Summer, is a wonderful time of year, long bright days that awaken within us all, a sense of peace and calm.
Traditionally during summer time those who are fortunate enough can enjoy a restful holiday. Time out, is a very important gift that we must embrace in our adult lives.
We are not robots and often the constant demands of life can cause stress and physical consequences. To gift oneself a good rest is a very important blessing.
There are many different ways to find recreation. Summer is it time to renew and give rest to our bodies and mind. Sometimes it’s good to hit the pause button.
Life is indeed a sacred journey. Hopefully our pathways are level and smooth, but in our humanity we know at times we walk the mountainous and tough terrain.
Our pathway is a journey where we’re not in control, ultimately, all we have is now. Living in the present is a very challenging but most rewarding and life-giving blessing.
We all can feel at times weighed down and overburdened, this is very true, if we have not acknowledged or processed the wounds and scars that life can inflict upon us from the past.
Resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness and genuine hurt can weigh us down. Similarly, another distraction on our journey is to worry about tomorrow, the mortgage repayment, the exam results, what will happen if?
The iconic Saint Padre Pio, had a very practical spirituality which empowered him to live in the present moment and experience the power of now.
His celebrated prayer is one that offers deep relevance to all our lives. “My past life I give to your mercy O’ Lord, tomorrow I hand into your Providence, this day let me live in your love”.
Often we don’t fully appreciate what we have until it is made vulnerable, our health, friendship, shelter.
To experience the ability to appreciate what we have and to be mindful that all we are in control of is now, can indeed be a liberating gift.
We walk in a different pace, more observant of the environment around us and in touch with our inner selves.
“The distant scene I do not ask to see no more, one step is enough for me”.
I pray, as we welcome the brightness of summertime that all of us will be blessed with Peace of Mind, a peace that allows us to enjoy every moment, one step at a time.
This is a beautiful poem by Mario de Andrade (San Paolo 1893-1945), Poet, novelist, essayist and musicologist, one of the founders of Brazilian modernism. It is full of wisdom and fuelled with sound advice.
MY SOUL HAS A HAT
I counted my years and realised that I have less time to live by, than I have lived so far.
I feel like a child who won a pack of candies: at first he ate them with pleasure, but when he realised that there was little left, he began to taste them intensely.
I have no time for endless meetings where the statutes, rules, procedures and internal regulations are discussed, knowing that nothing will be done.
I no longer have the patience to stand absurd people who, despite their chronological age, have not grown up.
My time is too short: I want the essence, my spirit is in a hurry.
I do not have much candy in the package anymore.
I want to live next to humans, very realistic people who know how to laugh at their mistakes, who are not inflated by their own triumphs and who take responsibility for their actions.
In this way, human dignity is defended and we live in truth and honesty.
It is the essentials that make life useful.
I want to surround myself with people who know how to touch the hearts of those whom hard strokes of life have learned to grow with sweet touches of the soul.
Yes, I’m in a hurry.
I’m in a hurry to live with the intensity that only maturity can give.
I do not intend to waste any of the remaining desserts.
I am sure they will be exquisite, much more than those eaten so far.
My goal is to reach the end satisfied and at peace with my loved ones and my conscience.
We have two lives and the second begins when you realise you only have one.
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