Here is my entry for the #monomad contest by 
This week, and since last Saturday, I’ve been attending a refereeing course.
It’s a very challenging course, because although I’ve been a federated athlete in the sport since 1998, it’s only now that I’ve had the chance to enrol on this course for referees.
The course load is still considerable, and as I wasn’t able to take this week off – the week the course is taking place – I end up having to work harder, as I have to attend classes after work.
It’s particularly tough, as this week, since I’m on the morning shift at work, I wake up at around 5.45 am or 6 am, which means that after a class from 8 pm to 11 pm I’m completely knackered and just longing for my bed.
But duty called, and I couldn’t let a day go by without posting something here on Hive. I decided to choose a selection of photographs I took in a woodland park very close to the sports complex where the training course is taking place.
It was on Saturday. I arrived well before the scheduled start time of the course, which gave me the chance to put on my headphones, listen to a bit of music and do my morning reflection.
A magical moment, which I’d like to share with you. Apart from the two people who walked past me – though they didn’t even notice me – no one else was around.
Just me and nature. Admittedly, it wasn’t a particularly intimate setting, as you can see from the photos – there’s a road running alongside it – but we managed to soak up the first rays of the day’s sunshine.
And how lovely it was to feel that gentle yet distinctly noticeable warmth we experience when we expose our skin to the bright rays…
I couldn’t remember the sensation of only part of my face feeling the warmth… part of my legs, and just one of my arms…
The feeling of being in touch with the outside world, and of feeling that we are an integral part of this unique world, is truly unique.
Photographed with Samsung A26 by 
Photographic edition with PhotoScape X
Original text in Portuguese written by
