Is it not a product of our Christianised minds, to demonise all that is pleasurable? To instead revere asceticism. Even those of the Buddhist and Zen inclinations would tell us to avoid an attachment to material things. And yet, I assert there is some good in the material aspect of the world, and our pleasures in those things. Carnal desires. The root chakra. The base instinct. These have their origins in the Earth - rooted to all that is Earthly. For, if we are to truly appreciate the miracle of our lives and bodies, we should engage with life around us, putting every ounce of our being into sensing every inch of the world. And what an abundance of beauty and suffering the world is! What a difference a candle makes, or a watermelon. It is a wonder we are able to experience life, and it is wonder we experience when we come openly to life. 

Sometimes, I like to force all of my being, all of my existence into only one sense; at other times I let the world wash over me like a symphony.

The sound of a million insects, and me, blind in the nighttime from the balcony, while the warm air creates a sheeny film on my skin. A sense of inner quiet as I look out at the jungle, so alive in the darkness.

A kind of elation, when I have my bathing suit on underneath my dress and I can simply peel off the sticky layers and jump into the pool. That moment where my skin makes first contact with the water: silken feeling, the currents rippling against my legs as I move. A heightened awareness. 

Wandering aimlessly among bamboo forests, ponds of koi fish and frogs, patios shaded by umbrellas, and under spreading flowering trees. A visual feast of brightly coloured petals, and the utter grandeur of a tree with an expanse bigger than a house. A moment of wonderment. 

My discovery: of a clutch of sparrows, winging their way through an alcove.

The joys of walking barefoot in breezy and warm tiled rooms.

The taste of fresh dates.