In Bali, the place I have the pleasure of being at this moment in time, there is the practice of making offerings known as 'canang sari' three times per day...
It is basically a ritual of giving back what has been given to you by the Gods. It is a sharing that is not based upon fear, but on gratitude to the richness of life. Offering appeases the spirits and brings prosperity and good health to the family. It is a duty and an honour at the same time, and in Balinese perspective a very natural and almost logical thing to maintain a good relationship between people and spirits....Essentially all things have a place and all relations between elements are ultimately what life and death are about. The smallest gestures have an impact and throughout time, maintaining a balanced relationship with spirits, people and nature is the key. So next time you stumble upon an offering tray, remember that it may seem like a small thing but the whole cosmos is related to it, so it's best not to step on it.
How simple it would be to enact this gratitude to the richness of life in our daily lives. Gratitude is so easily misplaced in the harried existences we live. It is my resolution to take home this simple practice to my daily life to outwardly express my gratitude rather than simply taking everything for granted ( I have taken to the habit of expressing gratitude every time I flush my toilet! What a joyous gift this machine is to a happy home!).
I will make my canang sari from what I have at hand - incense, flowers, water, food - it doesn't matter so much. The act of enacting gratitude is what signals your intention to the Universe to live a joy-filled life.
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