Inspiration
Articles to inspire authentic living on the topics of resilience, spirituality, and self-growth with touches of storytelling, depth, and humor.
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From Survival to Thriving
It is challenging to thrive when multiple obstacles hit us, and life feels like a constant Whac-a-mole game. However, those periods that force us into survival mode are not a waste of time - as long as we decide to take advantage of it.
The last couple of years has forced many of us to deal with unforeseeable circumstances that have veered our paths from growth to survival. But, in those moments where we have no other choice but to surrender, we find the great gifts that come with challenging times. How we face each wave determines the growth that we can enjoy after the storm.
A Blind Eye And An Open Soul
I might be either the most illusory person on earth or I do live in an alternative reality but I do believe that the universe, God, Higher Being, however we want to call it, is always watching after us. That is my safety net! Whatever happens, does so for a reason and a master plan that I don’t necessarily understand at the moment. This allows me to release the reins when the road gets bumpy. Kind of like saying “I am not sure why I am going through this, but I am sure there is a plan that will work on my benefit at the end.”
This approach that I called stubborn optimism had helped me in so many occasions.
And then life decided to play some kind of dark joke on me and my theory went overboard with the ease of an autumn leave on a stormy day.
“F” is for *@uck Fear!
He was mad at something, I don’t even remembered what. But my five-year-old son was having a major tantrum. And by major I mean lots of kicking, hitting and throwing stuff. I was helpless. My usual “let’s-talk-about-our-feelings-approach” was not working. I had seen tantrums before but none like those. It started happening more frequently on the following days. Of course I started reading, researching, trying different methods without significant success. Then one day I was driving back home after an appointment and I had the need to scream. Not to anyone in particular, but to the air, to the world. But I didn’t. I am a relatively put-together adult who meditates regularly and who has an obsession with processing my feelings. I don’t always have my act together, but if there has been a year who had put me to the test it has been the wonderful, unpredictable and always beating-its-previous-record 2020.
Lost in my thoughts before the light turned green I realized what was happening to me. I wanted to allow myself to do what my son had been doing for the last few weeks. I wanted to have a major Tantrum, with capital T. I wanted to throw myself on the floor and scream and cry and say I didn’t want to cooperate, that I wanted to be left alone, untouched. I wanted to ask “why” knowing that I did not care about the answers. I just wanted to be heard. I imagined myself doing exactly that. Acting like an out-of-control 5 year-old.
The beautiful mirror of my son made me see that the cause of both of our tantrums was the same: we were in FEAR. We were both like two frightened tiger cubs trying to defend ourselves and all we need us was someone to hold us tight and tell us everything was going to be fine.
When The Tide Goes Out…We Learn The Kind of Warrior We Are
We couldn’t have chosen two more perfect days. The weather was glorious: hot and breezy, clear skies, end-of-July warm water, perfect for one night camping in an island off the Long Island Sound.
I had not been able to swim for two weeks and I was determined to make up for it. Summer is short in New England after all, and the water is not usually that warm for long. So I swam as I had not done in years, up to the middle of the cove and back. I floated, I glided, I felt the delicious water surrounding me, the taste of salt, the heath of the sun setting over the coast, and seeing the reflection of a clear blue sky turning orange over the flat surface of the sea. Once the night set in and the sight of the first starts appeared, I swam again under the moonlight. The water surprisingly warm and the sensation of small fish coming to greet my legs. Growing up on the Caribbean imprints you with a natural draw towards the ocean, I guess. I had been in so many pristine beaches of crystalline, turquoise water and white, powdery sand, but that swim under the moon has been one of the most delicious and surreal experiences of my life
When the blaze comes
This morning, NPR News presented a segment about the first year anniversary of devastating wildfires in California. They presented the facts, talked about the eighty-five victims and interviewed a survivor whose house was completely floored by the fire.
The man was talking about how hard the whole process had been but that he was happy to report that one year later the foundation of the new house where the old one used to be was finished. He and his wife were replicating the house exactly as it was.
And that kept me thinking...
Life Lessons From Art History
Today it would have been Virginie Avegno Gautreau’s birthday, better known as Madame X. She was the subject of one of John Singer Sargent’s most iconic paintings and a personal favorite.
Sargent had earned an esteemed reputation as a portrait artist by that time, one that was strongly influenced by his constant success in the Paris Art Salons and ample clientele. The painter was fascinated with Gautreau defiant personality, her exotic looks and elegance and ability to attract attention as a cherished socialite. I don’t know why Sargent then decided to take the biggest risk of his career.
He Asked Gautreau to pose for him. He spent days around her sketching her in different poses and then decided to paint her in a standing pose, featuring her profile, her svelte figure, her tiny waist in that provocative dress. It was in fact one the simplest and most brilliant paintings he had done. But it was not what catapult “Madame X” into the hall of fame of art history, it was a fallen strap.
The Cup of Tea
I just heard a receptionist talking about how she reached for a comforting cup of hot tea and she burned her mouth, which kept me thinking....
How many times we do search for comfort in the right things, either be a cup of tea, a conversation with a friend, a prayer, a medicine or a yoga class, to only realize we have being "burnt", exhausted, beaten up or left feeling empty and discouraged. The problem is not the item that was supposed to offer comfort. Most of the times the problem is our timing