corimagua

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man, true nobility is being superior to your former self.

-Ernest Hemingway

Different Perspectives

“At birth, we’re yanked from a warm, safe place and thrust into a world we have no way of comprehending. Childhood is a constant routine of punishment and confusion. Hell we’re depressed and misunderstood as teenagers, then frightened and unprepared as we become adults. In midlife, we watch as our youth slowly slips away; our dreams for greatness becoming pathetic memories. Old age brings loneliness, infirmity, and the constant fear of death.”

☯

“At birth, we’re rescued from a dark, silent place and ushered into a world full of wonder. Childhood is a magical time, free from responsibility. We’re curious and filled with energy as teenagers, and then challenged to reach our full potential as we become adults. In mid-life, we watch as our pretensions slowly slip away, our dreams for happiness finally becoming realized. Old age brings wisdom, wonderful memories, and a passionate love of life.”

YOU DECIDE…

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

— Frank Outlaw

Poem by Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet Mario Benedetti. Translated into english by myself. I hope nothing form this wonderful poem is lost in translation.

The people I Like

I like the people who vibrate.
The people who you don’t have to push and tell them what to do.
 They know what needs to be done and do it.

The people who cultivate their dreams until those dreams take on their own reality.
I like the people who have the capacity to measure the consequences of their actions.

The people that risk the certain for the uncertain when chasing a dream.Who allow themselves to get away form sound advice leaving the solutions in the hands of God.

I like the people who are just with their peers and themselves.
The people who are thankful for every new day and for the good things that exist in their lives, who live every hour with a good spirit, giving the best of themselves, thankful for being alive, for being able to give away smiles and to offer a helping hand without expecting anything in return.

I like the people who have the capacity to criticize me, constructively and to my face, but without hurting or wounding me. The people who are tactful. I like the people who posses a sense of justice. It is they who I call my friends.

I like the people who know the importance of joy and practice it.
The people who through joking teach us to live life with humor. The people who in this sense, never stop being child-like.

I like the people whose energy is contagious. I like the people who are frank and sincere, capable of opposing the decisions of anyone with reasonable argumentation.

I like the people who are faithful and persistent, who don’t give up when it comes to reaching objectives and ideas.

I like the people with criteria, who aren’t ashamed of admitting when they are wrong or when there is something they don’t know. The people who, after acknowledging their mistakes, genuinely strive to not make them again.

The people who fight against adversities.

I like the people who look for solutions.

I like the people who think and meditate internally.

The people who value their peers not because of a social stereotype or how they look. The people who don’t judge or allow others to judge them.

I like the people who have personality.

I like the people capable of understanding that the biggest mistake a human being can make, is to try to take away from his mind that which won’t leave his heart.

Sensitivity, courage, solidarity, kindness, respect, tranquility, values, joy, humility, faith, tact, confidence, hope, appreciation, wisdom, dreams, regrets, self love and love for others are all fundamental in order to be called PEOPLE.

I am committed for the rest of my life, for anything, with people like these. Just for having them with me I’m well remunerated.

-Mario Benedetti

(Original in Spanish)

Me gusta la gente que vibra, que no hay que empujarla, que no hay que decirle que haga las cosas, sino que sabe lo que hay que hacer y que lo hace. La gente que cultiva sus sueños hasta que esos sueños se apoderan de su propia realidad. Me gusta la gente con capacidad para asumir las consecuencias de sus acciones, la gente que arriesga lo cierto por lo incierto para ir detrás de un sueño, quien se permite huir de los consejos sensatos dejando las soluciones en manos de nuestro padre Dios. Me gusta la gente que es justa con su gente y consigo misma, la gente que agradece el nuevo día, las cosas buenas que existen en su vida, que vive cada hora con buen ánimo dando lo mejor de sí, agradecido de estar vivo, de poder regalar sonrisas, de ofrecer sus manos y ayudar generosamente sin esperar nada a cambio. Me gusta la gente capaz de criticarme constructivamente y de frente, pero sin lastimarme ni herirme. La gente que tiene tacto. Me gusta la gente que posee sentido de la justicia. A estos los llamo mis amigos. Me gusta la gente que sabe la importancia de la alegría y la predica. La gente que mediante bromas nos enseña a concebir la vida con humor. La gente que nunca deja de ser aniñada. Me gusta la gente que con su energía, contagia. Me gusta la gente sincera y franca, capaz de oponerse con argumentos razonables a las decisiones de cualquiera. Me gusta la gente fiel y persistente, que no desfallece cuando de alcanzar objetivos e ideas se trata. Me gusta la gente de criterio, la que no se avergüenza en reconocer que se equivocó o que no sabe algo. La gente que, al aceptar sus errores, se esfuerza genuinamente por no volver a cometerlos. La gente que lucha contra adversidades. Me gusta la gente que busca soluciones. Me gusta la gente que piensa y medita internamente. La gente que valora a sus semejantes no por un estereotipo social ni cómo lucen. La gente que no juzga ni deja que otros juzguen. Me gusta la gente que tiene personalidad. Me gusta la gente capaz de entender que el mayor error del ser humano, es intentar sacarse de la cabeza aquello que no sale del corazón. La sensibilidad, el coraje, la solidaridad, la bondad, el respeto, la tranquilidad, los valores, la alegría, la humildad, la fe, la felicidad, el tacto, la confianza, la esperanza, el agradecimiento, la sabiduría, los sueños, el arrepentimiento y el amor para los demás y propio son cosas fundamentales para llamarse GENTE. Con gente como ésa, me comprometo para lo que sea por el resto de mi vida, ya que por tenerlos junto a mí, me doy por bien retribuido.

-Mario Benedetti

“Be the change to wish to see in others, and the world will follow.”

-Scott Bruno

The first people a dictator puts in jail after a coup are the writers, the teachers, the librarians — because these people are dangerous. They have enough vocabulary to recognize injustice and to speak out loudly about it. Let us have the courage to go on being dangerous people.

…

So let us look for beauty and grace, for love and friendship, for that which is creative and birth-giving and soul-stretching. Let us dare to laugh at ourselves, healthy, affirmative laughter. Only when we take ourselves lightly can we take ourselves seriously, so that we are given the courage to say, “Yes! I dare disturb the universe.”

-Madeleine  L’Engle

Dust if you must, but wouldn’t it be better
To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed;
Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there’s not much time,
With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;
Music to hear, and books to read;
Friends to cherish, and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world’s out there
With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair;
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it’s not kind.
And when you go (and go you must)
You, yourself, will make more dust.

-Rose Milligan