Two Kinds of Calm in Latin America
As I understood it, the calm is not because nothing happens.
Picture a couple named Nora and Tim. They have spent years in a loud, fast city. They tell friends they want somewhere calm. Then they start to wonder what that word means. Is it a quiet street, or is it a quiet mind?
Two small stories from Latin America help me think about it.
Calm that comes from knowing
Chile. A Chilean journalist explained how people there stay calm while the ground shakes. As I understood it, the calm is not because nothing happens. It is because people have lived with it. They know what to do, they talk about it plainly, and they do not panic. The steadiness is learned.
I find this interesting for newcomers. If you move to a place with a known risk, the locals' habits are a gift. Watching how they react may help you more than any reading.
Calm that comes from stillness
Suriname. The other story is about a small, quiet, isolated place and a life of hammock afternoons. The writer describes contentment, not boredom. Nothing is asked of him. The days are long and unhurried.
The same quality can feel different to different people. For one, it is peace. For another, it can become loneliness. The story does not say which one lasts. I think that is honest, and I take it as a reminder to test the feeling before committing.
| Chile | Suriname | |
|---|---|---|
| Source of calm | Experience and habit | Smallness and stillness |
| What it asks | Learning local habits | Comfort with being alone |
| Possible downside | Not feeling ready for surprises | Too few people, too few options |
What I take from it
There are at least two meanings of calm. One is steadiness when things get shaken. The other is slowness when nothing happens. A person may want one and not the other. Before choosing a place, I think it is worth asking which one you are after.
Nora and Tim sit on their back step with tea.
"I thought calm meant no noise," Nora says.
"Maybe it means not minding the noise," Tim says.
You could…
- Write down what calm means to you in one sentence, and check it against each place you consider.
- Stay a few weeks somewhere very quiet before deciding whether you like it.
- Talk with locals about how they handle the things that shake their lives.
- Plan a few reasons to leave the hammock: a class, a market, a regular visitor.
What does calm feel like for you, and where have you found it?
Tell us in the comments