Monday, March 08, 2010
We are based, for a few days, an hour out of the main town of Faro in southern Portugal. The area is sparsely populated out of the little towns. There are plenty of ruins and run down earth buildings alongside the renovated and barred whitewashed villa's... there are men riding small motorbikes along dirt lanes dodging the huge puddles and dogs, chickens and sheep roaming on the hillsides. One of the joyous sights is of the shepherds herding their flocks around the valleys and on the hills. This young man and his dog managed over fifty sheep and their lambs...and a major road crossing.
Jose, our friends, neighbour spends hours everyday sitting with his sheep, come rain or shine, just watching over his flock. The sheep and goats have bells around their necks and the sound of them moving and tinkling their bells is hypnotic.
Our friend in northern Portugal who we visited for a few days said she had worked for a year as a shepherdess and it was one of the best years of her life. On the first day she had taken a book and some letters to write... and abandoned that idea as the joy of just sitting and watching her flock became a meditation unto its own. The sheep and goats amused her and filled her waking day with lots of joy, simplicity and time to just be. How precious are the simple things in life!
I love my work and have been passionate about celebrancy since I was appointed in 1995. 
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