YA LEUM.74 — With all of them, I passed through the veil… THE END.
After harvesting coffee with the Colombian sisters, we walked through the colorful and thriving streets of Cartagena. It is one of those places you wish to return to. One of those places you do not want to leave.
Cartagena was warm and beautiful. We stayed at a couchsurfer’s house and shared the living room with three other travelers.
We were now so used to that lifestyle that it felt like it was part of us. We would not get tired of it and always wanted more.
Yet, the trip, the trip of our lives, was about to end and it was time to rest before we started it all over again.
It was the beginning of the end.
What was going to happen?
What would happen next?
Who would we be?
To whom would I share my stories? Who would want to know?
We took the bus to a beach that was located between the jungle and the sea, at the Palomino’s village. It was a beach area and we set our tent near the sea, brought some beers and joined the happiness of the Caribbean people to peacefully say goodbye to the happiest moment of our lives.
We did what we do best and what got us together in the first place — to talk and to discuss.
We talked for hours about the present and the future dreams.
Traveling again was each time the main topic. And, the ruling principle was not lose contact with the people who were part of our trip.
Yet, how would the world welcome us?
I wanted to share each second of that dream. Every time that a stranger opened the door for us with a smile, at all times I traveled on the backseat of a motorbike with a short dress and tanned skin, all the life stories I heard, all the tastes that made me thrill, all the hope I found in the most hidden corners, all the beauty of the world that someone, somewhere, one of those days, has given to us.
I twirled in each of those moments, and I never came back the same.
Every time the veil opened, allowing me to see a bit more, a bit further.
The scent of the streets, the distant languages, the invisible complexion of each passer-by were butterflies that followed me through my path.
The fireflies enlightened my soul so that I could leave the shadows.
In the house where I was born, they used to say I irradiated lightness. Little did they know that it was about the confidence I got from the journey.
Confidence made me better, more sensitive, more myself.
The world became the cradle where I was reborn. And its people embraced me in their arms
They taught me how to believe in the beauty of human beings, in the generosity of the people, and the strength of humanity, even though the world can frequently seem so disconcerting.
And it is! It’s also a place where there is a lot of suffering. Where scarcity is common. A place where worries and instability show up every day without asking for permission. Where poverty is a way of living and dreaming can’t be part of the plans.
Nevertheless, those who face the biggest challenges are the ones who better know about the magic of making others happy, about the greatness of compassion, the strength of the collective, and the need to believe.
Their words are simple. They are the capes of their existence. They take us to the closest corner of our hearts.
Their frugal way of being shows me the precious time we waste about living for tomorrow.
Their determination teaches me about the scarcity of our abundance. That the only wealth we own is internal and is acquired by following our path, the path inside ourselves.
And I, that, so frequently felt ashamed of saying it out loud, during university classes, within my group of friends, or during meaningless meetings.
I always deeply believed in it as if I had already seen it with my own eyes. Part of the world lives in the shadow and the other half lives in ignorance.
We are indelicate when we say, “I know”.
The world suffers, survives, and most of us do not want to know.
We live in a bubble that we believe to be able to hold the entire humanity.
We are all living on the same map, with thin limits, very weak certainties, and all we have left is to support our neighbor the best way we can.
I always knew it, all the way, but I did not always dare to say it.
“The truth of the world is in the history of the lives of the people. In their expectations, grievances, and vicissitudes. In their deepest praises, joys, and desires. It is by following that path that we become more human”. My parents told me those words before I left.
And that was how I passed through the veil. The butterflies followed another path, leaving a trail behind that only I can see.
I let go the moorings and slowly, I got to where I was supposed to be, without anyone noticing me. I got to place that are not on the map and can only be reached by walking.
I became free, with no certainties, and happy.
June 2018,
Patricia Assis
THE END
