{"id":2197,"date":"2023-04-10T02:08:22","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T01:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/?p=2197"},"modified":"2023-04-10T02:19:26","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T01:19:26","slug":"tiempo-para-reflexionar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2023\/04\/10\/tiempo-para-reflexionar\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to reflect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Easter to all of those celebrating \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A text message from a good friend the other day (thanks Ara!) brought me back to the way I used to spend Easter weekend as a teen and young adult: in a retreat at a convent called El Palancar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\""El<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

La Pascua del Palancar<\/em> was a retreat for young people organized by Franciscan brothers from the Betica province, from Holy Thursday until Easter Sunday. The main theme was obviously religious, as it happened with most spiritual events back then, but there was more to it: it was a wonderful opportunity to switch off from the noise and haste of daily life (even if mobile phones didn\u00b4t exist yet!) and get more deeply connected to Life, Nature, our travel companions, and ultimately ourselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that I think of it, these were probably my first steps along the path of self-discovery and personal development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the three and a half days of the event, most of the activities were done in company, either in one big group or divided into smaller groups. But there was one, on the Saturday afternoon, which was different: they called it the desert<\/em>and it was a time slot of about two hours for which they encouraged us to find a quiet place for contemplation and personal reflection. You can imagine how challenging that could be for some of the teenagers: two hours on their own, without talking to anybody! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember I always climbed up the rocks on the side of the hill, up to a place very similar to the one in the photo: from there I could see the convent down in the distance, surrounded by the characteristic landscape of Extremadura in the springtime. I was carrying a notebook, a pen, and a piece of paper with a few questions as a guide. But apart from that, nothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silence. Nature. Time and space to allow everything I had inside to come out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I loved that feeling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And up there, in that little corner of the world, the two hours would go by, breathing, thinking, writing... Then at some point I would start hearing voices down in the distance, maybe also the strings of a guitar, and I would realize it was almost time to return to the world<\/em>. I felt like Saint Peter in that passage from the Bible about the transfiguration, when he says to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here, let\u00b4s put up a shelter<\/em>, and Jesus explains that they can\u00b4t stay in contemplation at the top of the mountain, they need to go down again and continue with their mission on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes we get so sucked into this world we live in, that we lose contact with what matters most to us. But if every now and then we take a break to go up the mountain<\/em>, then we will listen to our inner voice again, and it will guide us to get back on track. It\u00b4s been many years since I last went to El Palancar, and my \"mountain\" these days sometimes takes the shape of a beach, but the idea is the same: a little bit of time, solitude and silence, and the answer appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about you? When was the last time you listened to your inner voice? And what would it say to you today, if you stopped to listen? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Feliz Pascua de Resurrecci\u00f3n a todos los que la celebr\u00e9is \ud83d\ude42 El otro d\u00eda un mensajito de una gran amiga (\u00a1gracias Ara!) me record\u00f3 c\u00f3mo sol\u00eda pasar yo la Semana Santa en mis a\u00f1os mozos: de convivencia en el convernto de El Palancar. La Pascua del Palancar era un encuentro para j\u00f3venes organizado por los … Continue reading Time to reflect<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3116429,"featured_media":2196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"BinaryWords - Tiempo para reflexionar \/ Time to reflect","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"\u00a1Felices Pascuas! \/ Happy Easter!\n\n(Click on the flag icon to read the post in English)","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[96,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diario-journal","category-general","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3DPtR-zr","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3531,"url":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2024\/04\/01\/celebraciones-primaverales\/","url_meta":{"origin":2197,"position":0},"title":"Springtime celebrations","author":"binarybea","date":"01\/04\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a1Felices Pascuas! \/ Happy Easter!","rel":"","context":"In "Palabras"","block_context":{"text":"Palabras","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/category\/palabras-words\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Group of four curved bowls forming a circle, full of coloured powder: blue, pink, yellow and red, on a grey surface sprinkled with some of the coloured powder","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pexels-photo-2041707-392035021-e1711926650239.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pexels-photo-2041707-392035021-e1711926650239.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pexels-photo-2041707-392035021-e1711926650239.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pexels-photo-2041707-392035021-e1711926650239.