This summer my wife and I spent just over two glorious weeks in Spain. In addition to experiencing the rich Spanish culture and history, as well as dedicated time with my wife, I found myself reminded at times of important life lessons. This short blog series will focus on the five lessons that jumped out to me the most.
We landed in Madrid in the early morning of July 1st. After clearing customs and taking a short train ride and and a longer walk (mainly due to not recognizing where the street signs were placed), we checked into our hotel. We were both pretty jet-lagged, but my wife informed me that we needed to power through and get lunch sooner than later as dinner would not be served until much later.
I had learned a bit about the Spanish schedule in high school, but it’s a whole other thing to experience it.
As an American, I wanted a quick bite to eat, a nap, and then a big dinner.
But Spain forced me to think differently. Lunch became our biggest meal of the day–often a multi-course event that could easily last 1-2 hours. Throughout the trip, I joked about how bad the service was–it wasn’t uncommon to wait 15-20 minutes after finishing a course for the next one to be brought out.
But I’d often have a lunch with bread, salad, an appetizer, an entree, dessert, and a beverage for 10-15 euro.
Day one, I wanted speed.
Day sixteen, I was still surprised by the slowness, but I found ways to enjoy the experience.
During lunch or the siesta (where we’d often grab a café con leche), I’d sit during that time. My wife and I would talk about our trip so far, what we might see later that day or later in the trip, and our hopes for the future. We’d people watch and just sit in silence, side-by-side, enjoying the warm afternoons. My wife would recount her some of her experiences when she studied abroad in Spain in college and I’d share my surprises about the culture.
In other words–we slowed down as well and enjoyed our present.
And that was one element of the culture that leapt out.
Every day most stores seemed to close down for a few hours. People would go home or go to a restaurant for a long lunch or a drink at the local cafe or bar and just visit. You’d see people in suits reading the afternoon paper or watching the latest game of the EuroCup. You’d see people reading in a park or taking a dog for the walk.
They would take this break for a few hours and then go back to work. The stores would reopen. Business would commence and it would remain open a bit later until people went to dinner around 8-10pm.
I know we won’t adopt the Spanish schedule here in the states anytime soon, but today, as I quickly microwaved some lunch, scarfed it down, and got going on the next project, I realized…
…that I wasn’t enjoying my present.
I was focused too much on the next.
As we begin this last quarter of 2016, I challenge you (just as I’m now challenging myself), to enjoy the present just a bit more…
…to breath in a few more moments.
…to turn off the cell phone and look up.
…to talk about your day and about your hopes for the future with those that you care about.
…and to enjoy the beauty that surrounds you.
It takes time for us to get used to this idea. I had to get to San Sebastián/Donostia before I could completely appreciate slowing down in Spain. Now, I need to do it again at home–I hope you’re able to as well.
