Mario Quintana’s poem Seiscentos e sessenta e seis (Six hundred and sixty six) goes like this:

        Life is like chores we brought in as homework.

        When we realize, it is already six: there is time…

        When we realize, it is already Friday...

        When we realize, 60 years have passed by!

        Now it is too late for us to be unapproved…

        And if I were given one day, one more opportunity, I would not even look at the clock.

        I would always walk straight ahead… And would walk along throwing the useless golden shells of the hours along the way…

* * *

        By the end of one year, when a new one is just about to start, we commonly hear sentences like: This year passed by so fast! or Wow, I haven’t even noticed the year pass by… or even: There goes another year…

        Many of these sentences reveal a sort of lack of control over time in our lives.

        Some sentences are said on a dramatic way, as if the year has passed us by, and we have not noticed it or we have not done anything significant along this period.

        Life is so busy! – some may say, showing time has passed them by, instead of them passing time by.

        And when we realize, 60 years have passed by! – says the poet.

* * *

        Is it us passing life by or life passing us by, and we are not realizing it, interacting with it or leaving our footprints on it?

        Or is it that we have been doing too many things without choosing the ones that really matter for the Spirit?

        Are we able to identify each season of the year and live it thoroughly?

        Have we not become slaves of the clock, of working overtime, of worrying too much, and so forth?

        That is worth thinking… worth thinking a little bit about these questions.

        By the end of another life cycle, it is essential for us to stop for a while, analyze, plan, and most of all, enjoy the moment.

        Cycles are necessary for that. If we never stop, our lives, health and mind will do it for us.

        We are not machines, though some modern habits tend to treat us as such.

        We are not puppets handled by time, work or devastating consumerism.

        We are Spirits who are here on this planet for developing, acquiring moral and intellectual perfection, and learning how to love.

        We are travelers of many lives and opportunities, but also of one-of-a-kind chances, unique moments, which must be lived with all the intensity of the new star  light.

        We are the reason for everything, and that is why we must ask for more respect from ourselves.

        We must ask the body for a little more soul, and everything else for a little more calm – recalling another poem.

        Life never stops, certainly. Thus, we are the ones who should stop for a while.

        Restarting is always necessary. We miss the new. And there is nothing better than a new me to get back on track full of energy.

        It is time for a new beginning...

Spiritist Moment Team based on the poem from the book Esconderijos do tempo, from Mário Quintana, publishing house Globo.
May 26 2008.