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/pexels-photo-2041707-392035021-e1711926650239.jpeg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8931,"url":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2026\/04\/06\/ensanchando-la-vida\/","url_meta":{"origin":2197,"position":1},"title":"Making life wider","author":"binarybea","date":"06\/04\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a1Feliz Pascua de Resurrecci\u00f3n a todos los que la celebr\u00e9is! (Qu\u00e9 poco original soy, todos los a\u00f1os empiezo con la misma frase... Si te apetece leer mis reflexiones sobre la Semana Santa en a\u00f1os anteriores, las tienes aqu\u00ed, aqu\u00ed y aqu\u00ed.) Esta semana he tenido la inmensa suerte de estar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inspiraci\u00f3n"","block_context":{"text":"Inspiraci\u00f3n","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/category\/inspiracion-inspiration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_20260402_130506__01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_20260402_130506__01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_20260402_130506__01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_20260402_130506__01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_20260402_130506__01.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6400,"url":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2025\/04\/21\/primavera-azul\/","url_meta":{"origin":2197,"position":2},"title":"Blue spring","author":"binarybea","date":"21\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a1Feliz Pascua de Resurrecci\u00f3n a todos los que lo celebr\u00e9is! Hoy os escribo desde un pueblecito precioso de la costa mediterr\u00e1nea: Nerja. (Vistas del mar desde el jard\u00edn del Parador de Nerja). Es un lugar al que le tengo mucho cari\u00f1o, por varias razones. La principal es que aqu\u00ed vinimos\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Personal"","block_context":{"text":"Personal","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/category\/diario-journal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo of a garden overlooking the sea, with a cloudy sky","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20250420_174736-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20250420_174736-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20250420_174736-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20250420_174736-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_20250420_174736-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2015,"url":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2023\/02\/20\/renunciando-a-la-culpa\/","url_meta":{"origin":2197,"position":3},"title":"Giving up guilt","author":"binarybea","date":"20\/02\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hoy Facebook me ha recordado un post que escrib\u00ed hace exactamente trece a\u00f1os, citando una frase con la que en aquel momento me identificaba much\u00edsimo: Dios me puso en este mundo para conseguir un cierto n\u00famero de cosas - ahora mismo voy con tanto retraso que no me voy a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Emociones"","block_context":{"text":"Emociones","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/category\/emociones\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White page with the words \"not guilty\" written on it, next to a judge's hammer seen from above","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-photo-6077325.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-photo-6077325.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-photo-6077325.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-photo-6077325.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/pexels-photo-6077325.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":189,"url":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2021\/06\/04\/paz-y-bien\/","url_meta":{"origin":2197,"position":4},"title":"Peace and good","author":"binarybea","date":"04\/06\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Ayer, mirando por casa buscando otra cosa, me encontr\u00e9 con esto: Mi Tau, qu\u00e9 buenos recuerdos... La Tau es una letra griega, el equivalente a la T latina, y es tambi\u00e9n un s\u00edmbolo franciscano. Seg\u00fan una explicaci\u00f3n que o\u00ed una vez y que me encant\u00f3, al ser una de las\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inspiraci\u00f3n"","block_context":{"text":"Inspiraci\u00f3n","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/category\/inspiracion-inspiration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wooden pendant in the shape of a Tau (franciscan symbol)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/IMG_20210603_190734.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/IMG_20210603_190734.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/IMG_20210603_190734.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/IMG_20210603_190734.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/IMG_20210603_190734.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6204,"url":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2025\/03\/31\/celebraciones\/","url_meta":{"origin":2197,"position":5},"title":"Celebrations","author":"binarybea","date":"31\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Este fin de semana se ha celebrado en todo el mundo la fiesta musulmana de Eid al-Fitr: el fin del mes de Ramad\u00e1n y su correspondiente ayuno. A todos los que lo celebr\u00e9is, \u0639\u064a\u062f \u0645\u0628\u0627\u0631\u0643 (espero que el traductor de Google lo haya hecho bien, deber\u00eda decir Eid Mubarak, que\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Personal"","block_context":{"text":"Personal","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/category\/diario-journal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo of a heart shaped homemade pizza on baking paper, with bacon, red peppers and sweetcorn as toppings","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_20250330_204351.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_20250330_204351.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_20250330_204351.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_20250330_204351.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_20250330_204351.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/binarywords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/El-Palancar.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3116429"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2197"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2216,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2197\/revisions\/2216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}