There are certain moments in our lives that spark a wish to go back in time.
Those were the days.
Are those past times golden indeed, or do we tend to forget all the bad times, remember only good ones, and make the past more beautiful than it was?
Maybe in the future, today will become one of those golden years. Maybe we will remember these days and wish to go back.
But there is nothing more beautiful than living in the present, focusing all your thoughts and feelings on the now. That may sound like a cliché, but it is the truth.
We had two days here, next to this incredible river. I was there once before, and I have not stopped thinking about going back to it since. But returning there was a challenge to myself – do you know the feeling when you want something so much but, when it comes true, it turns to be everything you didn’t imagine, and nothing you imagined?
I planned and daydreamed of coming back, of filming the landscapes, diving in the clear fresh water and jumping around across the glorious waterfalls, of swimming and taking hundreds of photographs until I didn’t have the perfect one, of soaking every sunray I stumbled upon, of waking up with the sun and walking next to the calm river under the stary skies.
Two days are far too short for all those dreams.
Reality rarely goes according to our plans, even more seldom according to our infinite daydreams.
But then you have to remind yourself that there is no greater gift than being grateful for the present.
And there, standing there next to the river, between worrying about changeable weather and pondering about freezing water, I looked up and saw familiar faces with smiles brighter than the sun, having fun and running around barefoot after the ball. That scene full of laughter was not in my plans. The reality somehow turned to be better than the dream.
That moment made me forget about all the worries that were clouding my mind. And then I looked around myself at last.
Soft sunshine touched the meadow and brought warmth to the greenery. It was almost sunset. As if I was drawn to it, I walked towards the west, and stumbled upon this incredibly warm scenery. Little rusty door, opened precisely as if it wanted me to cross the doorstep, an old tree with its branches heavily bent under hundreds of leaves, and a meadow coloured with all the finest pastel tones.
That unearthly feeling, that I wrote about the last time, it happened there, on that charming doorstep to the meadow.
Simple moments like this one can change us. No matter how plain they are, they hold immense power. Sounds, scents, and sights of nature can spark a wish to keep the feeling of calmness and strength forever, or a wish to go back to that feeling.
Sound of waves, crickets, distant thunders.
Scent of salt, essential herbs, soil after rainfall.
Moments like these remind us of countless reasons for spending more time in nature, nurturing our love towards it, uncovering ourselves in that process, our thoughts and subconscious feelings, and rediscovering that pristine, but almost forgotten thing – our deep, profound connection with our nature.