There is a Shakespeare sentence I'm very fond of: The readiness is all. On Friday, 13 of March 2026, in the Brazilian town of Porto Alegre, I became even more fond of this insight for I realised that you can be ready without being aware of it.
I've always been convinced that the right time to live is right now. That wasn't however what I practised, what I practised was almost always (with the exception of sex): Not now!
Friday, 13 of March 2026, was my last full day in Porto Alegre before returning to Switzerland. I went into a bookstore with the intention to buy a thriller in Portuguese that would help to improve my language skills. Instead, I ended up with a tome by Kathleen Norris (O caminho do Claustro) I had thought to have once read in English (it was however another one [Dakota: a spiritual geography] that also happened to take place in a Benedictine monastery.)
Back in my hotelroom, I started to read (with the help of Deepl). After a while it dawned on me that this was extraordinary (for me, that is) for it is incredibly rare that I'm reading a book right away, and it is even more rare to make an attempt to improve my Portuguese a day before departing Brasil, this time probably for good.
What I find most remarkable about all this seemingly banal occurence: I'm doing this, it seems to me, because I enjoy learning, I'm not doing it with any goal in mind. I've always thought that the process is all that matters. Finally, I can feel it.
No, this is not entirely new to me. I remember it from playing football in my youth, from singing in a rock band, from playing guitar, from skiing, from being in love. What is however new, or so it seems, is my awareness of being present. And, to enjoy it.
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