October 2007. I now travel with a stuffed snake named Sleeky. I’m pathetic, I know. Tonight I sat on the terrace of my little Four Seasons Villa www.FourSeasons.com/Jimbaran  and enjoyed a very delicious Sirloin Hamburger all by myself. In a way it’s a shame being here alone, (sorry Sleeky) clearly this is a honey moon hide-away or a place to bring a special friend; a get-away for the citi dwellers and business people… Kinda boring being alone, suddenly I find myself pondering about the curious life I ought to be living in the eyes of others.
Heck, I enjoy every step of my journey. Being in Bali and pitching to the management of this hotel is a ten year concept in the make. I cooked tonight for a very special group of people and introduced to them a whole new way of looking at healthy eating. A new breed of chefs is already emerging in the schools and hotel world. Still the wisdom of what we eat and why we should eat with more conscious investment is foreign to most. We live in a toxic world; what we put into our bodies directly influences our being, our spirit and the way we age. Amongst the garbage and pollutions are the toxics that induce our psychological being, like the words we share amongst each other or the deceiving politics we bare and any extremist views can trouble our well-being, oppression is soul constricting and simply any narrow perspective can be bothersome and change the way we feel. With all the food we have to our disperse it is stunning we don’t care more about the combination we stuff into our bodies. I wish I could simply shout out my values about life and share my philosophy with everyone, but I’ve learned there are many ideologies playing against such action. So I bring my powerful message through the palate of individuals with a flair for good eating and a need for healthy co-existing. However, to make a living of it clashes with my organizational skills but I value the need for income – (the older I get the more I appreciate a little buck in the bank! ) First off, I am a terrible self-promoter and depend on other peoples kindness to either discover that I have something valuable to share and in return to manage my talent or being drained senselessly until I virtually have to escape the exploitation. I’m one of those artists clearly reliant on the management of third parties when “dealing” my teaching. Within I find myself often drawn to businesses with either strong leadership or philosophies like the Four Seasons that cares for the individual development of its employees talents. I’ve always been most effective under supervision of someone’s guidance and envy not having had the luxury of being channeled by a mentor much earlier in my carrier. Yet… I realize in the same stroke that I would have never led a life this colorful if  managed. Now its time to settle. I’m feeling the need for maturity and craving more solidity. Enough pondering.
Hey, I taught my first few diving courses and did well. Flying back to North Sulawesi tomorrow will be a little culture shock. I do miss my Minahasa family. I purchased a Guitar in Jakarta for the employees, they all sing and many play but there is a lack for instruments. (…there goes the little buck I saved last week…)
The Hotel will be busy for the next few weeks, really challenging all of us to give our best. So, one more night in spoiled heaven. Ah, life is not bad after all. Where are you Q? East Timor I saw you last. If it would not be for CNN I’d never get to even hear your voice. Sleeky, I’m coming to bed.
Raphael