least a few weeks on my return to reality.  I think I shall be changing my screensaver to a picture that will remind me how I am feeling right now, and when I look at it I will smile, and think of my island friends serving the latest group of tourists their Nasi Goreng and Bintang, at a slow island pace of course.