This city is alive with music, museums of art and history, wonderful architecture, great food and wonderful people. I’m currently in “Roma Norte”, a lovely area populated with lots of cute little restaurants, cafe’s, boutiques and bakeries.

The amount of green space here feels amazingly restorative. Aside from all the trees and shrubs along the streets there’s an abundance of parks which are always teeming with activity. People walking their dogs, lovers on benches, mothers kissing baby cheeks and street musicians. Everybody uses these spaces and I can’t help but feel a certain amount of joy when I hang out there.

I decided to attend a school while I’m here to learn Spanish. It isn’t easy but makes me feel productive and human.

I am acutely aware of my surroundings these days. I know it’s due in part because I’m in a new place but that’s one of the perks of traveling, is it not? It gives you a chance to dust off the cobwebs. Even as I sit in the park I don’t feel I’m “wasting time”; I feel alert. I think differently about time these days, about when I’ve hurried through life while actually wasting it.

“Seize the day!”

It’s an easily ignored adage but what if you took it to heart? What if your awareness of mortality never waned? Instead of waiting for a traumatic event or diagnosis to face it, what if you just decide to spend more time paying attention to how you’re living your life? What if you met the reality of every day as its own gift?

I made a silent vow to myself to keep that particular fire ablaze.

I’ll be here for the next couple of months before moving on. I’m getting back in touch with the wonder of being alive and that every day can be an adventure, no matter where on the planet I find myself.