The street filled with people. Some hurried home, others strolled calmly, enjoying the last hours of the day.

It was a Friday evening, still quite warm, and a certain lightness could be felt. A feeling for life that makes it easier to get through everyday routines, one that lets worries be forgotten, even if only for a moment.

Just cross the boulevard, and there it is, the sea. Incredibly blue water, blue sky, pebbles, seagulls. People are sunbathing and enjoying the water.

I step carefully into the water, balancing on the small and large pebbles. A few meters further, the ground disappears beneath my feet. I swim further and further, feeling the waves on my face. I forget the world around me. There is only the vast water, and I adjust my rhythm to the waves.

Afterwards, I sit refreshed, lost in thought by the water. My gaze follows the low-flying airplanes. It feels as if they might fall into the water at any moment.

Already in the morning I had been here for a swim. I watched a yoga group and surfers attempting to catch waves. People were visibly enjoying these special moments before the day properly began.

But now, in the evening, everything felt different. There was a touch of melancholy in the air. The last evening here, before having to return to everyday life. The melancholy became more noticeable as the sun continued to sink and shadows spread across the beach. People slowly began to leave, and the beach emptied.

Back on the street, I observed the buildings and façades. Elegant, still carrying their old splendour, especially the beautiful patterns of the balcony railings that I particularly like in these cities. Old times that have never fully disappeared, but have adapted to the spirit of the present.

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Was that it? A fleeting moment of life that will never return?

The obligation to go back to the old world, to the old responsibilities and constraints of work?

Does it really have to be over, accepting the return as inevitable and unchangeable? To passively submit to what happens? To leave everything as it is?

Or could it be different? Bringing more quality of life into life? Like in this place. First, a swim in the wide sea before starting work. Then, when you get stuck with work, another swim to clear your head. Then continue working. Setting your own daily rhythm. Not with less responsibility, but finally taking it into your own hands.

Maybe this is the moment to decide whether one wants to return to the old world. Or to finally do full-time work that one enjoys, in an environment that allows for expansive thinking. One that does not constrain, but creates space, inspires, and through that space creates new opportunities.

Do you let yourself embrace it?