Tuesday, December 25, 2012

The Fazenda (the farm)

We spent the last few days on a farm in the middle of the cerrado.  No internet -no cell phones -just spending time with family and friends.  I have spent time in the past under these conditions and it always brings me back to appreciating the simple things in life but also missing the modern luxuries of communication we often take for granted.  Cards were played,  walks were taken,  swimming was done and all around a lot of relaxation took place.  Of course with 10 plus people at the farm, the kitchen was always full of people preparing the next meal whether it was fresh caught arapaima fish, homemade pasta, or the traditional
Brazlian feijoada. Several times over the stay I reflected back to growing up when we would go to my grandma’s house and there would always be people in the kitchen cooking.  Lunch and dinner with a coffee in between,  such a wonderful place for gathering and socializing.   Life seems so simple and people connecting so much easier when you are able to disconnect from technology.  There were only a couple of times when I worried about things back in the states... what if my family needed to reach me?  What if the people staying in my house needed something?  What if a new business opportunity came a calling?  But these
thoughts soon slipped out of my mind as I jumped into the refreshing water of the pool, slipped into a wonderful afternoon nap in the hammock or pulled up a chair to sit and enjoy the evening campfire.  Days filled with fresh mango fruit pulled from the trees, sun filled blue skies and cows grazing just beyond the fences.  Not a worry in the world as I sit here staring at the night sky with its half-moon and sparkling stars.  I ponder how I don’t miss the feeding tube to the world with the constant checking of the internet and endless possibility of interruption of life from the cell phone.  The more we have the more we want,  but in the end it is these simple times that fill our soul and replenish our spirit.






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