segunda-feira, 5 de janeiro de 2015

Eu conheci um peregrino

       Eu conheci um peregrino. Não é todo mundo que tem a chance de viver um encontro destes. Por isso digo com certa dose de orgulho: eu conheci um peregrino.

    Não esbarrei nele por acaso. Uma neblina pesada atrapalhava a sua caminhada e ele estava confuso... Ele chegou cansado, eu diria até que chegou exausto. E me ensinou muito sobre a vida e o ato de peregrinar. Ele me ensinou a importância da estratégia em vários aspectos da vida. Me ensinou a olhar a beleza que existe em paisagens, em construções, nas pessoas, nos detalhes que escapam a um olhar desatento. Ele me ensinou que é possível desmontar o medo com frases e atitudes coerentes: certa vez, na praia, o medo veio lhe fazer companhia e lhe falar de coisas que ficaram para trás no tempo ou que eram fruto da imaginação (medos costumam ser muito criativos, apesar de pouco originais!). Pois o peregrino tentou desviar a atenção para a paisagem e a beleza que o rodeava naquele momento. Mas o medo não desistiu e o ameaçou de morte (ah! Trágica e mesquinha estratégia do medo...). Neste momento, o peregrino olhou o medo nos olhos e lhe disse com muita convicção: “pois veja que vou morrer admirando uma bela vista!”. Desarmou o medo. Destruiu a chantagem do medo. Soube resgatar a sua vida das mãos do medo: “me devolve a minha vida porque você não sabe cuidar dela! Eu sei fazer muito melhor!”.
     Mas, como eu dizia antes, quando o conheci, ele estava exausto. Sua caminhada tinha sido longa, por todos os continentes do planeta e quase todos os países que a humanidade conseguiu criar construindo fronteiras invisíveis (e, em alguns casos, bem visíveis!). Sua caminhada havia sido longa e desafiadora!  E começou cedo, muito cedo... Eu poderia até dizer que seu primeiro choro, ainda na maternidade, foi o nascer do peregrino; que seus primeiros passos  foram estimulados pela certeza de que caminhar era preciso; e que sua busca pela beleza nasceu da falta dela no olhar de quem olhava (ou deveria olhar) por ele. Pressionado desde sempre, o peregrino forjou sua alma e construiu sua fortaleza interior. Descobriu virtudes que lhe servem de bússola – honestidade, amizade, estratégia, determinação, meta, beleza, persistência, entre tantas outras – e virtudes que luta para que sejam mais do que belas palavras – respeito, cuidado, carinho, família, afeto...
     Uma força interior o impulsiona a seguir, como se lhe dissesse o tempo todo: “Vá em frente! Vá, enfrente!”. E assim ele fez: seguiu em frente, enfrentando desafios os mais diversos e descansando em lugares os mais variados. Peregrino que é, andou muito em busca de respostas... Andou, andou, andou e chegou naquele ponto da jornada que os peregrinos conhecem bem: o momento de ouvir o seu coração. Não mais ser guiado pela lógica ou pelo impulso de seguir em frente, mas poder ouvir seu coração.
     Foi neste momento que conheci o peregrino. Seu coração falava alto, gritava, chorava, queria ser ouvido. Contava histórias de passados distantes e sonhos de futuros incertos. Mostrava suas feridas – e como elas doíam! E apontava com desconfiança para o medo – esse infeliz parasita que insistia em caminhar ao lado do peregrino e atrasar a sua jornada.
    Seria o peregrino capaz de lidar com tantas coisas ao mesmo tempo? Nem ele mesmo sabia. Mas, aquele que nasce peregrino, tem espírito livre e a alma cheia de horizontes. Logo ele se recuperou, ouviu seu coração, cicatrizou as feridas, retomou sua força, protegeu seu coração, deixou de lado as histórias que pesavam e levou somente aquelas que são essenciais – as que são leves e simples. Respirou fundo, planejou sua jornada, levantou-se. Já não estava frágil, nem exausto. Estava renovado, renascido. Era ainda um peregrino, mas em novo estágio de vida: um peregrino que sabe ouvir seu coração. Um peregrino que equilibra ação e emoção. Podia seguir viagem.
     E, quando a neblina passou, o caminho voltou a se abrir à sua frente. Despediu-se daqueles que ele ama. Despiu-se daquilo que não mais lhe serve. Envolveu-se de leveza e projetos. E seguiu o seu caminho.

    Quando voltarei a vê-lo? Só o tempo sabe... Por hora, sinto-me grata à vida por ter-me dado a chance de conhecer um peregrino – e aprender com ele. E, envolvida em gratidão, vou tecendo a esperança de que ele continue construindo sua história como sempre fez: com ética e estética.

Este texto é uma homenagem a um amigo peregrino - Flávio Correa. E, também, uma homenagem aos meus tantos amigos peregrinos que têm o espírito livre e a alma cheia de horizontes Eles e elas andam pelo mundo porque sabem que a vida é uma jornada e que os encontros são sempre um presente. Bom caminho, peregrinos!


