And the adventures begin
Landing at Portuguese lands, I remembered a poem by Fernando Pessoa that influenced my life deeply.It says:
“Was it worthwhile? All is worthwhile
When the spirit is not small.
He who wants to go beyond the Cape
Has to go beyond pain.”
In Yoga, we learn that we are one with the great Spirit, or Cosmic source, but we have to go deep inside in meditation to be aware of our true nature. We have to undergo tapas (discipline, here the Cape) to teach the mind to be quiet and let us see beyond the physical and psychological pain /suffering of the fragile human frame. Check at the end of this blog the whole amazing poem.
Coming from US, I arrived at Lisboa airport and met my mom and my brother, who were coming from Brazil. After hugs and kisses, we bought two chips for our phones , picked up the car we rent, and traveled towards Porto for about 3 hours. It was an adventure to fit my mother’s scooter wheelchair, all the bags and us!
Can you see my mom hidden behind the bags at the picture below? You passed the eye exam! Haha
We stopped at the área de serviço (rest area with restaurant) to have some snacks and some famous sweets called pastel de nata.
On the next episode we will arrive in Porto where we shall see beautiful architectures, churches, a palace, a train, ... ! Sign up or subscribe to the blog to receive the next chapter of this inner and outer adventure.
Bellow is the original version in Portuguese and a translation in English of the famous poem Mar Português (Portuguese Sea):
Mar Português
Ó mar salgado, quanto do teu sal
São lágrimas de Portugal!
Por te cruzarmos, quantas mães choraram,
Quantos filhos em vão rezaram!
Quantas noivas ficaram por casar
Para que fosses nosso, ó mar!
Valeu a pena? Tudo vale a pena
Se a alma nao é pequena.
Quem quer passar além do Bojador
Tem que passar além da dor.
Deus ao mar o perigo e o abismo deu,
Mas nele é que espelhou o céu.
(Fernando Pessoa, in Mensagem)
Portuguese Sea
Oh salty sea, so much of your salt
Is tears of Portugal!
Because we crossed you, so many mothers wept,
So many sons prayed in vain!
So many brides remained unmarried
That you might be ours, oh sea!
Was it worthwhile? All is worthwhile
When the spirit is not small.
He who wants to go beyond the Cape
Has to go beyond pain.
God to the sea peril and abyss has given
But it was in it that He mirrored heaven.
