Hope, ethical dilemmas and learning – blessings only available in Venezuela
Again and again our reflexions make more sense after a while! Venezuela is a great place to learn! Lara Bezerra As much as the situation of Venezuela worsens and the challenges increase, as much as the decisions get more difficult and more critical, and as much as I get questioned about the situation I am living in, and as much as I myself doubt my decisions, the more I thank the Universe for having brought me to Venezuela at this right moment… Each day that ends and I even if I finish it crying, I get more convinced that my mother was right. The real learning I will have depends on how I will face the greatest challenge and difficulties of my life… Well, I was simply blessed with the biggest opportunity a person might have of becoming wise, very wise in one life-time… I have taken the decision to change completely the perspective of my life… View original post 585 more words
One religion, one country, one planet, one universe – we are stronger together, to find love,
Insight…. HUGE insight coming from these last 2 months… My mother search was for unit, for connection, the one that makes all one, the one which do not separate science from religion, mind from body, but still we live in world which label everything, and by labelling, you separate things, you loose the power that exists in each individual build the whole…. The last 2 months I am reading, studying the different ways different beliefs, cultures teach one to find his/her inner peace, inner realization, own spiritual fulfillment. I started by Hinduism, Budhism, coming to Tolteca’s culture and last week, Kabbalah. It is amazing how similar they are, somehow is like they would be all seeing the same, reading the same, but then expressing it differently. Meaning, the same fact, with different interpretations…. All religions are seeking love, peace, through kindness, all them have ¨punishment¨, being it hell or Karma, Tikun, meaning consequences whenever you take a decision, being ¨good¨or ¨bad¨, so all religions also guide you in the direction fo having dicernment, knowing that all consequences are both to you and to the ones around you. But the amazing part is the detail – All of them talk about similar things as Maya (budhism), Mitote (Toltecas) ilusion that one has that blurs the real knowledge, this is the 1% of oneself, it is separated by a curtain or smoke from the 99% of one’s knowledge that really means something, as the real spiritual heaven, in quantic physics, the field, by the end, the real oneself… where all the knowledge lies…. you access it when you have an insight, and all the religions, beliefs, try to make this insigh moment long more and more, meaning that you should live in the moment of wisdom. The interesting is that human being in earth today is loosing the focus by separating itself; religions are fighting for ¨their God¨, not to find the beauty in it simply, but to make all others disappear… Politicians are fighting to have their ideology as the right, not allowing any other to be even discussed, countries are fighting to have more power, wealth. But I really believe that this is the storm before the peace! At the same time, we have a Pope who is preaching to respect all religions, because love, God exists in all of them, and they all want the best for humanity… Pope Francis is remembering us why we are here in the first place… We are here to live and to live happily, each moment, and the best way for finding happiness is to help others…. I am totally in favour of supporting Pope Francis in this fight to unit religions and to unit ideologies, unit countries, unit the planet earth! I am tired of seeing families spliting because of politics, I am tired of seeing power being the main objective… It is time for us to elevate ourselves spiritually, by respecting all and by understanding that what differs from us makes us wiser, because you can only learn from what is different from you. I am IN LOVE with this Pope, Pope Francis has just won not a piece of my heart, but my whole heart, my soul, my mind! Let us all seek for a purpose, for common objetive to help the planet, to make our countries stronger, our families diverse and wiser, let us do what we are suppose to do here, together elevate ourselves spiritually and have different worries, as how to learn more, how to make our lives more enjoyable… I am in favour of one religion, one politics, one ideology, but not because all others disappear, but indeed because we figure out that the differences are what make us stronger, so we value how deep a different idea makes us wiser, either to confirm our beliefs, or to improve them!!! …I am in favour of one religion, one politics, one ideology, all serching God, love, ultimately, inner peace and spiritual fulfillment!!! Join me! I need company!!!!
Escape, Piña Colada – value what you have, partner or job!!! Learning from music!
