Who You Are Is Still There

This morning, on my way to work,

I heard the slow call of a dove.

And suddenly

I remembered something.

I used to hear that sound every morning

before going to school.

It made the day feel lighter

before it even began.

And in the afternoon

I would hear it again,

and it felt like

the weight of the day

was gently falling away.

But it wasn’t only the sound.

It was everything that came with it.

Memories.

Nostalgia.

Home.

The garden.

That feeling of being carefree.

It brought back the air of those mornings,

the smells,

the quiet,

the simple beauty of those days.

So many beautiful things

all inside a single sound.

And I realized something.

The sound was always there.

Free.

Unchanged.

Maybe nothing changed outside.

Maybe it was me

who stopped noticing.

And maybe

some of the peace we think we lost

is still there…

waiting

for us

to listen again.

— Fuerpa Slow Journal