I've met a pilgrim

I’ve met a pilgrim. Not everyone has the chance to live such a moment. Somewhat this might explain how proud I am to let you know that I’ve met a pilgrim.

This was not a chancy meeting. A heavy mist was all around him, making his journey a bit more complicated and bewildering… He was really tired, actually, he was exhausted. Even so, he taught me a lot about life and the art of pilgrimage. He showed me the relevance of strategy in many aspects of life, and, furthermore, he taught me how to see beauty all over: in landscapes, buildings, people, in the tiny details that may go unnoticed with inattentive eyes.

He taught me that anyone can dismantle fear with coherent sentences and attitudes: once he was on the beach and fear came to haunt him, telling him things that were left way behind in the past and also puzzling him with vivid imagination (fear can be very creative although not always original!). So the pilgrim looked at the landscape and at the beauty that surrounded him at that moment. The fear did not give up and threatened him with death (Oh! Tragic and mean strategy of Fear..). Right there and then, the pilgrim looked deep inside Fear’s eyes and said in confidently: “Well, at least Death will find me admiring a great view!”. Fear was weakened. He deconstructed Fear’s blackmail and learned a way to take his life from Fear grip and back into his own hands: “give my life back to me! You’re not able to take care of it – I can do better!”

But, as I was saying, when I met him, he was exhausted. His pilgrimage had been very long: he had travelled all continents of the planet and almost every country that humanity had been able to create by building invisible (and some quite visible!) borders. His journey had been long and challenging! And it had started very early in his life...I could even say that his first cry at the hospital upon being born marked the birth of the pilgrim; that his first steps responded to the certainty that walking was necessary; and that his search for beauty was born from the lack of it in the eyes of those who looked (or should look) after him. Under pressure since an early age, the pilgrim forged his soul and built his inner fortress. He found virtues that have guided him as a compass – honesty, friendship, strategy, determination, goal, beauty, and persistence, among many others – and virtues that have been more than nice words – respect, care, love, family, affection…

An inner force drives him ahead as an inner mantra:  “Move ahead, Go face it!”. And so he did: he went ahead, facing many challenges and resting in many places. Being a Pilgrim, he looked for answers. He walked miles and miles and got to this point in his journey the pilgrims know only too well: the moment to listen to his heart. Not to be guided by logic nor by the instinct to go ahead, but to be able to listen to his heart. 

It was at this moment that I met the pilgrim. His heart was screaming “out loud”, crying hard, willing to be heard. He used to tell me stories of a time long gone, and of uncertain futures dreams. He showed me the scars – and they still hurt! He pointed at Fear with skepticism. Fear: this unfortunate parasite that insisted on walking alongside and the pilgrim was often lagging behind.

Would the pilgrim be able to deal with so many things at the same time? He didn’t know it himself. But once born a pilgrim, his spirit is free and his soul has many horizons. Soon he got better, heard his inner voice, healed his wounds, garnered his strength, and protected his heart.  He also left behind all the stories that were a burden to him, and took only those which were essential – the light and simple ones. He was renewed, reborn. He was still a pilgrim, but in a new stage of his life: a pilgrim that knows how to listen to his heart. A pilgrim who has learned how to balance action and emotion. Now he could go on his journey. 
And, as the mist lifted, his path was clear ahead once more. He said good bye to the ones he loved. He threw away useless things. He shrouded himself in lightness and projects. And he moved forward.


Will I ever see him again? Only time will tell…For now, I am grateful to life that has given me the chance to meet a pilgrim – and learn with him. And, filled with gratitude, I look forward to his writing – and living – his own story as he has always done: with ethics and aesthetics.

This text was written honouring a pilgrim friend: Flávio Correa. Hope he'll continue sharing the beauty he sees all over!

NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE


By Adriana Müller (Dec, 2014)

The gateway to 2015 is open. And if you look carefully you will see that the Great Weaver has done an amazing work: a light web fills the entire passage way to ensure that each of us gets into 2015 renewed.

Legend says that the Great Weaver weaves, with threads of light, several filters that clean our thoughts and feelings, ensuring that our actions are more aligned with the divine purpose.

Therefore, in order to fulfill our mission during this brand new year, before passing through the gateway take your time and think about this last year: what was good or bad, what skills and abilities you had to access along these past days and months. Be thankful for the opportunity you had to learn more and more.

Then, look ahead and set your goals for this coming year. Dreams have the power to make us move forward! And 2015 is full of dreams waiting to come true: dreams of Peace, Brotherhood, Togetherness, Hope, Dignity ... Dreams that are only waiting for our actions to leave the world of ideas and find their place in the real one. What dreams do you want to achieve?

Finally, let the filter of the Great Weaver sort out things that are useful for your walk from everything that is old and can slow you down. Then it’s time to thank this helping hand, to take your first step into 2015, and to continue your journey towards the accomplishment of your mission: making dreams come true.