Don’t think too much….

“ I don’t have to worry.

I have all the time in the world.”

All the time in the world.

Ah.the Bliss. “

This came in a letter. From Maira Kalman & Co.

As it happens and without even knowing it a first, I ended up following Maira’s advice during my last holiday back home. Where I have also left my heart hanging in there, somewhere, not very sure of the realms. I would only say it took much longer to claim it back to the Asian lands where is also this marvellous place on a hill that I also call home. Sometimes I find myself calling home new places, or new languages, or new meals or new conversations. They hit an instant familiarity cord in me. For example the garden above. It belongs to my friend and just being there and walking on this path I said to myself”This feels so near and dear to me.Almost as I could try to retrieve some past memories from the trees, from the cherry and sour-cherry trees, from the quince tree, from the pear and apple and plum trees.”

Sure thing, not that far at all from the orchards my grandmother and now my mother herald nowadays. Yet, that was not the meaning I found there on this path. The meaning was the connection we foster with time, how atemporal all it seemed to me at that moment in time. How universal all seem suddenly to be and in the midst of all a sense of clarity. A sense of purpose.

You might remember me bringing back the “perspective” theme. Standing there, and walking through the trees and chasing the sunshine, I did find a profound sense of purpose. This was the path.

You might wonder what exactly would that be? Oh, we have all the time in world, remember?

The part I would like to share though today for all of us to make at least some sense of my insights would be this lovely art piece from Maira Kalman, that happens to be in the form of a watch.

The story being…. I have not been able to wear any watch for a trillion of years simply because I cannot tolerate well some materials, or simply because I feel caged or a weird feeling of claustrofobia when I put a watch on. It was what it was. I never made a big thing out of it, I just simply stopped wearing one. As it happened, just before my holidays I saw this post from Maira Kalman’s page with a limited collection of watches she had designed. I have a long standing passion for her work and connect deeply with her sense of humour and insights. She always goes to the essence of things while keeping everything modest and humble and as is.

I have ordered the watch immediately and was not even sure I could receive it before flying out, yet, thought some interesting twists of the universe and a couple of good friends uniting their efforts, the watch was brought to me on the way to the airport. Hence this glorious and raw photo. Reflecting in my opinion the very reason why I love Maira’s sense of humour. The message is surely clear. The watch does not have any seconds hand, any hour hand. The only hand is there for the minutes. The red hat turns the hours around and it can be at times simply misleading. One can never be so sure if it was 7 or 8, or 1 or 2 and so on so forth.I have found myself suspended many times or telling people the wrong timing just by following the gentleman with the red hat.Is true and is also hilarious. To me it is. And I love it.

The watch came with a beautiful letter saying:

Don’t think too much. Really.

On any given day, if you take a walk,

After a while, you will discover

A most pleasant sensation.

Your Brain will be Empty.

In the best possible way.

You will stop thinking and just BE.

There will be flowers and dogs and people and trees to Look at.

And don’t forget Birds.

You might be wearing a watch,

But you could Lose all sense of time.

You might mumble,

“I don’t have to worry.

I have all the time in the world.”

All the Time in the World.

Ah. The Bliss”

MK

Wear it well…..

I hope you love her art as much as I do. Maira Kalman

Her work make me wish I could trace back my cherished moments same way, through illustrations. And colours. And sometimes exaggerated features. I could dream to revisit a day not though the photos we took, but through the photos that my heart and mind took. The things my eyes perceived, or the deeper level of connection that some passing event left in me. For that, we might not have the whole time in the world.

Taking a trip by train with my mum recently catches in itself a timelessness.The time stood still there. The trip to the destination had its moments, the time back had other moments equally carved deeply in my soul. Yet,I wish I could illustrate them sooner than later to capture all that went through my heart then.

My mum cannot see very well now. Hence her attention span is much more enhanced and her focus is 10 times sharper than mine. It was a bliss to notice and take notice if I might add.

Examples:

Mum asks - do you happen to know how many stations this train takes until the final destination?

