I came to Brazil with the rain - it poured on my first two days here. Then I received the gift of sun, warmth and cool breeze for almost two weeks in a row. Now, as I'm preparing to leave, the rain has come back.  Once I would have been saddened by it. Now I just enjoy it as I enjoyed the sun. I love listening to its sound. I love watching it. Torrential. Fresh. Washing the dust off the street and off my heart. Whatever dust there is left.

I have learnt a crucial lesson over the past few months. And the peak of it was here, during these magical days in Bahia. I learnt to enjoy the little things. The feel of sand under my feet. The warmth of the sun on my face. The wind caressing my hair. The contagious giggle of a joyous three year old.

I learnt that the Little Things are, in fact, the Big Things. And I also learnt to take responsibility for my own happiness. 

There is no peak. No final moment when everything comes into place. There is no perfect timing. There is no such thing as "trouble-free" life. There is no monumental treasure hidden at the end of the road, which will make it all worthwhile. The future is just "tomorrow" turning into "today".

Happiness is real, but not in the way we usually understand it. It is not something that begins once all the suffering is over. If your "today" is unhappy, who says your "tomorrow" will be different?

Now I understand that suffering and happiness are nothing more but choices. Much of the suffering of my own life so far has been of my own making. It was my own victimisation, insecurities, fears, that robbed me of my happiness. And I suffered as long as I kept waiting for some "Big" thing to come along to change things for me. "If only..." has been my faithful companion for a long time.

There were countless days when I was so caught up in my own life drama that I simply didn't notice the trees in bloom, the nice people, the funny jokes, but instead only focused on the rude, the sad, the not-OK around me. I now know that I was actually focusing on the "not-OK" in myself.

As I prepare to leave Brazil for the second time, I know I will be back. I choose to notice and enjoy the "little things". I know they are, actually, the "big things". I choose to forgive and to love simply because I know how easy it is to choose to be angry and resentful. I choose to be happy today and have faith in my capacity to choose happiness again tomorrow. I wish you to be able to choose the same.

May this bring you a smile and a kind thought for yourself, as your "tomorrow" is turning into "today".

Abraços,

Alis