Reflections of a Soul That’s In A Hurry
Iwas deeply touched by the message of a poem shared to me by my sister, Dr. Jo Ann de los Reyes-Serafin. It is titled “My Soul Is In A Hurry”, and it was written by poet, novelist, essayist and musicologist Mário de Andrade, who is a fixture in Brazil’s modernist movement.
A translation of the piece goes: “I counted my years and discovered that I now have less time left to live than I had lived until now. I feel like the kid who won a pack of candy; He ate the first few with pleasure, but when he realized there were few left, he began to savor the last few pieces deeply.”
“I don’t have time for endless meetings where we discuss by-laws, rules, procedures and internal regulations knowing that nothing will happen.”
“I no longer have time to put up with absurd people who, despite their chronological age, have not grown up. I want the essential, my soul is in a hurry…”
“I want to surround myself with people who know how to touch people’s hearts. People who have learned the hard knocks of life and to grow with soft touches in their soul.”
“Yes, I am in a hurry… I am in a hurry to live with the intensity that only maturity can give. I intend not to waste any of the candy I have left… I am sure they will be more exquisite than the ones I have eaten so far.”
“My goal is to arrive at the end satisfied and at peace with my loved ones and with my conscience. We have two lives and the second one starts when you realize that you have only one.”
Thinking about the message of the piece, I couldn’t help but think about how short life is and the value of time.
As they say, you cannot touch the water of a river twice. Once it flows, it flows without going back. Time is fleeting; once it passes, it passes.
I was also reminded of this poster on the wall of the radio booth where I anchored the “Mom From the Hearts” program of DYAP FM some years back. It read “The spelling of Love in the eyes of a child is Time”.
The message of the poster has been one of my many guides as a mother of five children, and I remember having to give up two scholarships when they were still growing up. I was afraid that I would not be there during their wonder years.
I’ve always been a follower of the motto of the Family Foundation, which goes “No amount of success in the outside world can compensate for failure in the home”.
Looking back, I have no regrets in making the challenging decision to prioritize my children over career opportunities.
Serving as a clincher to my reflections over the message of de Andrade’s poem are insights from the book “Life After Death” by Raymond Moody.
In the book, the author interviewed hundreds of individuals all over America who experienced clinical death. All of them shared that they passed through a dark tunnel, and that at the end of the dark tunnel was a bright light.
Before they could react to the situation, a calm and mellow voice asked them: “What have you done with your life? Did you show love to the people around you?”
“As they say, you cannot touch the water of a river twice. Once it flows, it flows without going back. Time is fleeting; once it passes, it passes.”