Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 28oC, hottish, sunny, and slightly overcast.
I am still over the moon about yesterday. Getting my Brazilian ID, a new bank account, and a wise card all on the same day without any hiccups is fantastic.
It is a lovely, excellent winter day in Rio, with the sun shining, although the temperature is low by Rio standards, which I love.
I woke up at 6:00 am and passed by the Portuguese bakery at 6:30 to pick up a takeaway coffee. I enjoy walking the streets early in the morning, sipping a good coffee, and admiring the views and the overall beauty of Rio, an extremely beautiful city.
Sometimes, on the weekends, I prefer to take a round trip before arriving there instead of heading straight to the park for exercise. This way, I can take my time as it is Saturday, and I am not in a rush. I can also get some extra steps in on my pedometer. The round trip is about 3 kilometres long. I walk up to Largo do Machado, then down to the beach, and finally walk in front of the bay back to the park, which is on my way home.
Arriving at the park, I saw many dogs and their owners. Some of the dogs already know me and come to greet me. Their owners also wave to me from a distance, acknowledging the affection that I usually give to their dogs.
One of the park’s most important inhabitants is a wild badger. It sometimes appears when I go to the park very early in the morning, but it has been appearing more frequently during the day in the last couple of weeks. There are many beautiful trees in the park, and on the left side, there are these old, weathered trees that have been there for a long, long time.
At the base of one or two of these trees, there are large, raised mounds of earth around each tree, as if to support the tree and its roots and house a community below the tree and the ground. There are various hole entrances around the trees in these mounds of the earth, where I have seen the badgers appear and disappear.
This reminded me of the film Avatar, where the tribe or tribes lived at the base and inside the tree. I thought about how we are not so different from animals and how alike we are in some ways. How can such an ugly animal make me so happy when I see it? It really makes my day!!!
I believe we underestimate the importance of nature for our mental health. Any interaction with nature, no matter how big or small, significantly impacts our happiness for the day and week. That is probably why, in today’s modern society of concrete jungles, having a pet brings us so much joy and is so beneficial to our health.
So, the big question is: do we take care of our pets, or are they the ones taking care of us?
When I got home, Nalva was already up and having breakfast. Afterwards, she wanted to clean the apartment thoroughly. Although I felt tired, sluggish, and lazy, I decided to help her. What I expected to be an hour-long task turned into at least five hours, with many things being thrown away. I love decluttering; it is one of my favourite activities. The apartment ended up looking spotless, and it felt great.
We bought a bottle of wine and had a late lunch or early dinner. I did the dishes, and Yasmin helped, too. It was a good, positive day; tomorrow will be Father’s Day.
If I receive a present tomorrow, no matter what it will be, it will mark the end of a good weekend. There is nothing better than feeling fulfilled and complete from your actions.
Even though we are afraid, we must do what we think is necessary to improve our lives. Life is too short to either give up or make excuses. We need to do it, regardless of the outcome. If it is good, great; if it is bad, it is still good. We learn, and we move on.
In bed by 11:30 pm.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
