Still on the topic of making the most of our days before the summer ends and school starts again, this weekend we did quite a lot of walking; yesterday, on the North side, in Malahide village and around the castle grounds, and today, on the South side, in Glendalough and Bray. Thanks, Cristina, Isabel and Irene!

(Landscape picture from this morning, with the ruins of Glendalough monastery in the distance.)

The truth is that Ireland, when the weather is good (and even if it´s drizzling a bit, right girls?), is a fantastic place for walking, whether it´s trekking along one of the many tourist routes available or simply strolling in a local park. There are cool things to see everywhere, many of them blue and green.

The most outstanding colour we saw, of course, was green; no wonder we live in the Emerald Isle. It was a stark contrast with our homeland, Extremadura, which gets so dry during the summer (and this summer in particular, unfortunately, not only dry but also burnt). The blue hasn´t been very intense these days, with the sky as cloudy as it was most of the time, but we enjoyed it all regardless, coming across lakes and water streams, a little waterfall, and to top it all off, the sea. The more serious note was provided by the stone grey in castles and monasteries, and the touch of colour and joy, by the many flowers adorning the streets, the houses and the fields along the way.

As I said, fantastic place. Also because walking has a therapeutic effect, enhancing our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

I have to admit that I generally find it difficult to leave the house, especially during the winter, and also that I´m not a huge fan of nature and adventure. But once I´m out, I find that I love walking; it makes me feel so much better (which probably happens to everyone). So, knowing what I know, I look for strategies that help me get out even if I don´t feel like it, because I know that it will be good for me, and that I will be thankful for it in the future.

Even Seneca said it, several centuries ago:

We must go for walks out of doors, so that the mind can be strengthened and invigorated by a clear sky and plenty of fresh air.

This school year, my goal is to keep a habit of going out for a walk every now and then. How about you? Are you in?

Greetings from Germany, where the girls and I are spending a few days with our cousins.

(Picture taken yesterday at Rotenburg's medieval quarters, really cool place.)

We're taking this opportunity to learn a little German, as we barely speak it, and, well, it's an odd feeling, Alicia was telling me about it a couple of days ago: we're so used to dominating the local language wherever we are (we're very fortunate to speak both English and Spanish, and you can travel to so many places with that) that not being able to communicate independently can be stressful and a bit overwhelming... Thanks Carlos, Loirdes, Carlos Yago, Alonso, Celia and Anna for making it so easy for us 🙂

As you probably know already, language and languages are topics that I find super interesting. One day I'll elaborate more on this, and I'll tell you the difference between the two Spanish words we use for «language(s)», but for the moment, here are a few quotes I personally like and fully agree with:

A different language is a different vision of life.

Federico Fellini

Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.

Rita Mae Brown

Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about tthings.

Flor Lewis

You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.

Geoffrey willans

Y una de mis favoritas:

The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

What things do you know how to say in other languages? And how have the limits of your world changed as a result of that knowledge?

Very often, we associate the summer with holidays, and holidays with resting. But have you ever experienced it not being like that, or rather, the opposite happening?

These past few weeks have shown me that I´m not less busy during the summer; in fact, I´m busier. And when the time comes for us to go on holiday, in a couple of weeks, there will be a lot of movement as well, as it often happens when one travels. So much so that I can visualise myself coming back at the end and saying, like Mafalda in that old comic strip, that I need a holiday to recover from my holiday...

I´m not sure whether I´ve mentioned this in the blog or not, but I feel like I´ve been waiting to get peace and quiet for months, maybe even years, and the peace and quiet are not arriving.

And now I know that they´re not going to appear as if by magic.

Because peace and quiet don´t just materialise one day. You have to attract them. Create them. And above all, you have to leave space for them in your calendar.

(Picture of the sea, which is luckily just about a forty-minute drive away from my house, affording me the luxury of visiting every now and then without having to be on holidays.)

It is true that in these summer months, with the good weather (Ireland has had exceptional weather this week), slowing down is a little bit easier, even if it´s just because the heat doesn´t leave us any other choice... Summer is a terrific opportunity for us to dedicate time and attention to an activity that´s fundamental for human beings: RESTING..

Resting physically and mentally. Recovering your strength. Recharging your batteries.

But what if we still have work to do? Well, on the one hand, we can rethink where each task falls within the scales of urgency and importance, to see if we can lighten the load a little bit (I´m sure the answer is yes).

On the other hand, as far as possible, we can adopt a more relaxed attitude, closer to "holiday mode", alleviating any unnecessary pressure and starting to move towards a more sustainable rythm..

Speaking of this, here´s a quote by Gregorio Marañón that I found really interesting:

Working without hurry is the greatest rest for an organism.

