I gotta say – I LOVE Bali. Love , love, love, love, love it.
Not just a little bit – A LOT.
Every single time I come here, I always walk away a little wiser, ALOT more relaxed and a whole more in tune with who I am.
This magical island connects you with who you really are.
Yesterday, I left the cocoon of our villa to visit the beautiful town of Ubud.
And oh my, what nuggets of wisdom I collected while I was there!
Wayan our driver picked us up early.
He bounded over to see us, his usual cheerful self, grinning from ear to ear.
But Wayan is no ordinary driver.
He knows stuff.
And that’s what I’d like to share with you today.
Life is like a car
As we make our way through the hustle and bustle of the newly paved roads, Wayan starts to impart his wisdom.
“Life is like a car.” He says.
“Sometimes you need speed, sometimes you need break.
You never only do speed, you never only do break.
You never do one only.”
It’s so true isn’t it?
In the west, we seem to be very good at the speed part of living.
Constantly in a rush to get to something that we’re not even sure we want.
Constantly grinding away to get that thing that will make us happy.
Constantly pushing, pushing, pushing…
But the break part of the equation?
We’re not so good at that one.
We don’t have time to stop.
We don’t even have time to refuel.
Ah the irony.
And so it strikes me as somewhat absurd when I consider my life in busy little Sydney – time such a precious commodity and ‘living’ so overlooked.
I turn to look at Wayan, all smiles and wild gestures, flowing through life, not pushing, but flowing and I wonder, how did this even happen?
How did we get to a place where we lost the desire to really live?
To be present, to stop and smell the roses every now and then.
And a lot of the imbalances of western living became clear and obvious to me.
Well of course we’re sick and tired and exhausted!
We’re like cars that are constantly speeding forward, with no break!
It’s a wonder we’re even standing to be honest.
And so my first lesson from Wayan was balance.
It’s one I’ve heard before, but this time it really sinks in.
And I hope I can take it with me when I return to Sydney.
We cannot have our foot permanently on the accelerator of life, because sometimes we need to break.
Ah so simple 🙂
Life is problem
As I sit in the back of the car pondering this little nugget of wisdom, Wayn comes at me with another one.
“Life is problem!” he exclaims excitedly.
“But…you must get a profit from the problem!
This is life!”
How eloquently put.
We must get a profit from the problem.
We must learn something from the problems that we experience.
Wayan goes on to explain that it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, healthy or sick – you cannot escape problems in life.
“We all the same!” He says emphatically.
Ahhh another pearl hitting me at breakneck speed.
“You want to know we all the same, then go to the hospital for an hour.
There everybody the same! Rich, poor, sick, well!
No difference!”
Ahhh what a revelation.
We are all the same.
That’s a big one huh.
And I see this a lot with the private clients that I work with.
It’s so easy to look at others and feel like they have more, they’ve got it easier, their life is better somehow.
But I can assure you its not.
Wayan is right.
We’re all the same.
Wealth doesn’t equal a problem free life.
Even good health doesn’t equal happiness.
Nope.
And so the best we can do is to look for the profit from the problem.
Because our problems provide our greatest opportunity for expansion and growth.
THIS is when we truly become richer – on the inside not the outside.
When we accept our problems into our lives as welcome learning experiences to evolve to our highest version of who we really are.
And so, this Bali trip has been such a wonderful experience for me.
Even though I’ve been sick for the first part, I’ve looked for the lesson – or the profit as Wayan puts it.
And maybe, just maybe, it’s time to take my foot off the accelerator a little and give the break a chance 🙂
Simple Life Strategy: Wisdom from Wayan
- How balanced is your life? Is your foot always on the accelerator, or are you breaking from time to time?
- Do you look at others and feel like their lives are better than yours? Know that it’s not true. We’re all the same.
- Look for the profit from the problem! Instead of resisting problems, look to make some profit. Learn, grow and expand into your highest version of you
With love
Zoe B
PS: If you ever head to Bali and would like to meet Wayan for yourself or hire an exceptional driver, email me (zoe@simplelifestrategies.com) and I’ll put you in touch 🙂
PPS: Wondering what Wyan looks like? I only captured one pic of him…and here it is 🙂
PS ~ Sick of working just to pay the bills? Get my most popular, FREE online training here: My 3 Step process To Find A More Meaningful Career.
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