The Beauty of Quietness

I am listening to the calls of songbirds and mourning doves and no traffic in a town of 105, 000 population up in the hills of central Portugal.

I love the peace I am finding as I take the time to orient myself in a new culture and learn a new language.

My meditation drawing today reflects the repetitious lines of roof tiles and new plants in my new environment.

We walk slowly, very slowly, up tiers and tiers of steps in this steep setting.

We feel our stamina increasing gradually as we take the time required to walk to cafes, the grocery store, the bookstore, and look for fabric stores for my fabric travel journal.

We do not feel the restlessness of people who are frantic or dissatisfied with their lives, which was part of our US environment.

People are working regular jobs, but they are surrounded by people who come regularly to their places of business.

The sense of community builds peace and security.

We stopped in to a local grocery store, which is the size of two large rooms, many are smaller, and bought two gigantic strawberries (produce here is much larger than we are used to).  

Our tiny purchase was not scorned.

People are making a living at human scale, and at a human, not corporate pace.

All the tiny businesses we go into are considerate of all their customers.

The personal relationships are part of the peace and beauty of quiet community.

I am finding that I can relax in this environment.

As I continue to travel and have more experiences on this scale, I feel validated in ways that I never did while raising my children and running my human-scaled business in the US.

The new category of business which follows after the workings of micro-credit called social business is more to my taste.

It exists to address a social problem and it solves it by becoming self-sustaining while doing so.

Human scale gives me a sense of quietness.

It allows me to enjoy what is beautiful and peaceful around me.

© 2019 Kathryn Hardage

www.lovedcherishedadored.blogspot.com