The National Day of Mourning - Choosing for a Non-violence attitude.

Today is the National Day of Mourning in the Netherlands. A day for all to stand still and think about all the victims of the plane crash last Thursday, 17^th of July. A day to think about how fragile and valuable life is, and to give support to those who are now mourning their lost loved ones.

But then I watch the television, and I feel sort of uncomfortable…It’s alright to proclaim today as a National Day of Mourning, but…to me it seems as if many people, who have no relation whatsoever with the victims, let themselves be led by the enormous sadness, grief and suffering 200 Dutch families are passing through. It’s like a collective form of mass hysteria (that’s how I would call, it, although I know it’s not right). The media is constantly only broadcasting news about the plane crash, about how horrible it is, how sad, about basically everything that has anything to do with it. It makes me feel sick, because that’s just the media exploiting a tragic event. It makes me feel uncomfortable, because so many people go along with something that is indeed tragic, but - in short- none of their business.

Because all those Dutch people, oh, how they mourn collectively. How they sympathize. And that’s it. Then life goes on, as many say.

But I don’t see it that way. Instead of collective mourning, people should think deeper, profounder (however comforting this might be for some, because I know it also has its good sides). They should think about why this happened. Don’t understand me wrongly: not how. Why did this happen?.

It is sad, no, infinitely more than sad, that we live in a world where violence is still one of humans most common attitudes. Already in the 70’s, in the time of the hippies, people dreamt of a better world, worldwide peace, stopping discrimination, equal rights, etc. But nooo. We’re still going the way we were, which is, in short, letting ourselves be guided by our ego and our primitive impulses, fighting with other humans for power, territory, riches…

Don’t we ever learn from the past? Obviously not. We aren’t capable of long term thinking, and even less capable of thinking in any other time that besides our own lifespan.  The consequence of this is that we forget the horrors of violence, war, and whatever kind of human attitude that only exists to satisfy ones ego. This means that conflicts and wars will continue emerging around the world.

I’m writing this based on the events of the airplane crash MH-17 in Ukraine. A plane with almost 300 passengers on board, probably shot down by Russian separatists in Ukraine because they thought it was a Ukrainian airplane. An act of pure violence, that will affect the lives of 300 families forever, families who never had anything to do with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Because, listen well: Wars and conflicts rarely cause victims who are directly implicated, but rather almost always affect people who have nothing to do with it. This way, the wave of violence expands, because they will always want an eye for an eye (and thus, the world goes blind).

What conflict between people can be so extreme that people end up killing others? And…have they never stopped to think in the immense amount of suffering they cause because they are persuading their ego?

It’s unbelievable. But we never learn from the past. People always focus on the differences between other humans. Differences in opinion, beliefs, skin color, culture…But, aren’t there more things that unite us then things that separate us? Aren’t we all human? Aren’t we all capable of loving, compassion, empathy, understanding when we are born? Why focus so much on what separates us as humans? Instead we should accept those differences and rejoice, because those differences makes each of us unique, precious, valuable!

Be different, and make sure you do learn from the errors others commit. Make sure that you will end up seeing violence as the most harming and useless attitude a human is capable of. Violence is useless, it only causes suffering. A war never has winners, only losers. Everyone loses once they are implicated in acts of violence. Do you want to be part of the violent attitude? Or will you choose for no violence, tolerance, compassion, respect? It’s your decision, but you must know that, although you’re only one person, your actions will affect the world. You, and only you, are capable of deciding what footprint to leave behind on this world.

For me it’s clear. I say NO to violence, at all the possible levels (yes, think about that, it’s a lot harder then you’d think at first notice). I say NO to suffering. And I know that, with this life-attitude, I will make a difference in the world, no matter how little. 

Live, and have no regrets

Months ago I wrote about losing my dear animal friend. How fast time goes by. There are days, when I’m too busy keeping my head up with studying and work, when I don’t think about him. But on other days, like today, he keeps coming into my mind. How much I miss him, the simple things, like running together through the bushes, his happy barks, his intelligent sparkling eyes.

Losing a loved one, whether it’s a person or an animal, is hard. And for everyone the grieving process is different. This is something important to remember, something that is often overlooked, but has to be respected.

So what I have learnt, felt, and thought, is subjective, it’s my story. But it is about something that unites all of us; life, and death. Without death, we wouldn’t be able to rejoice life. Without death, we wouldn’t be alive. Life and death are both antagonistic and complementary, both being part of our reality. Some might not like those ideas, but to me there is a certain beauty in this, in the essence of our existence. One of the lessons learnt from losing a loved one might thus be:

Live. Live every day, and make sure that when you look behind, you have no regrets. Live and be happy, grateful, that you may share your life with others. Our loved ones might leave us one day, but every single day by their side is precious, a blessing, and a reason to be happy. Death is inevitable, and I’m not subestimating the devastation it can bring to a persons life. But I am saying that we should all live more, in the here and now, and enjoy our lives and that of others.

