19th of July 2021
Good morning
A cloudy day here in my little village and my little land is on high alert in many places today.
The weekend was difficult for the south and the fires roared there.
This is Portuguese summer at its best.
The heat and the sunshine are beautiful and many long for it the colder months but the truth is that the summer is not a good time for my little land when we look at the woods and the traffic on the roads.
Something happens when it gets warmer and the drivers become obsessed with madness that I have never understood, but it is there. The tourists drive like they are the only ones in the world, at least some of them, and my fellow countrymen get the summer traffic fever, as well.
This weekend several hectares burned and some houses and cars were destroyed. I turned on the TV this morning with heavy heart and seeing the destruction broke my heart. This is just the beginning. Hundreds of firefighters fought yesterday and Saturday to keep the people safe.
There were pictures of people trying to save the horses. There were pictures of burned cars and destroyed trees. The cork lost a lot of theirs.
On a morning like this it is good to take a walk before the normal life starts. I have been going out in my little village at 7 o’clock resent mornings and it feels good. I use the morning walk to meditate. There is a lot to be grateful for.
Gratitude is a wonderful feeling which helps healing some souls that are suffering.
I am not a suffering soul. I am just an ordinary woman living my life every day one day at a time making the most of every moment.
This morning, when I arrived home the couple that lost their son recently were just leaving.
I feel their sadness and sorrow. Its like a thick vail around them. It is so sad and there is nothing I can do to ease their pain. They will survive but it will take time and in a situation like theirs time seems to go in slow motion.
When we lose someone in the prime of their lives and we don´t understand why, there is the possibility to fall into self-blame. Asking questions like: Why did I not see it coming? What did I do wrong? Could I have prevented this to happen? All those and many more are the questions the parents might ask them selves and there are no answers, just the empty space and the broken heart.
The family I am feeling for is not in a gratitude mode, I am almost sure of that.
Is there anything for them to be grateful for?
There might be, and perhaps they do feel some gratitude. They still have got one wonderful son alive. He is suffering the grief with his parents and it is beautiful to see him with his mother. The love is there. The caring is there. The support is there. Does he have the strength needed, is the question?
I hope the family will recover and be able to go back to normal life.
I pass the cemetery on my morning walks and I think about all the people who have lost a loved one during this pandemic. The toll is higher than normally because of Covid, but there are deaths not connected to the pandemic. This morning there was a paper who said a 96-year-old man would be berried today in my village.
My thoughts this morning were gratitude and love.
I am grateful for the love I feel and the support that is everywhere.
I am grateful for the moment and I am grateful for the fresh breeze after the days before which I found difficult because of the heat.
I am grateful for the beauty around me and I am not taking it for granted.
I am grateful for being able to take care of everything that is my duty and I am grateful to be able to help some that need help.
I am most of all grateful for the person who has taught me how to be myself at my best and enjoy every moment of my life.
This is just a thought for today I am sharing with you, my reader.
I don´t know you and you don´t know me but we are all in the same boat. We are here to make the world better, all in our own capacity.
Hulda Björnsdóttir
My thoughts shared with you 