The Breathing Cave of Benagil

Some places hold more than stone.
They preserve a remembrance.

The cave of Benagil touched me like an image of protection
that does not shut out the light,
but carries it.
The rock arches above,
while still leaving openings to breathe,
to connect,
to remain in touch with air, sea, and sky.

What becomes visible here
is not closure,
but a gentle form of shelter.
A resting place in which light does not disappear,
but learns to fall more deeply.

Perhaps that is also what the soul remembers:
that true protection does not seal us off,
but leaves space.
That what carries us
does not need to suffocate us.
That openings may remain
through which life, breath, and connection can still flow.

The cave of Benagil reminds me
that silence, too, can breathe.
That stone, too, can remain open.
And that light sometimes enters most beautifully
where it is being held.