When the news that I would leave my job in order to travel around Africa and Asia spread in the media – Just kidding! Actually among friends – I was attacked with plenty of positive energy, but also with many questions and challenging comments.
“Are you quitting your job?”, “If you want to help go to the Northeast (of Brazil).”, “You must be very rich to do that.”, “Are you traveling before getting married?”… These were a few of my favorite ones hehe that can show a bit how conditioned we are to look only at the surface. The deep sea, that is so much more beautiful, we almost don’t have time to see…
It’s this that I want to talk about. About the deep sea. Not in its literal sense – even because I tried to do a scuba diving course and gave up in the first five meters submerged. Just a little panic
I want to talk about the beauty and freedom of looking beyond what we are used to. And accept that we can do different.
This thought is special for who likes the Think Twice Brasil idea, for who feels he has to find it great just because is my friend or who thinks it’s the biggest stupidity in the world hehe. This is sort of a letter to you.
I decided to follow my heart. It took a few years to understand what he was trying to tell me, but gradually I discovered that I could decide my own choices and I’d be the only one responsible for them.
I could choose to work many hours per day, earn a good salary, lose a few family dinners, wait anxiously for vacation, finance an apartment, buy what everybody have to have, change the car, suffer to go to the gym and wake up dreaming about the Friday. I could choose to wait to live after I’ve checked that famous checklist: home ownership, marriage, grown up kids and private social security.
But not. My choice was to start living now, even if it looks like to be swimming against the tide. Yet, between you and me, to swim like that was never a problem for who suffered a lot of bullying at school and still believes that can change the world. At least a little bit.
What would be the reason for us to accept everything without even believing that there is another way? Then when somebody cracks the standard, the people think you have eaten drugs and got very nuts – kind of what a few might think about me now – especially me, who was used to be a geek model since birth.
I’ve noticed a lot of this resistance to the different in the last weeks, observing a few of my friends who suddenly became economists, sociologists and politicians and forgot to look at the deep sea. They stayed only by the surface and even though drowned themselves in prejudiced statements, baseless and empty. What impressed me even more are the ones who defend the separatism of São Paulo and manifested aggressively against the northeastern Brazilians who vote for a particular party. Most of these critic people are also the ones who, curiously, find incredible that I’m in the middle of Africa trying to learn how to work for the social equality. My friend, are you making fun of ME or making fun of YOURSELF?
After thinking so much about what could have generated this avalanche of unreasonable thoughts, I ended up concluding that it might be a way they are asking for help. They are among many who spend the day doing what they don’t like, to buy what they don’t need and are waiting for the government, the society, Good, Nostradamus or any other entity to put an end in all the problems every one faces.
This is it! A request to help! A bit desperate, of course, but this is because nobody was listening before! Is kind of a brothers’ fight… you try to call out the attention but he doesn’t care, until you are “forced” to say that he was found in the garbage hehe done! Generated sadness, bad mood and disrespect, but he listened to you.
We are living a big struggle between brothers. Simply because we need help to make our choices. Better, because we want to ensure that we are the ones who can choose and it seems that there are not many people clarified to take our hand and say: No, you were not found in the garbage. The stork brought you hehe. Now, wash your face, make your own choices without copycatting your buddy and be happy.
Let’s stop blaming others, guys! The northeast, a certain party, your boss, the ex boyfriend… This is all surface. The deep sea is you. And what have you been doing for the country, for your purpose, for your love? What have you been doing for yourself? This little chat of always blaming your brother is exhausting.
One day we watch an incredible documentary – I Am – that among many topics, talks about swimming against the tide, leave the surface and look for answers out of what everyone usually repeats – without even stopping to think, of course.
An amazing example of swimming against the tide is darling Pepe Mujica, Uruguay’s president. He stands out of the protocol and goes against what every president “needs” to be. He drives a fusca (the cheapest car model), donates 90% of his salary and defends that “in order to make all these dreams possible, we need to command ourselves or we will collapse as we are not capable to be up to the civilization we’ve been creating.” This mention is part of a Mujica’s speech in the UN that is worth A LOT to read it entirely – click here.
Well, answering a few of those questions from the beginning, I quitted my job, got my modest savings and decided to cross the ocean to understand how I can detach myself from all that I learned until today – and seems to have no meaning anymore. I traveled without getting married, but waiting to see the next episode scenes hehe
And today I’m here writing this text listening to Jamie Cullum in a hostel in Zambia – with Fê around organizing something, for once… – and feeling the beauty of living the simplicity and the freedom of having made a conscious choice.
Now I don’t need to blame my sister anymore Want to get in peace?
Gabi.
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