"When in Rome, do as the Romans" there's a saying that goes. At home when the sun is shining, we always tend to try to absorb as many rays of sunshine as we can, because they are few and far between. Here, however, there is rarely a lack of sunshine, and because of the intensity of mid-day sunshine, the sunshine drives us into the shade. When you walk along the street, any bit of shade is where the people walk. Sitting on the bus; the "side with shade" is always filled up first. Now, as freshly arrived Norwegian, starved of sunshine, I used to seek out the sunny bits, and was often the odd one out as I walked along with Brazilian friends. Now I have become "one of them". It's become almost something automatic to scout out the shade and walk towards it. I have even been known to ask on the bus which side is the one with shade. I suppose I could say: "when in Fortaleza, do as the locals do"...
“Where can I find life?” has been a question I have asked myself a lot recently (but really for years). And really the deeper question is: “What is life, and what does it look like?” I guess the simple answer is whatever makes you feel alive on the inside; that brings a smile to your face; and that gives you energy and increases your capacity. There are so many side-effects of burn-out; or maybe they are rather causes of burn-out, which when combined become a huge mountain that can topple even the strongest of people. But once you have been depleted of your capacity to stand in the face of the challenges around you, one of the things that can help increase your energy and capacity is finding pockets of life. (And of course a lot of other things like rest, exercise, patience when the process is slow, setting boundaries etc. but that’s for another blogpost). The past months I’ve been watching and searching and paying attention. Searching for choices that will bring life, and paying att