Walking the streets of Viçosa, I trip at least three times a day. It's actually become a game with my friend. It is a subtle exchange: "So, what number was that?" ..."Oh, just the first one of the day!" or "Yikes, you don't want to know," or even, "Hey, that one doesn't count." Mostly it's because I'm so intently listening to my friends while walking, language barriers abound. I just can't seem to walk and look sideways at them. Hey, a girl's gotta prioritize when she can't do two things at once! So much for feminine grace.
Besides the more visible feminine grace we may have seen on the city streets or in the movies, I discovered different kind of grace. One that is patient and accepting, that moves much slower than the pace I would like. If only it was as simple as going up to a bar and ordering a tall glass of grace. No, but this grace takes more work and care. A grace that weathers all storms. A grace that continues to grow through hardships and thrives with a little bit of sunshine. If metamorphosed, this grace would be a tree. Have you ever stopped to consider how graceful they are? Joyce Kilmer has, as she admiringly describes God's graceful creation in the poem to the right.
The same friend who teases me for tripping also told me a beautiful tree metaphor when I was expressing my worries for the future. Just as a tree has one strong trunk, or one main direction, we also grow as such with one main focus. With that strong trunk, that one focus- whether is it agronomy, languages, or medicine- we can branch off to other things in which we may be interested. Cooking? Dance? Rock climbing? These are other branches we can grow and nurture once we have that strong trunk. I liked this metaphor because it assured me that I don't need to feel limited to one thing in life, as I am truly a woman of endless possibilities.
I think this metaphor ties into how someone once anecdotally described grace to me as the following: One branch broke and I miraculously made it to the next. In our lives, many branches break. Many opportunities fall out, and yet at the moment when we think we will fall, we find another branch to cling to. Going from one thing to the next, the only way this could happen is with the grace of God.
Why all this talk about grace? In my seven months here in Brazil, I am gaining a type of grace in the process. I have learned to accept the pace of life that is not aligned with my normal speed of efficiency and productivity. I came in with lots of ideas and motivation. I've slowed down a lot since, as I haven't seen things materialize. Accepting that my program is new for the university, I've been able to adjust my priorities and pace into something more patient and experimental. I've learned to accept that things don't happen as quickly as I may hope. I've become willing to accept that things may not even happen at all.
I could force things to happen, but I don't think the experience would be as fruitful.
I have found there is no point in forcing things here in Brazil. Instead, we go with the pace and flow of the world, seeing what plays out or what branch to jump to. This is strictly speculation, but perhaps they are more productive in the end. Knowing well who they are working with, perhaps they have more concrete results and more sane people. This is where my lesson in grace comes in. Accepting as a gift whatever comes or does not come, I can more gracefully attend to what actions I am called to do and to what is right in front of me. There is no use being stuck thinking the grass is greener on the other side.
They say good things happen to those who wait, right? As it turns out, seven months in and I am finally seeing a few projects materialize. With a couple conferences on the horizon, a storytelling workshop at an after school program, and a Q&A video project featuring both Brazilians and Americans, I am in full swing until November! I'll take that tall glass of grace now, please... I know, I know- it's not that easy.
Besides the more visible feminine grace we may have seen on the city streets or in the movies, I discovered different kind of grace. One that is patient and accepting, that moves much slower than the pace I would like. If only it was as simple as going up to a bar and ordering a tall glass of grace. No, but this grace takes more work and care. A grace that weathers all storms. A grace that continues to grow through hardships and thrives with a little bit of sunshine. If metamorphosed, this grace would be a tree. Have you ever stopped to consider how graceful they are? Joyce Kilmer has, as she admiringly describes God's graceful creation in the poem to the right.The same friend who teases me for tripping also told me a beautiful tree metaphor when I was expressing my worries for the future. Just as a tree has one strong trunk, or one main direction, we also grow as such with one main focus. With that strong trunk, that one focus- whether is it agronomy, languages, or medicine- we can branch off to other things in which we may be interested. Cooking? Dance? Rock climbing? These are other branches we can grow and nurture once we have that strong trunk. I liked this metaphor because it assured me that I don't need to feel limited to one thing in life, as I am truly a woman of endless possibilities.
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| Tree in the "Central Park" of São Paulo. Now those are some branches! |
Why all this talk about grace? In my seven months here in Brazil, I am gaining a type of grace in the process. I have learned to accept the pace of life that is not aligned with my normal speed of efficiency and productivity. I came in with lots of ideas and motivation. I've slowed down a lot since, as I haven't seen things materialize. Accepting that my program is new for the university, I've been able to adjust my priorities and pace into something more patient and experimental. I've learned to accept that things don't happen as quickly as I may hope. I've become willing to accept that things may not even happen at all.
 |
| Tree pose on top of Pico do Bonê, MG |
I have found there is no point in forcing things here in Brazil. Instead, we go with the pace and flow of the world, seeing what plays out or what branch to jump to. This is strictly speculation, but perhaps they are more productive in the end. Knowing well who they are working with, perhaps they have more concrete results and more sane people. This is where my lesson in grace comes in. Accepting as a gift whatever comes or does not come, I can more gracefully attend to what actions I am called to do and to what is right in front of me. There is no use being stuck thinking the grass is greener on the other side.
They say good things happen to those who wait, right? As it turns out, seven months in and I am finally seeing a few projects materialize. With a couple conferences on the horizon, a storytelling workshop at an after school program, and a Q&A video project featuring both Brazilians and Americans, I am in full swing until November! I'll take that tall glass of grace now, please... I know, I know- it's not that easy.
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