Things of Joy, Beauty & Awe #2

The Portugal Edition

It’s been an action packed week, with travel across continents, several countries and time zones. At the end of it, this beach felt like the perfect reward.

One of my favorite quotes of all time by Karen Blixen applies here perfectly “The cure for anything is salt water — sweat, tears, or the sea.”

No matter the jet lag, no matter the demands on my mind or body, the moment I step onto a beach and into salt water all is forgotten.

This is a coast of rugged beauty, with few tourists and pristine, clean water and sand. A place to merge with nature and enliven the senses. And this post is meant as a reminder to step into nature, no matter where you are.

You might not have access to a beach, or woods, or mountains right now, but somewhere around you is a patch of grass, a tree, a sunset that calls out your name.

When our bodies connect with the natural world, when we connect with the sheer wonder and awe that a sunset invokes, we also align with the ancient rhythms which to this day guide our body, health and sleep. 

We are teaching a retreat here starting tomorrow, our second time in Portugal. I’ve fallen in love with this rugged West coast part of the country, the Alentejo region, which harks back to a simpler time. Slow living, not as a lifestyle choice to counteract the daily hustle, but simply a slower, gentler, more nature connected way of life.

As I am preparing for the week ahead, this is a short post for today. I’ll leave you with a poem from one of Portugal’s most revered poets Eugénio de Andrade. (For the Portuguese version scroll down )

É urgente o amor

Love is urgent.
There is an urgent need for a boat upon the sea.

It is urgent to destroy certain words,
hate, solitude, and cruelty,
some laments,
many swords.

It’s urgent to invent a joyfulness,
multiply kisses and crops,
discover roses and rivers
and glistening mornings.

Silence and the light impure fall upon
our shoulders until it hurts.
Love is urgent - it is urgent to stay.

É urgente o amor

É urgente o amor.
É urgente um barco no mar.

É urgente destruir certas palavras,
ódio, solidão e crueldade,
alguns lamentos,
muitas espadas.

É urgente inventar alegria,
multiplicar os beijos, as searas,
é urgente descobrir rosas e rios
e manhãs claras.

Cai o silêncio nos ombros e a luz
impura, até doer.
É urgente o amor, é urgente
permanecer.