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.
Things that happen in a gym’s locker room
Two young women stormed in the locker room. One of them, a tall girl who is contemplating herself in the mirror, is complaining about having to take her car to the shop among other things. The other one says empathically, “you are not having the best day, aren’t you?” The girl in the mirror turns around, walks to her friend and shares that there is more. She says in a not too shyly voice, “I am cheating.”
What a way to spark everyone’s curiosity!
I needed to get ready so I missed all the juicy details. I spent the next few minutes imagining how their conversation went, who was she cheating with, why, what was she going to do now, etc., until I get distracted by a reflection on my field of vision. A woman had a hairdryer in her hand. She was naked and proud of it. No judgement, I am used to it. We have been together in the sauna many times before and she is always like that, au naturale.
My encounter with Mr. Kent
Today I went to Costco, an experience I usually repudiate because I always go for celery and leave with a cart full of things I did not even know I wanted and most likely didn’t need.
But it was there, while pushing my cart among lemons, pineapples and batteries that I saw him. He was tall, probably 6 ft tall, with two extra inches of white hair that moved with the same vibe than a slow-moving shampoo commercial. It was a full set of hair.
Over his blue eyes, black rectangular and very hip eyeglasses. He was wearing a very puffy, long coat, the one you use to go pick the mail in Manitoba. But it was understandable. He was standing in front of the Costco Freezer. Checking his phone, a smile peeking in his face. It is not like I was shamelessly studying him, but it was impossible to not notice him. And then I noticed….
Under his blue shirt, only a few buttons open. Actually it would have been appropriately open if he was attending a party at at Caribbean resort; it was definitely too open for a New England winter. But I could not see his chest. Timidly peeking at the bottom of his neck there was a blue t-shirt. The yellow and red lines were distinctive. Under the heavy coat and the blue button down, he had a Superman T-shirt.
The fox in the backyard
Two days ago I spotted something in the backyard that looked strange. No, it was not a bear but a fox. I kept looking at it in awe: its orange fur, graceful movements, its shifty stroll below the branches, its long and apparently soft tail, and the snout that open slowly to show big teeth, teeth that could bite. I could not help but think how this fox reminded me of certain humans, truth be told we all know someone who looks and behaves like a fox. He then disappeared quickly into the forest. Foxes are strange creatures that seem human.