My mother always told me to take care not to loose something you do care, but do not give the proper care… This was mainly regarding things I used to take for granted. I remember when I had a boy friend and I was always comparing and looking something I did not have. Then suddenly ,when you less expect, you loose the person and then you regret hugely… It is the same for ANY relationship, being it work or love partner, or even friends… The music that represented it the most is Escape!!! It strikes me how much books or music had always opened my eyes. Probably music means so much because who writes it feels something so deeply inside, and it is so important that they need to share, and some of them master it hugely! When I heard the Piña Colada first time, I thought it was other silly music of summer break. …but one day, just listening to it, exactly when I was questioning many things, by paying attention to its lyrics, it brought me a light, an insight…. The music tells about a man who answers to a post in the newspaper attracted by the adventurous and different things this woman offers. Despite of loving his wife, he answers to the post to try new things with a stranger. When he goes to meet her, inmediately he recognizes his wife, she was the stranger in the post – and they simply laugh… Then he tells her that if she likes all she told in the post, she is the woman he is looking for!!!! Many times we are in a relationship, being it a job or a marriage, and even if we like a lot, it comes to a point when you want more, you start to make demands, or you start to question everything. How many times we criticize a person who you love, just because you “want to help”? How many times you question your job thinking, ok I like a lot my job, but, is it what I really want??? Well, your doubts of today are your obstacles for tomorrow, and if you do not value what you have, mainly when you know you like it, you will loose it…… Last week, when I started to run again, I was listening to my favorite songs, and Escape was among them – I was in this period where you question things, and I was very much critical of my husband, then, suddenly the song started, and one starts to think, listen to the music and thinking what if HE is tired? What if HE looks for something else? And myself? Am I in danger of doing anything stupid?? …and the music follows and then comes this so nice part when the man recognizes his wife, and he thinks “I knew her smile in an instant, I knew the curve of her, it was my lovely lady…” and she says “oh it’s you…” but they laugh together, and finally they find love again in each other… well I started to cry thinking how silly I am… My husband does love me and I have everything I asked for… I think ,I am probably the happiest woman on earth, I have absolutely everything I wished for, I really appreciate a lot everything in my life, and finally we also get trapped by this wishful thoughts of nothing but phantasies… Well… the song has awaken me once again and I am so thankful of having heard it again!!! I love a lot my husband, my children, my job and everything around! Thanks to the song, and I wanted to share my experience, I tell you all – be happy with your partner, with your job, find everything that you are glad for, and if, only if, you can not find anything indeed, then you must make a change, but if you find many things you have forgotten… hope you are not in a trouble yet, because our atittude when we are not grateful is terrible and can take things in a way when regrets, and most of the time is a no-turn-around-road. So look carefully to your job, to your partner, to all your relationships and evaluate if you really should criticize so much, and if you are being thankful enough! This is the best exercise one can do!!! Look for everything one can be thankful for… So… enjoy the journey, I am doing it!!! I leave you with the song! Video and lyrics below! Escape (The Piña Colada song) I was tired of my lady (Estaba cansado de mi mujer / Estava cansado da minha mulher) We’d been together too long (Estamos juntos ya por demasiado tiempo / estamos juntos por muito tempo) Like a worn-out recording (Como una grabacion muy oida / como uma gravação muito escutada) Of a favorite song (de tu cancion favorita / da sua musica favorita) So while she lay there sleeping (Entonces mientras ella esta dormida / então enquanto ela esta dormindo) I read the paper in bed (Yo leo el periodico en la cama / eu leio o jornal na cama) And in the personal columns (Y en las columnas personales / E nas colunas pessoais) There was this letter I read (Habia esta carta que he leido / Encontrei esta carta que eu li) Chorus 1: “If you like Pina Coladas (Si a ti te gustan las pinas coladas / Se voce gosta de Pina colada) And getting caught in the rain (Y ser agarrado por la lluvia / e ser pego pela chuva) If you’re not into yoga (Si no eres de yoga / Se não é a fim de yoga) If you have half a brain (Si tiene medio cerebro / Se tem meio cerebro) If you’d like making love at midnight (Si te gusta hacer el amor a la media noche / Se gosta e fazer amor a meia noite) In the dunes on the Cape (En las