And even when our loved ones are gone, they can still be an inspiration for wisdom and insights. From Casper, my animal friend, I learnt after his death to never, ever, undervalue life. Don’t throw it away, don’t get lost in unimportant matters. Live. Be. Love.  Yes, he was a dog, and not all people can imagine that a dog has been so important to me, but he has inspired me. He was a living being who with all his soul lived truly and freely. He showed me, with his death, to not waste my life.

To me, losing someone you love should make you value life more, not forsake it, throw it away, ignore it. Yes, I understand mourning, I understand grief, but at some point you have to embrace all the good. All those beautiful memories together, all the love and friendship. Don’t let grief shut out all those good things.

I’m still sad. Some days more than others. But that’s part of life. Even sadness should be seen as something good, although often people think it’s bad… Being sad about losing my dear animal friend means I’m alive, it means I cared about him. It means that whatever friendship we had, it was deep, strong, beautiful. A friendship between two species, that to me was so natural that I never once questioned it.

And what happens after death? I do not know the answers to that great mystery. All I know is that flowers now emerge from his beautiful last resting place, and that his soul roams freely, ever happy, loving and full of enthusiasm.

After all, death is just the next great adventure. 

Happy New Year/ Feliz Año Nuevo!!

Another year has passed. How fast time goes. And at the same time, how slow.

It has been a year of happiness, and grief. A year of personal accomplishments, and a year of losing my dear animal friend. It has been a year of travelling far away and near, both full of adventures and thrill. It has been a year of studying hard, working hard, and doing my best to be the best person I can be. I have tried to grow as a person, unravel my weaknesses and shaping them into strengths. In 2013 it was the first time I graded cum laude for a subject, that I donated money I had earned by myself to help abandoned dogs. The first time I lived like an adventurer for 10 days in a van travelling through the Pyrenees.

A year is never full of only good, or only bad experiences. Life isn’t like that. Life is…difficult, but not in the way most people believe it is. Life is difficult in the sense that, if you want to grow as a person and be the best possible you, you’ll have to work hard. Being tolerant, respectful, honest, loving, is not always easy. There are moments that you lose yourself on the road of life, due to stress, grief, or general feeling down.  There are moments when you know you’re not respectful toward yourself, or when someone tells you to change this or that, but have no idea how, because no one has ever told you how to be brilliant, loving, peaceful, harmonious, self-confident.

Because that is my goal for each year: To be a better person than the year before. A better person for me, in the first place, and for the world, in the second place. My goals are not to gain more material things, but rather to enrich my inner world. A goal, I believe without wanting to offend anyone, is one all should try to pursue. So instead of attempting to make resolutions for the New Year about that you will quit smoking, drinking too much, eating too much, spending too much money, why don’t you try this:

This year, you will try to be you. Yes. You. Only, and absolutely uniquely and sincerely you. You will learn to listen to your body and instinct, and find out that you are a beautiful human being who deserves to be loved, cherished and respected… by yourself, in first place, because that is what makes all the difference between being happy or not.  You will learn that, whatever you do, people will always criticize you, so the only thing you need to do is love your own decisions, not that others love your decisions. You will grow independent of others in the way that you don’t need their love to be able to love yourself, but at the same time you’ll become closer to people because you are able of loving yourself. 

This year, you will break up with routine, and start challenging yourself. Challenge yourself to be a better person to yourself, because; if you don’t treat yourself lovingly and with respect, who will?

And, like a raindrop in a lake, your actions will ripple across the surface, affecting lives of others more than you can imagine.

Now, the question for this New Year is: will you affect the lives of others in a positive, or in a negative way? It’s all up to you.

My new year’s resolution is thus: working on myself to become a better person, in order to change the world. Because you can attempt all your life to change the world, but if you don’t change, neither will the world. 

Thank you

Ha pasado otro año. Que rápido va el tiempo. Y al mismo tiempo, que lento.

Ha sido un año de felicidad y tristeza. Un año de logros personales, y un año de perder a mi querido amigo animal. Ha sido un año de viajar a sitios muy lejanos y a sitios cercanos, ambos llenos de aventuras e ilusión. Ha sido un año de estudiar mucho, trabajar mucho y dar todo de mí para ser la mejor persona que puedo ser. He intentado crecer como persona, desentrañar mis debilidades y convertirles en fortalezas. En 2013 fue la primera vez que saque una matrícula de honor para una asignatura, la primera vez que doné dinero que había ganado yo misma para ayudar a los perros abandonados. La primera vez que vivía como una aventurera durante 10 días en una furgoneta viajando a través de los Pirineos.

