Inspiration
Articles to inspire authentic living on the topics of resilience, spirituality, and self-growth with touches of storytelling, depth, and humor.
You can browse themes below
Do you want to explore other resources? Check my favorite books and podcasts
The Heroic Gardener
Nonno Mario was the first and one of the most important storytellers of my life. He taught me to play domino and chess and whenever he stayed for lunch or dinner I refused to eat so that we could stay at the table while he fed me long after everyone had left. It was our alone time. Afterwards, inevitable, came the stories.
Winter Wonderland and tears of pride
An ice storm. Icicles forming at the tip of tree branches and trunks and leaves perfectly covered in frozen water. After all the rain yesterday, the sun came out today and filtered through the ice. What a spectacle!
Maybe as an act of irony or synchronicity, this morning I attended a concert by elementary students at my son’s school that was titled “Winter Wonderland”. We have decorated the stage with gigantic snowflakes and branches covered in fake snow. The kids performed beautifully and although my son did not sang I still cried throughout the whole concert, but I always do, to be honest.
I pictured my son performing there in a couple of years and I felt my eyes watering up just thinking about it. Excuse me if I sound melodramatic but the idea of seeing him grow is quite exciting. The thing is that I want him to grow and at the same time, I don’t. I have come to realize how fast time flies.
Of Science vs Magic and tribal encounters
There is a saying that states “find your tribe, and love them hard.” If they make me think deeply, raise my spirit and make me laugh, they are my kind of people. I do not take for granted each of our encounters. This was a weekend full of beautiful get-togethers. Last night, our very diverse “tribe” got together for our annual Christmas celebration. I won’t deny that a few Tito’s and homemade coquitos later we were having lots of fun. I know it because my eyes started crying the way they do when I am laughing hard. In this particular group there are doctors, lawyers, artists, agnostics, religious followers and low-key “witches”, which helps transform every conversation into a diverse ground of interesting ideas and points of view. In a split of a second, the conversation turned from rules for our gift exchange to a deep topic: Science vs. Magic.
Being raised in a house by doctors, researchers and a self-taught computer coder, science was discussed regularly. However, my parents could discuss medical findings during Sunday lunch with the same passion that they shared holistic techniques and the power of believing in the extraordinary. That was a perfect ground to allow my analytical brain to reconcile with my highly intuitive, artistic soul. In other words, growing up we never had to favor one above the other, something I am beyond grateful for.