That is, it´s not about doing absolutely nothing (at least, not all the time), but about performing our tasks more calmly, without stress. Because, as John Steinbeck said:

The art of resting is part of the art of working.

And this last one, I´m not sure who said it (the quote is everywhere, but the author is not clear):

Sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is rest.

How about you? How are you resting this summer?

This morning, I heard a reference to a Bible passage I was not familiar with, or I should say, I no longer remembered. Later on, I saw that it´s part of the Sermon on the Mount, a very popular reading from the Gospel. So I´m guessing I probably heard it many times during Mass, although perhaps this particular passage tends to go unnoticed right after the Beatitudes.

Here´s what it says:

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, so it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5, 15-16).

This passage is a reminder that each of us have something to contribute to this life, and that we shouldn´t hide that contribution of ours because it may serve as help and guidance to other people..

(Apologies for the photo being a bit blurry, but I love this happy little radiant sun drawing I saw the other day.)

The problem is that very often we find it hard to recognise our own value, and we tend not to believe that whatever we do or do not do will make any difference... If this is your case, I invite you to sit down with pen and paper and make a list of actions you have taken that have had a positive impact on other people, regardless of how big or small. In all those moments, your light was shining for them.

But beware, I´m not talking about boasting or announcing ourselves too much, forcing the act of showing to others the goodness in us and in the things we do... The light of a lamp is not imposing or invading; it simply flows, quietly illuminating its surroundings.

Similarly, each of us can let our contribution get out into the world, according to our talents and our own style, and humbly make it available to whoever can benefit from it. Without making ourselves bigger or smaller. Without inflating or diminishing ourselves. Without blocking our light. Being brave enough to shine.

Part of my contribution, for example, is this blog. What´s yours?

The other day, when I was having a chat about life with a friend of mine, he complained about "being back at the same spot" where he was over a year ago, just as if, instead of moving forward, he had gone round a circle just to end up in the same place. Does this ring a bell?

For, as the old saying goes, man is the only animal that trips over the same stone twice. And when we say twice, we could say three, or ten, or twenty... Sometimes there are stones we keep on tripping over for our whole lives.

But, what if we took the opportunity to learn from each of those trip-ups? What if, instead of feeling sorry for ourselves or cursing the stone, we observed what happens around us (and more importantly, inside of us) every time it reappears?

The day we get to master this skill, we will discover that, in reality the path is not a circle, but a spiral: with each lap we get to go deeper and become a little bit wiser, and even though the same old challenges will reappear once in a while, they will not be exactly the same anymore, because we will have acquired new resources and tools to tackle them differently.

(Photo of a decorative paper spiral, which looks very much like a circle when it´s folded, but once you stretch it, you can clearly see that it´s not)

Do you get the idea? I think this poem by Portia Nelson also illustrates it really well:

 Autobiography in five chapters

Chapter One
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter Two
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes me a long time to get out.

Chapter Three
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in. It's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter Four
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter Five
I walk down another street.

Circle, or spiral? Your choice.

This last week just flew by, I can´t believe it´s already Sunday! And by the time you all get to read this, it will probably be Monday.

(Photo of a super cool clock located at the front of a pub at Dublin airport)

As usual, I´m quite busy these days, and I don't have the time to sit down and write a long article. But I do have time to share with you a quote precisely on this topic (in Spanish, it doesn´t sound as good as in English, but you get the idea, hopefully):

All we get is time and choices. Be wise with both.

Carson Anekeya

It makes you think, right? I would perhaps change it to "resources and choices", for at the end of the day, time is a resource, as they are for example our skills, our physical and mental capacity, our health and energy levels, and of course, other material and financial resources.

And the decisions we are constantly making, consciously or unconsciously, are related with the way in with we use those resources to satisfy our needs and wants. And that´s where two other keywords come into play, in my opinion: priorities and values.

Because, in reality, that lack of time we often complain about is nothing but a symptom. Our "time management" problems are, deep down, priority management problems, as very often our priorities are not clear, and we get carried away, struggling to comply with everything life puts in front of us, and getting exhausted along the way.

That´s why it´s so beneficial to carve out some of our precious time to sit down and reflect on our values, which are the real drivers behind our priorities. What do you consider most important in life?

Next week, I can explain a simple exercise to clarify values. Until then, if you´d like, I propose you take some time during the week to think about all the resources you have available to you (there is no better occasion to be thankful for them!) and observe the decisions you make in your day-to-day activities, digging a little bit deeper to discover the need or want hiding underneath them. Who knows, perhaps you will discover something surprising about yourself...