What I learned about mindfulness in Bali

I talk a lot about mindfulness as a wellness coach and as a yoga teacher. Mindfulness practice involves developing the skill of bringing one’s attention to whatever is happening in the present moment. We are developing this skill when we sit in meditation, and also as yogis when we focus in our asana practice. If you’re not really familiar with mindfulness, perhaps you’d like to hear this story that illustrates mindfulness in real life. It happened a little over a year ago at the end of a retreat in the Sideman Valley in Bali. This is not my story, although I was present at the retreat, but it is nevertheless true. The Balinese people are spiritual probably from birth. They live a life of devotion and gratitude, and focus on the present moment as a way of life. In this story, my friend Rita was being driven to the airport by a local man whom I will call Wayan for the purposes of this story. Rita was sitting up front with Wayan. As they were traveling down the road, Rita asked him why she had never seen anyone in Bali get angry or look cross. At that moment, the car hit a motorbike that stopped in its path. The driver of the motorbike was thrown off his bike, onto a grassy hillside. His shoes went flying in the other direction. Wayan left his vehicle to attend to the driver on the hillside. A safety patrol officer went to get the shoes. The motorbike driver had no apparent injuries, nor did his bike. Once he was reunited with his shoes, he drove off. Wayan walked around his vehicle to assess the damage. Then he got back in the car and resumed the route to the airport. Rita apologized for distracting him while he was driving. He replied, “You didn’t cause the accident.” She asked, ““Aren’t you upset about the damage to your car?” Wayan replied, “The accident is in the past. Everyone is ok. My car is still drivable. I don’t need to pay attention to any damage right now. Right now, my job is to get you to the airport on time.”

Can you imagine that happening where you live? Or, can you imagine reacting that way if you hit someone on a motorbike when you were driving? Wayan demonstrated true equanimity. He did what was required of him in the moment (making sure the motorbike driver was ok and that his own car was drivable), and moved on to the next moment, where he resumed his job of getting his passenger to her destination. Facing each moment with curiosity and doing what is required, then moving on to the next moment - that is mindfulness.