Living in Indonesia had its own challenges, one of which was occupying a house with no electricity or running water. But some of the best memories of life came from those times.

Like Yearning to watch TV!

The problem was solved one evening as we sat on the porch watching fireflies dance and listening to frogs do their song. Ketut the Houseboy stood up, went to the kitchen and returned with the largest knofe we had, dropped the rolled blind, and deftly cut a square in the bamboo slats. Next he drew three round circles underneath. We all moved in to place as befits a family in their living room and proceeded to watch through the square, the fireflies' dance over the rice fields of Bali. It was the best TV we even knew — even when we had the luxry of electricity many years further on.

Tonight I am sitting watching TV again. There are no rice fields beyond, nore fireflies that I know of and electricity is not really needed. Following my mind as it bounces around...

My current TV does that to me. It makes me raise my eyebrows without even uttering a sound. When you say it with a lousy French accent, it takes on a life of its own. Tele – vision! And still your eyebrows go up!! That same accent also makes me think about the meaning of the word; vision over distance. Finding the time to sit and just watch is not a problem. Pulling myself away to do something else is hard. The real work is in dealing with what has been thought. Especially now that it is dubbed in this lousy French accent!

When I lived on Bali, night -time entertainment was always a choice. You could have a small intimate evening with the blind down, and watch TV with a few close friends. Snacks. Drinks. Gossip. You know the kind of thing. Or, if the village came over, then it was “Big Screen Home Theater Night” complete with full stereo surround sound. We rolled the blind up! Sometimes the reception was bad; you couldn’t see a thing, and we would have to wait. (Usually for the rainy season to quit.) Otherwise it was just simply the best.

It seems like such a long time since we sat on the porch and watched those fireflies. Yet, that was only the halfway point. The dream of Shikoku came about under similar circumstances many years before that, in another place. At that time we were sitting watching the thunderous afternoon rains while the pot of tea was steaming. The Japanese traveler told me a story in broken Bahasa about an island where you could walk every day and sleep in a temple each night. His jumbled translation was…

It took another two decades to finish the picture he had painted so well. A dream of a journey – walking with only yourself, and the company of Kobo Daishi, the ascetic who traveled seeking Truth. “A Thousand Miles of Sacred Nights.” That channel in my mind had such an evocative feel! And now it is Reality TV. I will be there and you will all be with me. There. Virtually. Finishing the story that a stranger had started so long ago.

The plane leaves for Osaka in 48 hours time, give or take a few. I still need to do so much, but come Saturday, I am on my own. Dependent on what I have planned and made contingency for, or maybe, just maybe, following what ever it is that has organized me up until now. I don’t speak the language and cant do the accent, nor am I even sure I can walk the distances required. But I am going to try. And while I am trying, it will be the channel surfing in my head that will be the hardest thing to deal with. But there is always the comfort of watching fireflies. Not quite CNN, then again, that is a good thing and definitely better.

These remaining days will be intense. And the To Do List just keeps getting longer. Nothing important really; only everything that has to be done. Just a few basics, like clean the fridge, laminate more placemats, do the laundry, sweep the floors and any other chore that all of a sudden seems to be of incredible priority. Somewhere there is a voice saying, “turn the TV off and do your homework!”

But that is the fun of getting ready for an adventure. Leaving something behind ready for you to return to. And, always, there are these incredible vignettes in my mind of fireflies, incense, quietness, thoughts and joy and wonderment of dreams. It is like watching life with the mute button on.

Right now, it feels like radio because I can’t send you an image of my current TV. But you will find one on the website soon enough. (Along with evidence that the hair is really gone too – from me not the TV.) Now with no hair, it makes me wonder about the value of eyebrows. Eyebrows lie above the eyes. What if they didn’t? Just like elbows can’t be turned outward.

Short walk long time has already begun.

----- Stay tuned, as there will be more soon --- right after the next commercial break!
Don’t move that dial now…

Zen