Venezuela – land of example, moral and ethics (…no, I am not crazy)
Many of you might think that I got crazy… How Venezuela can be a land of example, moral and ethics??? Today I heard somebody saying that it is easy to have moral, values and ethics being born in a rich country where you still are rich, no business is on the edge, and no ethical dilemmas are presented. It is relatively easy to keep compliance and rules in a country where the laws are clear, where justice is transparent. Let us come to Venezuela…. Actual laws do not favor the private business, some of them “guide” us to sell at a price level that can not cover our own costs. Adding to this legal situation, the hyperinflation is knocking at the door of the country. Sometimes the term “justice” means more than compliance, but depending on the circumstances, justice is nothing close to compliance. Then, how to lead a multinational where you want justice and compliance at the same time and both can be perceived differently? And more, how to explain this to the headquarters? Before I was transferred to Venezuela, I had thousands interviews with high level executives of my previous company and all interviews went to the same direction – are you sure you can do business and assure good results in countries where it seems necessary to have different set of rules, where the level of compliance can be different from the required by our company? I was so so sure that it was not only possible, but also that this was a competitive advantage! Being in Venezuela, working in multinational has allowed me to prove this though right. We can find many situations where the outcome might have finished wrongly, if it were not for me being working in a multinational. Working in a multinational, european in this case, just leaves us an advantage that is the historical strictness of the companies from this part of the world. I have never had a situation in which I had to use my discernment regarding compliance, simply it is clear what kind of business we do, and I have found so many partners to do business as this. And in Venezuela right now, there are much more people that are looking for good business and very strict partners to show how honest one is. Right now the ethics and example of honesty is ery much valued. One would be surprised to see how many honest people we can find. One would be even more surprised to see that the historic record of honesty and compliance can open doors and favour one so much, as this can be the only true and the only sureness business partners want to look for. The one very nice point for us to see is that human beings are human beings, and independently of parts, parties, nations, beliefs, having a common ground always shows us the way, always shows us that we can always do business if the purpose is clear and this purpose can be shared by everyone. From my 5 years experience in Venezuela, it did not matter which was the client or the partner I had talked to, always when I started to talk about our concern about the patients and wanted to find a solution together, NEVER, EVER have I received a different answer than a willigness to be part of the solution or to work for patients… More than everything – the Venezuelans are very very much honest and example of honor… In the middle of all the situation we are living, I am a living proof of how many admirable Venezuelans are still in Venezuela, I have met so many Venezuelans, enterprenueurs, second, third generation of Venezuelans who has built the history of this country, and want, more than ever prove that you can do business as one expects here in Venezuela. Probable, because of all this situation, the honor and honesty is crucial for many Venezuelans, the word is very important and sometimes is what really sustains relationship between client and supplier. So, if you ask if the “easy” way is the best way and quicker way, I answer yes, if you ask if it would be much easier to take the short cut, my answer would be even a stronger yes… And, because all the detours and easier ways are so easy and not frequently condemned, but rewarded, that I admire so much the Venezuelan business people… The Venezuelans who are facing so many challenges to stay in their country and fight for their businesses are honorable and I owe them all my respect – I am learnign a lot from them and I am being able to use so many people as example to my children… Yes, this is also, looking on a different perspective, very good to educate children!!! Here the examples and contrast are so clear that parents can show clearly what is correct and how you wish your children to behave and who to follow! Thanks to Venezuela I can teach my children clearly what is to be honest, what is to be perseverant, what is to stand to your values and to your principles. Thanks to Venezuela I am b eing able to teach my children, from their childhood how tempting is the easy way, but how much better is the feeling to get somethiung with your effort, honesty and perseverance!!!! Yes, Venezuela is the land of opportunities, values, honor and ethics!! This is the reason I believe so much on this country!!!!!
