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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My unbalanced happiness

My unbalanced happiness

 "Balance is a weapon women use against themselves. All it does is to make us feel bad we have not gotten it yet." Elizabeth Gilbert

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Dreams
Life path Life path

Dreams

Thinking today that every trip begins with a dream. As with most things in life, even dreaming takes practice. Unfortunately, the people that have to travel the longer distance to make their dreams a reality, are the ones that constant hits and tribulations have deplenished their ability to move forward. Instead of blaming them for not having the focus, the will, the discipline to achieve their goals, we should walk with them until their capacity to dream strenghtens. Every soul deserves to be saved from the catastrophe of a dreamless life.

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The fox in the backyard

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.

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Analogies between painting and life

Analogies between painting and life

Maybe it is because of the rainy, melancholic day but I have been thinking a lot today about our reasons for quitting either be a painting, a goal, a team, a relationship.


Artists get asked often how do they know a painting is done. In my case, I can put my brushes away the moment I feel the painting breathes on its own, it looks back and me and I change (even if is slightly) every time I look at it. Being that the standard, it is very easy to know when a painting is not done as well.

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The Cup of Tea

The Cup of Tea

I just heard a receptionist talking about how she reached for a comforting cup of hot tea and she burned her mouth, which kept me thinking....

How many times we do search for comfort in the right things, either be a cup of tea, a conversation with a friend, a prayer, a medicine or a yoga class, to only realize we have being "burnt", exhausted, beaten up or left feeling empty and discouraged. The problem is not the item that was supposed to offer comfort. Most of the times the problem is our timing

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Life is just a dance
Authenticity Authenticity

Life is just a dance

Dance can be a lot of things: a workout, an art form, a hobby, a career, an entertainment, a party starter, a way to connect with others, a way to connect with our body. It is also one of the most freeing activities because, among many other things, it requires us to be absolutely present. It is mindfulness; it is heart, head and soul in unison.

That being said, my mind started wondering slightly today while dancing. As I was moving my whole body I realized that dance is the perfect analogy for life.

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The teacher who wanted me to fail

The teacher who wanted me to fail

The beauty of celebrating New Years Eve lies in the inevitable fact that we need to review our past and imagine what we want in our near future. We would probably benefit from reliving that practice in the following 364 days. However, since I forget to do it as often, I am going to seize the opportunity and put my cards on the table.

2018 was one of those years that take us from the hair and wipe the floor with us.

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