Un año nunca está lleno de experiencias que son sólo buenos o sólo malos. La vida no es así. La vida es... difícil, pero no de la manera que la mayoría de la gente cree que es. La vida es difícil en el sentido de que, si quieres crecer como persona y ser el mejor posible tu, tendrás que trabajar duro. Ser tolerante, respetuoso, honesto, amoroso, no siempre es fácil. Hay momentos que te pierdes en el camino de la vida, debido al estrés, tristeza o una sensación general de desánimos. Hay momentos en los que sabes que no eres respetuoso hacia ti mismo, o cuando alguien te dice que tienes que cambiar esto o aquello de tu mismo, pero no tienes idea de cómo, porque nadie te ha enseñado cómo ser brillante, amoroso, pacífico, armonioso, con confianza en uno mismo.

Porque ese es mi objetivo para cada año: lograr ser una persona mejor que el año anterior. Una persona mejor para mí, en primer lugar, y para el mundo, en segundo lugar. Mis metas no son ganar más cosas materiales, sino más bien  enriquecer mi mundo interior. Una meta que creo, sin querer ofender a nadie, es una todos debemos intentar alcanzar. Así que, en lugar de hacer resoluciones para el Año Nuevo sobre que vas a dejar de fumar, dejar de beber demasiado, comer demasiado, gastar demasiado dinero, ¿por qué no pruebas lo siguiente?:

Este año, intentaras ser tú. Sí. Tú. Sólo, y absolutamente única y sinceramente tú. Aprenderás a escuchar a tu cuerpo y tu instinto, y sabrás que eres un hermoso ser humano que merece ser amado, apreciado y respetado ... por ti mismo, en primer lugar, porque eso es lo que hace la diferencia entre ser feliz o no . Aprenderás que, hagas lo que hagas, la gente siempre te criticarán, así que lo único que tienes que hacer es amar a tus propias decisiones, no que otros aman tus decisiones. Te harás independiente de los demás en la manera que ya no necesitas su amor para ser capaz de amarte a ti mismo, pero, a la vez, te sentirás más cercano a la gente, ya que serás capaz de amarte a ti mismo.

Este año, romperás con la rutina y empezaras a desafiarte a ti mismo. Aceptaras el reto de ser una mejor persona para ti mismo, porque, si no te tratas a ti mismo con amor y con respeto, ¿quién lo hará?

Y, como una gota de agua en un lago, tus acciones se propagarán por la superficie, afectando la vida de los demás más de lo que podrás imaginar.

Ahora, la pregunta para este nuevo año es: ¿afectaras a las vidas de los demás de una manera positiva o de manera negativa? Todo depende de ti.

Mi resolución de año nuevo es, por tanto: intentar ser una mejor persona, con el fin de cambiar el mundo. Puedes intentar toda tu vida cambiar el mundo, pero si no cambias, tampoco lo hará el mundo.

Gracias

Discrimination of animals / Discriminacion de animales.

Lately I have encountered quite a lot of discrimination towards a certain dog breed; podencos

It is said that they are stupid, stubborn, useless, bad… people say this to justify the abuse, abandonment and isolation many podencos suffer.

It’s very sad. And even more: it’s without a trace of truth. Of course, an animal will mistrust you, it won’t do what you want, it will even fear you, if you abandon him, hit him, let him suffer from hunger, cold and thirst. It’s normal that it won’t be some cute lapdog then, if you isolate him from contact with other people and dogs!

But if you treat an animal with respect, love and understanding, if you know how and animal Works, knowing that it’s a living being with emotions and needs like everyone else, then you will find in this animal an unconditional friend, a living being who will love you without limits, and thousand times more loyal tan many human beings.

Let’s look at slavery: that was possible “thanks” to the idea that black people were beasts, didn’t feel, that they were wild animals, that you could treat them however you wanted because they didn’t feel anything anyway. It was justified by discrimination, ignorance and a lack of education.

Unfortunately, we still treat animals in a bad way, and we are far away from reaching a relation based on respect and wisdom. We still justify the mistreatment of animals by saying “they don’t feel, they don’t have emotions”.

And I’m fed up with these false justifications. I’m fed up with the hypocrisy, the lack of education, the ignorance of so many humans.

For me, every living being, every single one, no matter if you find it unimportant, scary, and disgusting or whatsoever, deserves love!! Every living being deserves love, respect and sympathy.

Why discriminate some, and treat others good? Why create this difference? Aren’t people able to see that on this Earth we are only temporal visitors, that we are part of nature and that we should coexist with Nature and all its beautiful creations?

One of the steps towards wisdom is this: understanding that you shouldn’t discriminate any living being. Because we are all part of the Earth. And loving all the other living beings is one of the best practices of compassion and love.

Namaste

How could anyone ever say that Podencos are stupid, ugly and unsocial?!!
¿Como alguien puede decir que los podencos son tontos, feos y asociales?!!

