Ubud Urgency

From the frenetic and anorexic new age yoga fraternity, who paradoxically move at the pace of sloths in their endlessly chattered about self actualization and holistically homogenized structured sessions, yet who pace speedily around what was once a languid and lazy hill top tropical paradise.  To the rampant globalization and materialistic reality of a progressive and exponentially driven economy, Ubud has certainly gotten what it has asked for, especially in the past three years.

So where does that leave and what are the consequences for the relatively lazy and slow moving Bali Street Dog and the people of Bali? 

The people of Bali can and certainly will speak for themselves.  But in and on whatever reality you place your eye, in so many ways they have created and understandably wanted such conditions, an emerging ‘new age paradigm’, with outcomes that have in effect purposely brought such an unprecedented speed of change upon their community.  What they are left with is a movement of rampant momentum, with its resultant affect of rapid change and adaptation angst, coupled with emerging first world problems and dilemmas.  Situations that only time and the judgment of history can and will bring a positive or negative verdict to bear upon.

And as for the Bali Street Dog in such a shifting scenario, well the consequences are really inevitable, especially in an environment that is in danger of catching the Kuta syndrome.  In Southern enclaves the Islands very own dog has been progressively driven out or killed off and they are now being outnumbered by trendy foreign dogs.  Their natural habitat is being replaced with pavement and concrete pods specifically designed for pleasure.  It can only be hoped that the Ubud community can benefit positively from the spoils of progress and its Banjars can actively protect promote and preserve their very own Bali Street Dogs.

And as another wave of mid afternoon rushabouts burn up the vicinity in and around Ubuds Bali Buda restaurant, all scurrying to jostle for position at the ever growing wall of hanging paraphernalia, one recent foreign resident was heard to painfully utter the fateful words, “it was inevitable, I guess”.       

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