Just Breathe..

Hi there! Firstly, thank you so very much if you are still reading this blog, I truly appreciate you 🙂 Secondly, I have decided to include some helpful information in my posts, something that could be resourceful in case you travel to the respective city and would like to see the artwork yourself. Lastly, I hope you enjoy reading this one and if you do, tell me about it ❤

On a solo trip to Madrid in Oct’23, I visited the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía – which is a paradise for anyone who loves art. Even though I ended up spending almost 4 hours in the museum, trust me it wasn’t enough. Details on how you can visit this paradise at the end of the post.

This painting called “Young Woman at a Window” by Salvador Dali is said to be inspired by a painting called “Woman at a Window” by Caspar David Friedrich. It is also said that the woman in this painting is Salvador’s sister Ana Maria. Further, the place you see in the window is supposed to be Cadaqués, which is a town in Spain I have had the chance to visit and you should too whenever you are in Spain. Its stunning to say the least (avoid visiting during rains). Fun fact – Salvador spent a lot of his childhood in Cadaqués and that’s probably why he painted it in this artwork.

At the onset, I just saw a woman standing with her back towards me, staring at the beautiful scenery. Frankly I didn’t notice anything special in the first instance and I simply moved on to the next painting in the room. After walking around in the museum for sometime I realized I was lost. And I was trying to find my way to the next floor when I somehow popped back in the same room where this young woman was standing. This time I saw the painting from a bit far and suddenly this young woman caught my attention.

I noticed the causal way in which this woman was standing – see her clothes, nothing fancy. Like any other day in her life – except this is the part of her day when she decides to take a break for herself. You know to catch-up with everything going on. Her legs probably tired on account of standing for a while – see the way she is resting one foot against the other. What is going on her head? What is she feeling? Is she overwhelmed?

How often do we hit pause in our day to day? There is so much going on around us and in our lives which impacts us. Funnily, we don’t even realize the impact day to day life has on us until some time has passed and your mind or body starts showing signs. We consume all sorts of information and so much information throughout the day. Isn’t it so easy to get caught up with the every day tasks – calls, meetings, emails, what to cook, what to eat, steps to track, errands to run, drink enough water, workout, call the plumber, schedule the doctor’s appointment, call your friends to stay in touch, sleep enough, take your medicines, etc., etc. Basically we are just trying to strike off tasks from this never ending to-do list. At times, don’t you feel like the hamster that is constantly running on a wheel. Don’t you feel overwhelmed? I know I do – more often than not.

Life isn’t easy for any of us. All of us have our own issues to deal with. It might seem that the next person has it all figured out but in reality who knows. After all, we are socially conditioned to show only the good side of our lives aka the “Instagrammable side” So, its okay to pause when you feel overwhelmed. Its okay to pause as many times as required. Its okay if you are tired and want to rest it out today. Its okay if you have not been able to give your 100% at work today, you can try again tomorrow. Its okay if you didn’t complete all your tasks today, you have tomorrow because the to-do list is never ending anyway. Its okay if you failed today, you can try again. Its okay if today was difficult, have faith that tomorrow would be better. Its okay to take a step back and relax your nerves as many times as you need to. And its totally okay to take a break, stand by your window and breathe, JUST BREATHE before you dive back into the water. Its okay 🙂

Helpful Information: “Young Woman at a Window” by Salvador Dali is at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid (website – https://entradas.museoreinasofia.es/en). (1) You can buy the tickets online, the general ticket is about 12 Euros i.e. ~1200 INR which would give you access to all the floors and artwork this museum hosts except the temporary exhibits (if any) for which you might have to pay extra. (2) You can further buy an audio guide should you like to hear about some of the key artwork this museum hosts, which would cost you about 5 Euros i.e. ~500 INR – I personally recommend the audio guide if you love art like I do. (3) Also, if are an art lover, then I would recommend scheduling a minimum of 3 hours to visit the museum on your trip. (4) There is a free entry time table as well on the website basis which you can visit the museum for free of cost however since the museum is paradise for art lovers, many students leverage the free entry time table to visit and study art. This means those hours might be a bit more crowded than usual. If you do end up visiting, do tell me about it!

Disclaimer: I am neither an Art or an English expert, this post is my interpretation and understanding of the painting. It is just an expression of my feelings. The intent of the post is not to critic the art or the artist, no offense is intended. Further, I have no affiliation to the museum, this is not like a paid service or an advertisement – the information provided above is basis my experience, it is only provided to help the reader and is subject to change as per the museum’s policies.