Unfollow your own rules...
I came back to my tico paradise following my heart after spending a lot of months outside and literally going around the world. Returning was a strong learning process, just like traveling. Returning to what I considered my home challenged me, taught me that I have fears that I didn't know existed, that I have too many things to work on and improve. It taught me that life is one and sometimes we have nothing but an opportunity to show how much we love others. It taught me that the heart can be open and give a lot but with that, we have to face and overcome insecurities. I understood that words are not enough but are important too and we do not always have the chance to do something and compensate our imperfections. I understood that there isnt always a guilty and looking for them is more painful because the focus should always be on a solution and not on the problem.
I learned that traveling doesn't mean going out of the country, you can travel at home, watching the day to day of others and transforming silhouettes and thoughts into images that you may never see again, transporting us to their realities. One of the most impressive scenes that I have lived is being next to my grandmother who was fighting cancer, with her body totally weakened, thanking over and over for receiving chemo, for feeling cold, for sleeping or for nothing and everything at the same time. This pure gratitude for life touched me deep.
I returned to my tico paradise with the motivation to rest, continue working on my dreams and start a new life project. But fate is funny and things do not always work out the way we've been wishing, it got harder than it seemed. I felt somehow out of place. We carry the weight or lightness of our decisions and travelling is a challenge that builds our way of perceiving the world.
I have no regrets because am more aware that our time in earth is a continuous learning, it's a reinvention, it's starting from scratch in crisis and rebuilding ourselves in the midst of the chaos that we create or that other factors create. It's getting up everyday and deciding to put our best face to adversity and be happy. It's believing that it's never too late to love strongly no matter which side of the world we are, to believe that our dreams are bigger than our fears, that doubts are a test to determine how intensely we are committed to our desires.
Today more than ever, I realize what it means to travel, not wanting borders but belonging to a single planet. That no matter how much planning there is, life surprises us when we begin to desire a future that modifies our dreams of a family and relationships, of how valuable are the people we love and know along the way, how important it is to be able to express ourselves because even talking to a stranger can teach us, how strong love / lack of love is and how hard it can be to adapt. Limits exist only inside our head.
Failure is not to unfollow rules and follow our heart, making sacrifices for what we want, nor given ourselves for true conviction. It's worth to improvise, to make changes, to feel bad, to seek consolation, to merge in a hug. It's worth to love and show that there is no challenge that can corrupt something sincere. It is worth putting a backpack on your shoulder and walking aimlessly. Wanting to fully appreciate life around the world is never going to be a waste of time or money. The experiences are stories that no one can take from us and opens possibilities that we didn't know exist, they don´t lose value.
I'm grateful to all those people who continue supporting me in the best and worst, who continue to believe that EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE and keep walking by my side in what seems like a complete fantasy. Break chains, be crazy in a world of sane. Dreams are to be lived and as a song by Los Fabulosos Cadillacs says: I do not want to die without having loved before but I do not want to die of love either, life is to enjoy it, life is to live it better.
Hear the Earth Blog continues with love and effort for those who want to join freely. I stayed for a while in the land that saw me born working in this beautiful madness, hugging my grandmother until she died, leaving me with invaluable memories, enjoying with those around me, smilingand never lowing my head no matter how hard or how simple life felt. A new stage began to share what I have learned and the planning of an adventure that has no limits.
My best friend and I in Versailles Palace <3
And finally, the lessons I value the most is what I wanted to share today. I believe now more than ever after learning a little bit of how other people live abroad, watching them love and fight, contemplating muslim, catholic, christian, buddhist and free religion faith is that if you vibrate with the universe, the universe will respond. Forgive and value what it means to be forgiven, learn from your mistakes, say you're sorry because if you do it from your heart, it´s going to help you be at peace with yourself and heal. Always be respectful and open your mind to new points of view even if you don´t understand it, and please, NEVER stop believing in love (your partner, dreams, projects, family, friends, pets) because love is what makes life really worthwhile.
There is a lot of hatred in the world to continue the cycle of violence, live simply, be thankful, travel constantly (even in your country), don't get attached to material possessions and make the journey an experience to grow up and become a better version of yourself. Reinvent your dreams and don´t be afraid of the unexpected, don´t be afraid of loneliness, embrace the pain because a seed needs darkness to set up roots and become a beautiful plant, a diamond needs pressure to be what it is. Remember: it's never too late even if it feels that way...if you´re still breathing, YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING IN LIFE.
With excitement, I´m currently involved in a MASSIVE event around UK and can´t be more grateful to be learning so much! This is pure gratitude from the bottom of my heart!
Criss
Photographer, aspiring film maker, dreamer, in love with the world!! Everything you want is on the other side of fear!!