Hope, ethical dilemmas and learning – blessings only available in Venezuela
I am getting thousand of answers to my philosophical questions the last months…. As much as the situation of Venezuela worsens and the challenges increase, as much as the decisions get more difficult and more critical, and as much as I get questioned about the situation I am living in, and as much as I myself doubt my decisions, the more I thank the Universe for having brought me to Venezuela at this right moment… Each day that ends and I even if I finish it crying, I get more convinced that my mother was right. The real learning I will have depends on how I will face the greatest challenge and difficulties of my life… Well, I was simply blessed with the biggest opportunity a person might have of becoming wise, very wise in one life-time… I have taken the decision to change completely the perspective of my life right now. I decided neither to cry nor to be sorry for everything that I cannot change; I decided that there is nothing NOTHING that I can not change… I just got the message…. The destiny simply opened, ahead of me, the door for my soul construction, and it is presenting 2 ways, and I simply have to pick one… But this choice will change completely myself and everything and everybody who is around me. How do I want to be remembered???? I want to be remembered as a person who has never given up, a person that even facing the toughest decisions has kept the head up and smiled to life and supported any person who needed. A person who, definitely has chosen the positive way. From the 2 choices, do things crying, complaining, or do things smiling looking for the bright, positive side, I chose to smile to life… By the end, the life time experience and test is happening right now, do I wanted good MBA which would give me lifetime experiences??? Well – I have signed up to a Master in Life Administration….. …and nobody has told me, I have just noticed… No place is a better place to learn how to be resilient, know how to lead by example, learn how to lead in transparency and really to test any leadership style, here if one style is correct, it will show, if not, oh… it will also show and help us God, the consequences of a bad leadership here are extreme… At the same time, no place is better to teach your children how to apply discernment, how to take decisions based on minimum data, but still doing it. If you have to decide how to teach your children, Venezuela leaves you no option – you have to choose the positive way, the “values based” way, the “love the simple” way, and you teach and learn that happiness one finds within and we do not depend on anything external to be happy, but ourselves and our choices will dictate how much happiness you will live with! Finally Venezuela teaches you that decisions have to be taken even when you are not sure that you are taking them correctly, because not deciding will have a simple consequence, decisions will be taken for you, and be clear, you want to have the decisions on your hands. The final hope is – time will show if you had made the right ones, and you, yourself, will pay in case not, this finally is the ultimate proof of Karma – you can be sure that your actions will have a consequence in this life, and in this country. Be them good or not you will be sure if you were right or not. My conclusion right now of my professional and personal situation is that I would not choose to be in any other place than Venezuela – and this will be seen in my soul forever, thanks God! Forever Venezuela
My name is Cortisol… work life balance or solely Life balance?
The biggest challenge I face everyday is to control my thoughts, in order to control my feelings, in order to control my emotions, so I can finally avoid the cortisol to come to my body and destroy the one little thing I appreciate the most – my peace, my life, my future…. How can I do what I love, and avoid cortisol? How can I enjoy each day more my job if what motivates me is the challenge, and also this is the “secret” of my results, enjoying what I am doing, mainly when challenges are growing… Here comes the paradigm change – the work life balance, I chose to change to life balance, since I simply decided to change how I look for balance, the balance started to come by itself!! Only the name “work-life balance” separates your life from your work, it is as saying Marriage-life balance… Do we separate our marriage from our life and try to have time for our marriage considering that what is out of it is life??? So why we do for work???? The single fact to believe that work is separated from your life, forces you to have a hour balance daily – which causes more stress… On the other side, if you are able to understand that your work is part of your life as your marriage is, you will understand that the balance is not in one day, one month or one year. We have to have a higher perspective and understand that when you do not have children, or a marriage, the chances are that you balance will tend to go to the work, as it will go to friends, to sports, to nights out, when you have a partner, your time allocation to friends, sports, as well as work will decrease, and this will keep decreasing when children will come, but this is physics…. you can not fit the room as comfortable with 3 children as you would with 1, you can not place 40 books in a shelf as you can 2. You can not share your 24 hours daily, 7 days weekly, 30 days monthly to your work, family, friends, sports, reading and whatever you want in the same time as you did when you started working. More, you have to see your balance in your life time, knowing that by the end, when you are 80 you will look back and be sure that at each period of your life you have made the right choice, of focusing at the right part of your life, making the right choices, looking for the right priorities, according to the life you are living, and mainly that you do not regret and you are happy, by each part of your life, being it 12 hours working daily, or 12 hours changing diapers daily or helping your children studying for some exam, but by the end, your life balance was just right when looking back…. So, what is the balance that will help your cortisol battle to be won? My take away after so many years is that nothing is found outside, everything is within and how you see life and its balance has much more to do to this answer as you might guess! I see that my balance I find searching my happiness moments, I see that when I have my most stressed periods, I am always longing to arrive home, and this period I try my best not to take my notebook home, and try to do homework with my children, or teach them english, when they were not here, I tried to go to the movies with my husband or to simply have a nice dinner. Before my husband, my best balance period, definitely, was to go to yoga and retreats!!! Last period my children started yoga and we decided to have them meditate every night before going to sleep, now I have the best of worlds, I work like crazy (many doubt I have the balance I tell I have), but I arrive home and I do yoga or meditate with my children, and once in awhile, my husband and I go out dining and we have fun! I find myself with more balance now than when I was in Mexico trying to get pregnant…. Now with 3 children, and with the easiest job on earth, General Manager of a pharmaceutical in Venezuela, I do think I have more balance than back in 2006 when I was single as a GM in Hungary! Cortisol, I fight with laugh, smile, meditation and the blessing of having 3 children, and the last 5 days, I recovered the pleasure of running endorphins!!!! So, Cortisol I fight with smile, looking to positive, and gratitude, every night after meditating we do a round of eh atreve we thabkful for, sharing everything we thank for during the day… One thing I am sure, my children will be much happier than I am, and I will be sure to guide them to the right direction!!! New purpose – others happiness!
