Ecuador, United States, Brazil, Honduras, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Peru, for me this is home. But what exactly is home? I believe it is all the memories we have, the experiences we've lived, our family and our friends. Let me tell you a little bit about my story first... I was born in 1998, and since that moment, I've spent the last 17 years moving around and exploring a little bit of the world. The first place I got to know was Quito, then Miami, then the bonitinho Sao Paulo and after three years, one of the most dangerous cities in the world, San Pedro Sula, then Colombia and after some months, paradise, Puerto Rico, and finally the land of the lomo saltado, Peru! But where am I from? I am not Ecuadorian, nor Brazilian, I can't tell you I feel identified with one country more than another, and the documents can prove this wrong, but I am from all these 7 countries. The “normal” idea of home prevents us from focusing on the present, it makes us afraid of change and it makes us attached to material things. Let's look at what the "normal" idea means. A lot of people believe home is an specific place with specific things, a country, a house, an object and family and friends they've known for their whole life. First of all, why should we focus on the present rather than the future? It is quite simple, to enjoy our lives and live it to the fullest. Let me introduce a very common scenario, you are buying groceries at the supermarket and you run into a friend you haven't seen in a while, you guys talk a little bit about what's going on in your lives and what do you say before saying goodbye? "We should get together one of these days!" Does it sound familiar? And you all know that 90% of these people, don't end up getting together. Why does this happen? Because we are all thinking about the future, we pospone everything for later because we think we are going to have so much time to do afterwards. When it shouldn't be like that, we should live the moment as if there wasn't a later. If you want to get together with a friend, do it now, if you want to travel, do it now, if you've been wanting to do something your whole life, what are you waiting for? Do it now! If we focus on the present, we can accept changes more easily without thinking about it too much, which leads me to my second point. Fear of change, I believe this is something we all have hidden somewhere inside of us. The fear of breaking our routines, of losing something, of starting all over again, nobody desires change, well except for me I guess. I believe change is something good, it allows you to get out of your comfort zone and explore yourself, the people around you and a little bit of the world. If you accept changes, you will live so many experiences that could end up shaping who you are. You can start accepting these changes on your daily life, from ordering a different plate on your favorite restaurant to donating all the clothes you no longer use and need. These are small changes that could affect your life tremendously, by making you less attached to material things, for example. Why is it important for us not to be materialists? I want to ask you a question... Have you ever lost something that was very valuable? It probably hurt right? But... is your life over because of this? Can you live without it? Off course you can! There are many things that have a significant value to us, our friends and our family, but are these more important than the feelings and memories we share with these special people? In my opinion, they are not. Nothing is more important than the abstract things we carry with us, the memories that will last forever, the feelings we have towards someone, because these will stay with us, but objects... they could get lost or broken and we shouldn't allow any part of us to break or get lost along with it. What would happen if your house got burned one day? You would loose all the things inside of it, but would you stay without a home? Off course not! You would build a new house, buy new things and since you have the memories and the people you care around you, you will be at home! So, for me, home is not a place or an object. Like some people say, home is where the heart is, where the memories, the experiences and the people you love are. In other words, home doesn't have to be one single place, it could be 7 countries, just like my home is. I carry so many memories from all these places, that I couldn't choose one. And since I know that changes can affect what my home is, I am open to new experiences because I know that wherever I go, I'll have a home, I can build it. I am not saying you need to move nine times like I did to realize this, that is not my point at all, I am forced to move and accept changes but you can all do it in your own personal way. For example, imagine you have 3 months left in this country, what would you do? I am pretty sure you would focus on the present and enjoy every single moment with the people you care about. Now, to loose that fear of change, you could start by going to a different restaurant than the usual and order a completely different plate, it sounds like a dumb thing to do, but with little steps you can get pretty far. And to become less attached to material things, picture yourself moving to a new house and only being able to take 2 boxes with you, what would you really take? You'll realize how these objects are not as important as they seem. Give it a try, and you'll see how easy it will be to focus on the present, to become less attached to material things and to stop fearing change.
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March 2017
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