Stillness

Jilda and I watched Eat, Pray, Love tonight. We both read and enjoyed the book. I've heard guys say this is a "chick book/flick", but I enjoyed it, what can I say.  To me it was about a journey, and the author just happened to be a woman.
The movie didn't stick right with the book, but it stayed true enough to the story. During one scene, she was in house in Bali meditating in a room with windows but no glass.  You could hear the wind off of the Indian Ocean, gently rustling the bamboo shades and tropical birds in the distance.  When we watched that scene, I experienced deja vu. 

I've never been to Bali, but I was in Panama in a rustic barracks a few hundred feet from the ocean. Through the screened windows you could smell the salty breeze off the Atlantic at any given moment.
Often in the morning, just after daylight, I 'd get up before the others in my platoon and sit cross-legged on my bunk meditating.  I knew by the sound of the waves on the breaker wall whether the tide was rolling in our out. The only sound other than the ocean was the chirping of parakeets, trogons, and other tropical birds that perched in the palm and mango trees outside the barracks.  
I think it's easier to meditate near the ocean because regardless what gyrations your mind tries to run through, that gentle ebb and flow of the ocean mimics your breath. And if you give it half a chance, you will experience a deep peace that is elusive in other places.
I'm glad I read the book and watched the movie. Not only did the movie remind me that we're all on a journey, but as a bonus, I had a chance to relive a time when I experienced a  profound stillness from long ago, and to me, that was worth the price of admission.