Difficulties and opportunities of being a female leader in critical situations
For years I have been struggling with the idea of being the right leader, the right co-worker, the right mother, the right wife, the right daughter, the right sister, but I have forgotten the idea of simply being me as woman, a girl, simply myself… The expectations are all around and somewhere in this journey we just leave behind the one thing we have, that is the most powerful and the most wanted characteristic of a female – the diversity of having born a instinctive human being, with emotion, who cares…. I already lost the number of times that something made me think over my actions, decisions, and the whole path that took me to these actions, decisions – and normally there are only two situations identified – the moments that I am proud of how I did it and I do not put too much thought on it, and the moments which I do not feel comfortable, and I do feel that I am not following what is right, and normally when this happens, I know something will not work. Perfect – …but, this “something”-will-not-work-and-I-do-know – trust me, just works for family, partners, and long time colleagues. But be careful…. this does not work in the work environment, unless there is a huge amount of trust… …and why is this? Doing my reflections and meditations on the topic I had a huge insight!!! The reason is a problem, but also as my mother used to say, do not focus in the problem, but look which opportunity is there, and here I did find it!!! My thoughts guided me to understand that there is a simple way to guide men (or some women who do not know) to get the best from the female co-workers, and also how the female co-workers can help their bosses to bring the best out of them. Normally the biggest gender gap comes when there is a decision to take or a crisis to face, and decisions sometimes can not be taken on facts or figures, but at the same time, some decisions that are major DO NEED more basis to be taken or to be approved. When someone is pressured to decide, if this someone is a woman, she is going to follow her instincts, and she will get the “feeling” of much more things in the air, the men will be able to capture facts and figures that will sum up to a more rational decision… Lately, and believe me, I am becoming an expert in having to take decisions under pressure, in crisis, in difficult times and with as little information as one can have, and I do feel that the decisions have been very good, but I was doubting my ability to take decisions by myself, since I had always a push, a guide of someone. Some of these days, after one of those conversations and brain stormings, and not being able to put on a paper my instincts, my gut feeling, and not being able to convince the other side, I saw that a suggestion was given based on clear facts that were right… and I had no solution but accept it, I had no argument other than instinct. …and then this huge feeling of something getting wrong came to me, how is it possible that I can not share that I do feel that something might not be good, why do I fear telling about my instincts… This was when I got back to a great book, “Women who run with wolves” from a psychiatrist and Jungian with her book translated to several languages and with several prizes for being able to decipher the archetype of the “wild women” – something that all women loses by getting mature and having to fit into society and the expectations organizations have from leaders (which normally are male models). (http://www.clarissapinkolaestes.com/women_who_run_with_the_wolves__myths_and_stories_of_the_wild_woman_archetype_101250.htm) The book helped to understand that things are going well because it is the second time in my entire professional life I have a boss who can be able to take the best out of me as a woman. The first time I experienced something like this was in Europe when I was a leader in Hungary (coincidently the author of the book is a Hungarian!) and I can not recall a more successful leadership time than this one (in my own leader life), this was the result of having the team that allowed me to be myself and made me the leader I was and I had great coaching mentorship and leadership from my boss, Dr Brocks. Coming back to this time, I recall that I had a coach, Penny Sophocleous, who helped me a lot, and each time I had a feeling an instinct of something, I used to call my boss, and I do not know if consciously or not, he used to pay HUGE attention when I asked his guidance to take a decision, which I was sure I had to make, but I did not know how to present it for approval… 🙂 Best of 2 worlds – Dr Brocks trusted me 1000%, I never felt so supported and so valued, he used to ask me many things and used to coach me until I was able to have clearly the gut feeling, the instincts into a “male” translator based on facts and a business format to present and get approval, and we did receive approval for everything and this was the same time when I used to share with my team meditations and Spiritual Quotient (Dana Zohar) learnings… The “bias” when you go higher in leadership is clear, being a woman, you are emotional and you do get involved into the situation, because you do care for people. And then when there is a crisis and there is a pressure, nobody wants to hear what is your gut feeling, your instinct, and I can really understand it, on the other side, when there are no facts and figures,
