By Sal Guarino
A New Year’s Reflection
I was seven years old and playing horseshoes with Eddie, my summer neighbor in Sag Harbor, New York. We routinely filled summer days and early evenings with fevered games of horseshoes, badminton, frisbee, catch, and whatever else we conjured up to fill about 12 hours a day, winding down with the magical sound of the ice cream man, whose musical truck might as well have been a chariot from heaven. Its harmonious chimes signaled the final prize at the end of an already fun-filled day. These were the innocent, carefree days of childhood, where a sense of warmth and well-being was the baseline of emotion, amplified even further by icing on the cake in its actual and figurative forms. My oldest brother Gerard and I coined such warm-spirited, serendipitous moments as “sacred time,” a joyful, gratitude-enhancing concept I have always treasured.
Throughout my teens, instances of sacred time revolved around items like the Yankees winning the Word Series or the right girl saying yes to my awkwardly expressed affections. I continued to appreciate life’s special moments, when time seemed to disappear, leaving only simple joy and innocence in its wake. Recalling sacred time at will reliably empowered me to stop and enjoy the memories and souvenirs of life’s magical journeys while still in the midst of such happy excursions.
Adulthood continued to present wonderful moments around marriage, kids, and career, yet sacred time became more elusive, giving way to the bustle of my emerging focuses. The targets of my numerous worldly pursuits dominated my attention, diverting my emotional energy from the simple wonders of the moment. In recent years, as age, experience, and a couple of excursions to hell and back have exerted their collective influence upon me, I have found myself longing for that once readily available, joy-enhancing, youthful trick—to instantly summon the mood-elevating perspective of sacred time.
Today, I can imagine no better place than here in placid, beautiful, and timeless San Miguel de Allende to reaffirm the fact that THESE are the “good old days”—that instances of sacred time, whether admiring the Jardín Principal, meandering vivid and colorful streets, or snacking at endless eateries with my love, are indeed as prevalent as they were in my idyllic summer days of horseshoes and ice cream. I just need to continue adjusting my spiritual lens in order to recognize them and fully participate.
As the new year dawns, I reflect with gratitude for the lifelong gift of sacred time and for living now amid glorious surroundings that reflect and enhance my soul’s enthusiastic vantage. Rather than making New Year’s resolutions per se, I plan to dial up the brightness of that perceptual dimmer switch in my heart and mind, first coined by two keen brothers some four decades ago, look around and appreciate how all time is sacred, especially right here and now. I invite you to do the same!
Happy New Year!
Sal Guarino Born in Brooklyn, NY, now settled in Centro with his Mexican wife, Sal brings a rich set of life experiences to the table. “SALudos de San Miguel!” shares his joy for living through a lens of gratitude and positivity here in San Miguel. Sal’s first book “SALutations!” was published in 2018. Contact: salguarino@gmail.com.
