I planted a walnut, and a cherry tree in my land, to seal a pact between earth, life and spirit, now they have grown solid and shaded, precious in their wood they give refreshment with their shade and two almond trees and then a fig I had abode, by three different spirits in the world, as a personal way of making covenants.
Each is a pact that promises beauty. The almond trees, the first plants to bloom when the frost still envelops things and the tromenta tell us that the invention, even if pressing, will be defeated by the enthusiasm of a disruptive and unstoppable spring.
The fig, the most robust and wild of plants, tells that life is strong and takes root everywhere, even among the cracks of a wall that forms a barrier and separates, and instead becomes a place of welcome, gradually yielding until it collapses, allowing liberated men to gift of goodness and sweetness of its fruit.
A few things were enough for me, it's true I always had my head full of thoughts and unless I wanted it personally it was impossible to take them off, but immersed in that immense stillness not even I could do anything about it, the night was dark and you could not even see the stars, then maybe i could say it was cloudy. There were two rusty lampposts that in front of me opaquely illuminated the road, they were the only source of light not to mention the few cars that sometimes passed.
It was all so calm, no noise outside of me. In my ears I listened to music with earphones and it calmed my soul. But more important was my cat looking around as if everything she looked at was a wonderful new discovery. Every now and then he would come up to me and give me two licks, while others tried to sleep. But always close to me.
In short, the fact is that in that small balcony, in the most absolute quiet, it was me and my cat, who was called Morgana; and I can say with certainty that no one else had ever been able to speak to me with such magnificence. I finally felt at peace with myself.
And then there are days when you can’t keep your thoughts at bay, the most hidden, the deepest and the worst. They go out like this, suddenly, when you least expect it, maybe while you are singing a song in the car at the top of your lungs with your friends, while you walk, study, drive, while you kiss your boyfriend, they can go out like this, without warning, wake up or reminder to hold and take your head and heart hostage indefinitely. And you are there, helpless, you let yourself be enveloped by these paranoia and you bind yourself to them as if they were certainties. They don’t make you sleep, they don’t make you eat or they make you overeat, they make you feel blame for who you are and what you are not. And you stay there, you listen to them like a mantra that repeats itself in a loop in your head. After all, you cannot escape from yourself.
I believed that only in adolescence there was this perpetual fracture between what we would like to be and what we are, then later you discover that it is life that forces us to live this conflict. Live every day hiding behind gestures and behaviors that you think you should adopt, while behind that facade you hear the screech of your essence scratching inside your flesh in a vain attempt to get out…. And the only thing I do is drown her together with the hope that one day this may end … Pieces of heart on the ground, pieces of door, scattered colors … I want to paint but it means that nothing is good. I just wish I was less burdensome, stressful, ruin it all, weak, rotten. I just wish I was less myself. A different person? Maybe not, it would have been enough for me to be less myself, a different character maybe, I don’t know. I just know that I don’t want anyone.
How much tranquility exists in the sand to sit by the sea, in total silence and listen only to the sound of the waves that are thrown against it.
Thinking and rethinking about everything that is beautiful we can have but that we do not exploit for reasons that we do not even know, thinking that we are here today and who knows tomorrow, because after all we are all one who knows, all our thoughts by the sea have a who knows.
Admiring the colors of a sunset that has now come to an end, with the most beautiful colors that the sky can give us, is knowing how to appreciate all its shades.
My soul has no peace. In the anguish of a depressing afternoon I see the corpses of this war all coming forward, helpless, and calling me, as if they wanted to take me with them. My soul cries because the wars are here too, the deadly stabs, the absolute pain, the defeat. My heart cries. There is too much pain and one day my heart will quench its beats. The human being strikes again and again and again. It affects itself. Devour life. Eat the heart. It kills everything.
Is it already too late? When a victim stands up to a bully the interaction is fascinating to observe. Before the moment of resistance the bully has anticipated that his behaviour will produce his desired effect. He will threaten, then his victim will submit. When his victim resists, our bully is forced to make new decisions. If he resorts to violence there are unknown consequences.
He might get hurt or lose. Unsure of the result he raises the level of threat attempting to elevate fear levels. When the victim’s resolve is unshaken he returns to the same question. Should I fight? Unsure, the bully redirects and blames a third smaller party. If on the other hand he attacks and hurts his victim, he still loses. The victim has shown courage and will be admired even in defeat. This scene is being acted out in Ukraine at the moment.
Putin raises the rhetoric and redirects his attention towards Latvia and Lithuania. He rants about ‘serious consequences’ but the new kids have already seen the worst he can do.
They reply ‘Show me what you’ve got. We’re not frightened!’ Can Putin walk away promising dire consequences and retain some of his power?
Will he risk losing it all – or is it already too late?
THE PRODIGY OF IDEAS 