Fragments from my journal during my last trip to the Brazilian Amazon.
I´m in the ferry boat from Manaus capital of Amazon Estate in Brazil to Santarém - from where I will start visiting small riverside communities. It is supposed to be a 36 hour journey and maybe 3 have gone by until now, I think. It´s okay, but the hot weather is getting intense. I keep falling asleep and waking up never leaving my hammock, feeling like I’m floating on a sweet creamy soup of some kind. Sometimes a light wind blows and sleep in the hammock feels very good.
They say at night it gets cold, hard to believe right now, but let’s see.
Feeling lazy. Now its 4:30pm and the weather is a bit better. This trip is doing me well, lifting so much mental weight and clearing up my thoughts. Here in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the river banks, with nothing to do but watch the sun set, the moon rise, the sun rise and then set again, breathing flows easily, my breath feels lighter, my heartbeats calm down, life shows itself in so much simplicity and perfection.
In the amazon life is following a natural flow. We wake up with the sun, go to bed not long after it has set.
Days go by like this and I feel everyday more connected to my true self, without making any effort to it.
Being in movement feels natural, working feels productive and pleasurable, rest comes easy and guilt free, and synchronicity guides me into the next step.
How much of this fluidity comes from having a silent mind, from being surrounded by nature, carrying just a small backpack, consuming close to zero, sleeping in a hammock everyday with just a palm roof above me, not even walls to separate me from the jungle.
And how can I bring this peace and tranquility to my life when this trip is over?
Being around artisans is so inspiring! I travel to small artisan villages not only in search for beautiful products, but in search for beauty in their way of living, true beauty that can only be found in the simplicity of life.
I find myself looking in the eyes instead of the screen, touching natural fibers instead of plastic surfaces, breathing moist air instead of dry pollution, following the rhythms of nature instead of machines.
It feels like being in a time outside of time, hours here pass differently, not faster nor slower, just different. And a sense of realization and calm comes at night.
Don’t be mistaken, when in places like this I often feel restless, bored, annoyed with the fact the things don’t come easy, there is no food delivery, no market, no services. You get what nature gives you, when it wants to give you and if you put yourself in movement to go get it. But whenever I go back to my air conditioning, Wi-Fi connection and all the noise it brings to my life all I want is to be in that hammock again –watching the sun set, the moon rise, the moon set, the sun rise and then set again, endlessly.
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