Inspiration

Articles to inspire authentic living on the topics of resilience, spirituality, and self-growth with touches of storytelling, depth, and humor.

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Alfonsina Betancourt Blog

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The place where all dreams come true

The place where all dreams come true

When I was fifteen I discovered that sometimes life showers us with gifts that might come in an unrecognizable wrapper.

I was a - maybe unusual - serious teenager. Great student, president of the Student Government, was already studying painting so I could become the artist I wanted to be. I was basically a good, responsible girl. I don’t mean it in an arrogant way because the truth is that I was so mature that I feel I never got to experience what I was suppose to live during the precious years of adolescence. That was actually my handicap.

Stargazing was one of my favorite pastimes those days. Every night I would stay for hours in the window with my binoculars learning the name of the constellations with the help of an Astronomy book my mom had bought. Soon after I started learning about the stories that originated the stars’ names. That is how my obsession with Greek Mythology started.

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Wishing upon a dandelion

Wishing upon a dandelion

It was a casual Spring afternoon. My son and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. He was wearing his Batman t-shirt because, what can I say? He likes super heroes.

Soon after, we started seeing many dandelions on the side of the road, a collection of yellow flowers growing everywhere. Occasionally he would grab some and placed them on a bag we were carrying for no other reason that to collect items. It didn’t take long for him to concentrate on grabbing dandelion seed heads, those delicate white globes of exposed seeds that had long been believed to contain the power of granting wishes.

My son, with his superhero shirt, started running holding a bunch of them in his hands, the passing breeze breaking each globe into tiny speckles of seeds that flew in the air. It looked magical, and my son’s laugh was the perfect soundtrack for the moment. Once he was left with only stems in his hands, we set to find more. Luckily for us, dandelions are stubborn weeds that grows everywhere.

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The wishing bone

The wishing bone

“Do you know what this is?” he asked me holding v-shaped bone in his hand.

I shook my head.

“This is a wishing bone,” he added as if he was holding a long sought-after treasure.

“What is that for?” I asked, my curiosity awakened.

He asked me to hold one side of it while he held the other.

“We are both going to pull this bone. The person that gets the bigger part will have a wish come true.”

I smiled, unsure if that was some kind of trick. He insisted I held one side.

“Now, you need to make a wish,” the butcher in the blood stained smock said.

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