There is a lot going on in Tavira. Things are really jumping. Welcome summer! As things have heated up, I have been thinking about some of the lessons I have learned here. One lesson has been creating the balance between doing and being. I have been thinking a lot about this. All that has made me take some time to reconsider what I am doing. Read more…
Meeting new people here in Santa Luzia is teaching me new lessons. Not just about Portuguese and Portuguese customs and traditions. But about me and about the good life. Read more.
What defines a good life? We are all looking for that answer. The secret that Santa Luzia reveals to me is that the good life comes in small moments. The more important lesson has been, do not ignore these small moments. Read more…
Place can make all the difference in the world. It might allow you to come to terms with what’s in your heart as well as with what might be missing. Place can reintroduce to what’s important, to love. Portugal has done all of this for me. Read more…
The Portuguese language has a fluidity and an expressiveness that may seem weird and wild to English speakers and as well as to others. This “weird and wild”, however, has enabled me to see the world with a bit more clarity. That is, how I understand the connection between my past and future. Read more…
Life here in Santa Luzia is really fantastic. But generally the greeting we get from the native Portuguese here is just “day” or “afternoon”. What happened to the “good”? To find out, read more…
My great-nephews say something is “crazy-stupid” when they mean it is really good. The Portuguese lean into life as few other cultures do, and for good reason. The food, the wine and the desserts form just a small part of all the good stuff — the crazy stupid — of life here. Read more…
Our personal and collective stories are important. They give shape and meaning to our lives. These stories, however, always involve as much forgetting as they do remembering. Read more…
Early morning, along a deserted country dirt road. This might be the very best place to find your self. Here nature reveals herself in song and with a light show. Here, as well, others secret away simple acts of kindness that stun and amaze. Read more…
A trip to Seville to celebrate a friend’s milestone 75th birthday triggers many thoughts. It is a city of rich history built on many disparate cultures. It is a city where memory can clash with reality. Read more…
