Today I woke up in Moorea, a beautiful Island that lies12 miles across a clear, usually tranquil, sea from the Island of Tahiti, deep in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean.
The days are warm, the temperature rarely drops below 25'C, the rains keep the Island lush and green, the constant sun allows pineapples and bananas to grow, as common in the gardens as our apples and pears trees back home.
There are two seasons to the Island, April to October when it is dry and hot, November to March when the rains come periodically with days sunny, dry and hot in-between.
Today it is the 'rainy season' but the sun is shining hot through the canopy of large green leaves that cling to the branches of the trees overhanging the beach and shelter me from the intense mid day rays as I swing gently in my hammock to I write this.
Today I woke up in a house nestled on the shore of this beautiful Island that is surrounded by an equally magnificent lagoon
A house made of solid teak wood with a roof of fine wooden shingles. A house that breathes and talks, a house that encompasses you with a warmth and life of its own.
I rose and stepped out of my immaculate wooden bedroom, the huge mosquito net draped dramatically around my comfortable bed, my feet silent on the polished wooden floor. A floor that is supportive yet forgiving as I walked.
I walked to my slate floored and wood panelled bathroom, where I brushed my hair, my image reflected in the enormous mirror that dominates one wall. I showered in piping hot water from my efficient gas shower unit, luxuriating in the cascading waters, awakening gently to the beginning of the day.
Wrapped in a large fluffy bath sheet, my damp hair piled up on my head, I softy crossed the glass enclosed living room to open some of the large patio doors.
The three chosen doors slid effortlessly to one side, opening up the room to blend with the expansive wooden decking surrounding the house and allowed the refreshing sea breeze to flow through the house.
I dressed in a cool cotton dress and gave thanks to the Deities for all They have bestowed, breathing deeply the rich fragrance of the Tiare flowers that I had placed on the alter.
Stepping silently out onto the lawn I peered unobserved for the moment at the two dogs sleeping not far away.
Within seconds I was greeted by wagging tails and happy bounces as Rascals and Pepsi came running to see me.
Awake now the dogs played while I arranged myself ready for our morning walk.
Making sure both dogs were listening to the days instructions (that they both later totally ignored) I released Rascals from her running wire allowing her the freedom to run wild with Pepsi from next door.
Both dogs bounded around the garden and beaches, tumbling and jumping, racing from one tree to the other,
chasing and sniffing as we patrolled these superb and diverse grounds, checking for the days chores.
My garden here consists of Banana trees, papaya trees,
Palms both of fig and coconuts. I have huge towering trees, young newly sprouted trees,
trees that spread their fronds like a huge umbrella over the shaded earth.
Plants that we grow on the windowsill in tiny pots in the UK, here have become giants, each leaf 20 times the size of its cousin back home.
Flowering bushes that I have only ever seen on TV fill my view as I stroll through the trees.
Our patrol is soon over and we settle into the mornings work.
I collected the fallen leaves, placing them into a large bucket that is periodically emptied into the catchment areas around the bushes and the trees forming a colourful mulch that will feed and nourish its flowering guardian as it rots down in this tropical heat.
I rake the Tupar disturbed earth, noting happily that they are moving on.
(A quick side note here to all of those who live or will ever live in Tupar land. These 'rodents in stilettos' as my dear friend Lou described them, can cause chaos in a garden if left to have their own devices. They run rampage at night moving earth and leaving spiked footprints in the neatly raked soil. They bury themselves deep in their underworld caverns by day, far away from prying eyes and inquisitive dogs!
They are also, I have happily discovered, quite easy to trick into moving home. The entrance to a Tupar's lair lies at an angle, this angle eventually leads straight down, if one unearths the angled tunnel to expose the true entrance and then fills in the exposed crater with the soft broken earth, then the Tupar has no option other than to dig his or her way out come evening. Which it does very effectively I may add.
Now a buried Tupar has only one place to put the soft and dusty soil that lies above it and that is behind it! During the evening our Tupar continues to dig, moving soil from the front to the rear, soft sandy soil constantly cascading onto it from above. Once the surface has been reached, more soft dusty earth falls into the shallow crater as our stilettoed rodent begins to move this way and that. It is only then that the sudden realisation hits the now exposed and vulnerable Tupar. (If you can describe a brute with a shell of steel and claws the size of my hand vulnerable!!)