When I look into the eyes of an animal, I don't see an animal. I see a living being. I see a friend. I see a soul.
Cuando miro en los ojos de un animal, no veo un animal. Veo un ser vivo. Veo un amigo. Veo una alma. 

Últimamente me he encontrado con mucha discriminación hacia una raza de perros; los podencos.

Se dice que son tontos, inútiles, cabezotas, que son malos. Dicen todo aquello para justificar el maltrato, el abandono y el aislamiento a las cuales mucha gente somete a los podencos.

Es triste. Y aun mas; es sin ninguna base de verdad. Claro, un animal va ser desconfiado, no va hacer lo que tú quieres, incluso tiene miedo hacia ti, si tu le abandonas, le pegas, le haces sufrir hambre. Es normal que entonces no sea un perrito cariñoso y social, si le aíslas socialmente de contacto con otras personas y perros!

Pero si tratas a un animal con amor, respeto y entendimiento, sabiendo cómo funciona, sabiendo que es un ser vivo con emocionas y necesidades como todos, entonces vas a encontrar en ese animal un compañero incondicional, un ser vivo que te quiere sin limitaciones, y mil veces más fiel que la mayoría de los humanos.

Miramos a la esclavitud: eso fue posible “gracias” a la superposición que los negros eran bestias, que no sentían, que eran animales salvajes, que podrías tratarles como querías porque no tenían emociones. Se justificó por la discriminación, la ignorancia y falta de educación. 

Pero con los animales aún estamos lejos de alcanzar una relación de respeto y sabiduría.  Aun justificamos el mal tratamiento de muchos animales con la frase “no sienten, no tienen emociones como nosotros”.

Y estoy harta de esas falsas justificaciones. Estoy harta de la hipocresía, la falta de educación, la ignorancia de tantas personas.

Para mí, cada ser vivo, cada uno, da igual como de poco importante lo consideras, da igual si te da miedo o asco o lo que sea, merece amor! Cada ser vivo merece respeto, amor y comprensión.

¿Por qué discriminar a unos, y a otros tratarles bien? ¿Por qué crear esa diferencia? ¿La gente no es capaz de ver que en esta Tierra nosotros solo somos visitantes temporáneos, que somos parte de la naturaleza y que hay que convivir con la Naturaleza y todas sus creaciones bellas?

Uno de los pasos hacia la sabiduría es entender eso. Es entender que no hay que discriminar, diferenciar a ningún ser vivo. Porque todos somos parte de la Tierra. Y amar a todos los otros seres vivos es una de los mejores ejercicios de compasión y amor.  

Namaste

La ciencia ha encontrado una cura para muchas cosas, pero no ha encontrado una remedia contra el mayor mal de todos: la apatía de los seres humanos. 

Losing an animal friend

Today I’m going to write about something that might not be so cheerful, but is certainly a part of life; death.

To be more specific; the death of my best furry friend, my dog. Some people will say it was just a dog, that grieving over a dog is not comparable to grieving human death. But he was part of the family, for over 8 years, and his death was too early and too sudden.

The most difficult part of losing a living being, who was such a big part of my life, is that he will never come back. I can adopt a thousand dogs, and no one will ever be like him. There isn’t a single dog in the world who has the same beautiful eyes, the incredible capacity to be the best of friends. No one will ever make the same happy barking sounds again when I come home, nor sit by my side in difficult times.

He was the best of friends, a loyal companion, a living being who gave so much joy, laughter, love and peace.

Never shall I say that an animal is not capable of loving, of caring, of being an emotional and intelligent being. Having lived so many years by his side has taught me how amazing it can be to love another living being unconditionally.

Never again. Never again will he sit on my feet while I study, never again will I be able to embrace him while sitting in the sun. Never again can I laugh about his pranks and intelligence. All the never again’s, all the small things, all the thousands of memories…Like a mantra it keeps going on in my head.

It leaves me behind in sadness, with an emptiness so big you can’t believe it’s possible for 17 kilos of fur and intelligent eyes and limitless energy to leave such a void.

Never again is a long time. It’s too long. It’s too difficult to imagine. But that’s how things are, that’s the way life is. That’s the risk of loving another living being with all your heart.

But you know what? I would do it all over again. I would love another dog just as much, care for it just like I cared for him, because there are many, many dogs out there that deserve to live happily and in safety. Even though it means that eventually I will lose them.

All I can say to lighten up is that we gave him the best possible life. Full of freedom, love, care. And he lived healthy until his last hour.

I want to add some quotes, to celebrate the endless love, joy and peace other living beings can bring into our lives.

"Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them, Filling an emptiness we don't even know we have."

"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."

“Grief is so painfully real, regardless of its origin. The love of, and attachment to, an animal friend can equal that of human relationships. Likewise, the loss of an animal can be just as devastating.”

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.”

The greatest lesson I have learnt from this? Live as if someone left the gate open!! :)