Me- not really, but let me check.

I have checked by finding and downloading an app, connecting to live tracking all this non-sense that we find essential for our own security. It worked for me. It was essential only to know when to alert my friend that we arrive soon and that we monitor any delays. The train did not have any announcement system whatsoever. Voice or digital.We could just wait to arrive in a station and see the station’s name. That was the GPS from another world.

I tell mum the stations and while doing that,

Mum says - speaks slower, as I need to focus and memorize them.

Me- Okay. We are now in safe hands! …I was in awe literally.

Needless to say, we saw memory at work for the next 6 hours. She would be able to name all the upcoming stations correctly, and I would verify the app to afirm that.

The real signage with the stations’ name were not even visible all times depending on our seats etc.

Good news is that we did not have any major delays, despite the prognosis due to the scorching heat and our friends were already there trying to recognise us among the many descending from the train. Mum’s GPS was spot on. Will never doubt it.

I also have to add the story about our return. Same station, same train. Different hour.

While waiting for the train to approach the station, there has been an announcement and guess who was the only one to hear it- my mum. She stopped our chatter with my friends and said simply” We must go and wait for the train there.It will station only 2 minutes. “ We were a bit outraged, how could that be possible, 2 minutes is nothing… and so on, but yes, she was right- we had to move and prepare for the train approaching. She was literally the only one listening the announcements as I was finding difficult to part with my friend. As a matter of fact, to part with anyone. I am not very sure how to master this in the future, but it is dreading on me.

Here we were again, train arriving, jumping on with the luggages and all, myself focused on mum and how to settle her in the train. Hugging my friends who came with us on the train to help us out. Suddenly we lose our balance, the train starts moving and that 2 minutes that my mum were trying to warn us about were done!

So much confusion follows, what the …., is this for real? - a neighbour kindly said” Yes, is moving for real. “ My friends were shocked much more than me and here we are also facing the ticket controlling squad - that luckily could also tell my friends that the first station is not that far and they could immediately jump on a train back to their home.

It sounds smooth and like all working out, but not so much.The next 20 minutes until the first station must have been the longer time for my friends. Their expression of shock was not one easy to shake off, and the only thing I could really do is to check the same app again and keep my eye on the arrival time so no one can miss this one too.

Yes, believe it or not.The national train system allow the passengers only 2 minutes to jump on a train, with luggages, kids, older parents etc… It was mind blowing that someone is actually planning such a itinerary. The same very app was showing in smaller station the time as 1 minute. For real. I am not so sure how did they calculate that so precisely for an old train. Only to stop and to start again it takes 1 minute. ……

Don’t think too much. Said the wise gentleman with a red hat.

What has been has been, said mum also.

My friends reached home couple of hours later than estimated and at the end all is well. We are all fine. And the bonus being, there is a story to tell after all.

And a sort of apology for my prolonged silence on this platform.

I have been reading and going through multiple advices on writing and here there is one thing I could not yet master. Put everything on paper as it comes, day by day diligently. That is a general part of the advice. Then there are methods and methods of approaching and mastering the skill itself. I am still such a novice and one let us say major stumble block for me, is that I tend to let the time or timelessness of a moment filling up my cups right there. I have a clear sensation of finality if I put it on the paper right away. I am afraid not to turn in into a story while is happening.

It takes me a while to feel that I have deeply absorbed all the emotions and all the stillness in what has marked me during a period of time. It is a thrilling journey to write and be out there with your soul.

Take this window for example. I would stare at it for minutes and would like to carry that with me everywhere I go. I would dream right there in front of it that this is how I would like to wake up to, seeing these flowers every single day ( perhaps not the metal grids though). These moments take me on a separate journey altogether and they keep me dreaming in way. Dreaming of being there forever.

I am on a path walking as we speak, to bridge perhaps the right now and right there with a story. That bridge comes and goes at the moment. There is more to unlock and to do it on a daily basis pouring out all my stories inside out.

Thank you so very much and you now know what to do:

Don’t think too much.

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