It has nowhere to run! It has back filed its hole as it sought to escape, the soft broken sandy soil will not allow it to dig a new entrance, it is homeless and so it moves on to hide beneath the wood and stones on the sea shore, it hides within the storm drain than runs down the side of the property, they linger between the large rocks of the jetty unsure of what to do next. I have no wish to kill my Tupars, I respect them as creatures of the Tropics. I do object to the damage they inflict on the garden and it is now, with happy respect, that I announce that ALL the Big destructive Tupar have left the main Garden to live around the outskirts.
A final side note to all of you who may have a dog in the Tupar infested Tropics, leave three or four big Tupar holes open in a convenient place as they make the best Pooper Scooper depositories imaginable!!)
Today, the dogs and I decided to have a huge fire to burn all the twigs and bits of coconut that I have collected on previous mornings that don't go into my mulch beds. The smoke rose and curled its way through the trees driving away any biting flying beasties in its path. The smell of the smouldering coconuts and wood brought loving memories of India and such places to my mind. We raked and watched as the large pile became a small pile. We gathered the hot ashes leaving the resulting pile to continue its steady reduction in the safety of the pit.
The mornings chores completed, I made breakfast of toast and fruit in my ergonomically divine kitchen, choosing to serve it on the beautiful green glass plates that lie in my cupboards. I poured perfectly chilled fresh juice into one of the crystal glasses that lie on the dresser and with breakfast in hand, I went to sit in the large recliner that overlooks the sea out on the decking. The morning sun cleared the dominating mountain behind the house flooding the garden and beach in sunshine. Fairy Terns flew overhead dipping and diving to catch one or two of the millions of fish that teem in the shallow waters of the reef 20m from my feet.
Breakfast was finished, the plate washed and dried. I strolled along the private sandy beach as the waves lapped gently at the shore. I gathered the odd pieces of drift wood and added them to the growing pile beside the BBQ pit. Fine pieces of coral litter the beach, each piece once living, now ground by the constant waves to form the fine soft sand beneath my feet.
The time was 10am and my whole day, my whole life lay before me. Whatever thoughts I put out today, whatever ideas I write down, what ever actions I decided to do, all these things would take care of the future, I didn't need to worry about them or to even thing about them right now. Right now, I realised, right now in this present moment, I was exactly where I have been waiting to be for years.
I am living abroad in the sun and the warmth. I have the tropical sea, her reefs, an amazing sheer drop off 20m from one beach plus a soft gentle sandy incline on the other beach, right outside my door. I have no financial worries even though I am not working nor do I have any grand income. (I don't call singing working!)
I go out three to four times a week to sing and to gain the attention and applause of people who stay at the Hilton, the Intercontinental, the Pearl, all of whom say wonderful things to me, some even giving me their contact details.
This is not a holiday, this is a life style. This is my way of life for as long as I desire it.
I am free to do anything I choose with my day, I can cycle, I can explore, I can sit and write, I can sleep and dream.
I have my health, I have my gifts, I have my wonderful friends giving me support, I have my adorable children giving me their love. I even have a dog to walk and hug each day.
All this I realised, was achieved through the Universe. All this was given to me simply because I desired it and believed it would one day happen. I had no idea how I was ever going to achieve my dream when I looked in the mirror that day. I have had no idea how I was going to achieve this life, even though for years I have planned and dreamt of different ways.
Throughout my life I have had the desire to live abroad, not for a holiday but as a way of life. I wanted to live in a country with sun and warmth, where they spoke another language. Over the years I have added to this dream, the sea, the lush green surroundings, the luxury of not having to work and today I realised I had everything I had ever dreamt about.
I am technically an unemployed single mum. I have no special gift save my energy and my positive enthusiasm and yet I have the life many people dream of. I have no need of actual cash, I have a house full of food, I have free transport to anywhere I need to go via my bike, I have the sea on my doorstep and the tropical fish to entertain me, I even have Fairy Terns nesting in my trees!
If writing is to become my gift to the life I so richly deserve then I leave it open to the Universe to guide me in the directions I should go. I have been thinking about writing an article about Diving. I want to find out which of the three main companies that operate on the Island is the best ready for when Lisa arrives, so I though if I approached them saying I was doing research for an article i wanted to write, then they would be more inclined to give me all the information I need, plus they may even offer me a reduced rate dive!! And you never know it may even get published if I summon up the courage to write it!!
It is now early evening as I write this. The sun is just setting behind the huge mountain ridge across the bay, sunlight streams in through the open patio doors, the sea reflects the sunlight on the wooden walls, the trees cast dappled shadows on the polished floor.
My life is wonderful and whatever the future brings, this moment is to be treasured as the moment I realised I had landed feet first in the giant sand pit of the long jump following my enormous leap of faith into the Universe!
Hare Krsna!
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