I open my eyes in the morning whenever my body deems it to be the appropriate time…on some mornings its at 10 am, after 12 hours of sleep, and on some days its at 6 am, which is the perfect time to see the sunrise. I roll out of bed, open the door and then flop into the hammock on my deck and watch the goings on out in the sea. The sun has been sparkling on the water every morning for the last two weeks, except for my first two days here when it was lightly cloudy with warm rain. I watch the waves crash against the rocks, the birds soar through the bay, the trees dance in the wind. I then close my eyes and meditate for an hour… “Jody, you do what? Meditate?” Let me digress….
Meditation has slowly become more popular in the past few decades. It certainly isn’t anything new given the fact that it has been a part of numerous world religions since the dawn of time. I wanted to digress and explain myself because this word ‘meditation’ likely means something different to each one of you reading this, similar to that of the word ‘God’ and its many interpretations. So what does ‘meditation’ mean to me? It simply means being still for an hour with my eyes closed. I watch sensations that arise in my body without reacting to them, (such as a fly landing on my nose, or a strand of hair tickling my neck… which is a practice for reducing reactions to the bigger things in life) and I focus my attention on my breath. With as busy as our minds and bodies are from day to day….talking to him, listening to her, running here, driving there, planning this, organizing that, starting the project, finishing the project, emailing this, faxing that, text-messaging dad, skype-ing mom, making a mess, cleaning the house, changing this, fixing that, cooking food, eating meals, buying garbage, throwing away garbage, working, working, and working some more…I’ve realized that my mind and body are hungry to BE STILL!…which is the whole purpose of my time off here!
Well let me tell you, lassoing the focus of my mind to simply focus on my breath for an hour is no easy task….If I get a few solid minutes without thoughts floating in, its been a good session. Thus the majority of my time is actually spent watching how busy my mind likes to be, and then countless times throughout the hour, kindly refocusing my attention on my breath. ‘Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out. Breath in…’ Try it for yourself right now and see how long you can keep your focus solely on your breath…and then try again… By the end of the hour, my body has let go of various pockets of tightness and a calm sense of ease washes over me. It’s a great way to start the day.
Anyway, thanks for reading my digression. Back to my day in paradise… After meditating, I head down the curvy path, passing the fragrant plumeria tree, the vibrant red hibiscus plant, and countless other flowering bundles of joy to the beachside restaurant for ‘breakfast.’ Why the ‘parentheses’, you might ask? Well, let me tell you a bit about my experience of the food in Thailand…
In Thailand, lunch usually consists of rice, vegetables, and then chicken, pork, fish, or perhaps some squid. Dinner usually consists of rice, vegetables, and then chicken, pork, fish, or perhaps some squid. Or you could also have some chicken with your rice, and some vegetables on the side. I prefer to have vegetables with my chicken, and some rice on the side. I almost forgot another option, which is chicken-vegetable SOUP, which is usually served with rice. Then of course, there is also the pork with vegetables and NOODLES option as well. As for ‘breakfast,’ rice with vegetables along with some fish ball soup seems to be the most popular option…. at least at the cafeteria at my work, anyway.…So thus my reasoning for writing, ‘breakfast.’
All of you Thai food lovers out there, I can hear your cries of protest!! “How dare you simplify and minimize how glorious the Thai cuisine is?!” Ok, Ok. I must say, I absolutely love the use of all the fresh herbs…basil, ginger, lemon grass….and the freshness of everything, having likely been picked locally that very same day. But in my defense, I just want to remind you that everything I write about my experience here in Thailand is simply that….one single woman’s experience.
Speaking of being single….Well actually, let me save that for my next entry. Back to my day in paradise. (See why meditation is a good idea for me?! It’s hard for me to even keep my focus on something as glorious as describing what I do each day in paradise!) Actually, I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I’ve just changed my mind again… I think this entry is long enough and that perhaps its time to take a dip in the ocean. (I can’t help it! I was born changing my mind. I’m quite sure that in the first few minutes of my life, I was thinking to myself, “I’m hungry. No, I think I need a nap. I’m confused. I think I’ll cry. Actually no, I’d just like some milk…) Needless to say, I’ll save the next part for tomorrow! I’m off to the beach!
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