Bali’s Enchanting Day of Silence

Hello and welcome to the Traveling Introvert. Today I'm going to talk about something that I discovered recently that happens in Bali. It is Bali New Year, Balinese New Year. Nyepi. I'm sure I'm pronouncing that wrong. I did listen and I still think I'm getting it wrong. But it's Bali's day of silence and it's a key event and happens in the New Year, their calendar. New Year, which is normally observed following the new moon in March.

And the entire island comes to a standstill for 24 hours with no lights, no music, no noise. Transport is halted and everyone must stay at home. Yes, even you. If you are visiting in a hotel, you have to stay indoors. It is a beautiful time for reflection and meditation and self purification. It's a profoundly spiritual and cultural celebration and it is a great way to give you time to disconnect from the, the chaos of daily life and connect with the stillness within. And some people get very irritated about what happens on the island when this time of year comes around. Some people have been caught unprepared.

Totally understand that. But if you do a little research before you travel and check your dates, you can go in and experience this beautiful peace and stillness and the extra bonus of because there is no light pollution, the stars look glorious. And when I say shut down, people like, well, I can't really shut down. I mean, like, how bad could it be? No, really, the entire country, including the airport, shuts down. There are no tuk tuks, there are no grams, there's none of that going on. And in the days leading up, you know, most people will make sure that they grab food and so they prepared for the day of silence. And what tends to happen is people will make sure that they have food in advance and make sure that they have water and anything that they might need to not starve during that day. Some people might, might fast though, during that time.

But it is a great 24 hours of silence and introspection, which quite frankly, as an introvert I am like, how can I get to go to this? I missed it this time around because I was researching for another time of year. But no light, no work, no traveling, no entertainment. These are key sort of principles and concepts. But it's so peaceful. And focus on self reflection and meditation and prayer. The island goes dark. People don't turn on their lights. They keep to themselves, remaining in their homes in complete silence.

Businesses do not open. And honestly, it probably looks really deserted and how wonderful that must be. I was talking about this to a friend of mine. And there was. And I was like, I'm really. I'm really sad that I'm missing this. And this person's response was, well, don't you get enough home time alone anyway? And didn't understand how. How appealing something like this would be.

Like, I know that you can go, like, to silent meditations, but the whole. It's not quite the same as a whole island being in on this silence to celebrate. It's such a great thing. And so, hey, listeners, what do you do to create moments of silence and reflection in your life? I'm sure you can't get your entire country or city to shut down, but what does that look like for you? And how does that help with you and your introspection and thinking about new things and what you want to do with your life and what that looks like? But please go and check it out. Bali's Day of Silence. Thank you for listening. This is Janice at the Career Introvert, helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great, peaceful rest of your week.