Do you know when circumstances and timing are favorable to some events?
This is what this scene is about. Sitting by the sea with his feet on the sand, middled-aged Antônio was admiring the sunrise. The sea was coming and going rhythmically, advancing with the rising tide.
There, in the stillness of the beach, he was watching people walking or just arriving, each one enjoying, in their own way, the sun, the sand and the sea.
Suddenly, a docile dog, without its owner, arrives. Without asking permission, the dog lies down beside Antônio as if choosing a friend. Its shy look reveals all the experience acquired in life. The dog asks for nothing, threatens no one, only offers its friendly companionship.
Small birds on the sand, following the movement of the sea, eat marine snacks. Pigeons feed on snack leftovers from the day before, and even buzzards and hawks overfly to take the remains from a large abandoned fish.
The sun, partly covered by clouds, advances in the sky and the heat, which was mild, started rising. The pulse of life increases.
A father digs a small pool on the sand to be filled with seawater. The small family of tourists – father, mother, and a little daughter – came from far away; they were there on vacation.
Encouraged by the tranquility of the situation, the man approaches the family and breaks through the walls that separates everyone and then asks, “Where did you come from?”
Crossed by the simple and at the same time deep question, the father went through his entire internal world and answered the trivial, “We came from the South and we are delighted with the beauty of the North…”
And a reflection came up to Antônio: Everyone feels an immense void in life and yearns to fill it. Don’t you?
The beauty of the beach was a breakout from all discomfort in life. At least out there, in that beautiful natural setting, there was peace and order, in contrast to the chaos of emotions and old, prejudiced thoughts that take people over.
After having provided some outing ideas, the man said goodbye to the small family, expressing good wishes for their vacation.
During those days away from the routine, the small family would go to new places, enjoy different smells and tastes, and pass-through new experiences. Such experiences could be lived as a new perception to transcend repetitions that happen over and over in life.
In that morning, life was flowing with all its strength and beauty, always trying to reveal its unity to everyone and yet people do not perceive the wholeness around them; they keep up entangled with daily difficulties.
As Antônio distanced himself, invaded by deep reflections in meditation, even during the most common and immediate demands, a space of silence opened in him, bringing about a rare inner experience and an intimate dialogue took place.
“Listen, friend, to the tenuous voice in your heart, which is trying in every way to be heard. This voice is one with the flow of life. It is your true voice, the voice of your deepest being.
If you turn persistently toward this voice, remaining empty, this delicate voice will, little by little, become the conductor of your inner world and the secret of life in oneness will be your reward and there will be no separation between you and the sun, the sand and the sea.”