If I had the chance I would choose Venezuela again, same period, same company…
I was in one of these moments, wondering what have I done of my professional life and wondering why things are happening as they are. More than this, I was trying to find answers for questions that I am sure no one has answers for, as “Why at this stage of my career I am having to face challenges like I am doing” “Is this taking me any longer in my future or is this blocking me for further steps personally?” “Is there anything that I am doing result of Karma, so if I have to learn, what is that I have to focus on?” Well, I consider myself very lucky professionally, I had all sorts of challenges in my career. As a leader, I had the chance to live different experiences… Companies which were going through changes, where finding opportunities was easy and added to this, having a good team with good strategy lead us to be seen well. Or country which had good results, but with a fearful team, without motivation and just with the right focus working with the potential and passion of the team, believing in the team and listening to them the results were incredible! But the questions started to raise when suddenly I takeover a great team, with great results, with noble people who has built history, a team who has put together all qualities one look in an organisation, and the results start not to come as a consequence of external elements one can not control… What to do when everyone is giving their best, everyone is fighting for each objective, everybody is so committed that one thanks God everyday for the team and still the results are not coming and finally there is no right decision to bring back results. What to do when the right decision is the less worse decision… When the real right decision is to adapt to the new reality one does not see clearly? …and by the end the right decision is to let go of people you respect and you are very glad to be honoured with their presence…. This happened to many of us companies during the last 2 years, we saw colleagues who we would give any salary in any other country to have the privilege to work with, having to leave our companies… We have faced situations in which we cried after a business review when there was no right solution to bring back the business, but there was only right answers to fundamental questions which we did not want to be answerer, or pure instinct…. But by the end, if the decision is to stay as a believer and give all our efforts to bet on the country, and in all existing potential, how to do it??? Many times the answer was not exactly as one wants, nor is the implementation… So, why being good leaders here means doing everything one is not prepared academically to do, or more, one does not want to be psychologically prepared to do, as this would be the opposite of what leaders sign for??? Some people asked me if I have ever wondered why I am here with all the difficult decisions and challenges, if I was always a good person and fought for people and always believed that what you do, you will receive back, I should be experiencing a nice Dharma, not a Karma… Why do I have to lead this period of my company and be the one to take tough decisions? Why do I have to be a leader that will be hated eventually and either bosses will see you as too emotional and employees will see you as the reason why the history is being “destroyed”??? After lots, lots of thought I had an insight, and I am so so proud and happy, everything depends always on the perspective you choose to take… Here is my choice; I understood now, THIS is my Dharma, everything I prayed for is happening… If I see all the employees my company had when I arrived and the ones are working now, how do I see them?? I see these colleagues as brave warriors who taught me a lot, who built the company, who represent each value that had been the brick after brick which has grown up to be this Venezuelan foundation of our affiliate… I love each of my colleagues who worked with us, I am not ashamed to say that I fought what I needed to keep this foundation, I am emotionally involved with this country and with these team, I also am not ashamed to tell that I have good guides that brought me to solid soil, reality and help me to take the right decisions at the right moment… But the most important consideration I am making is; I am living a Dharma, a gift and not a punishment, EXACTLY for having been good and for having taken the right decisions in the past, focused on people on goodness, with all my heart and soul I am here today… The love I have for this people from my company, brought me to this conclusion – I would not choose anyone else than myself to take the decisions and to have the right team to implement them… I know from the depth of my soul that I do everything to my people, to Venezuela, and also I know that I do love, adore my team, each one who is still in the company and who left, as well as I love this country… I understood – I am the right person to be here…. I am proud of having done so well my work in the past, for having done so well to people and countries which I lived that I was “selected” by the universe to be here right now to lead this noble organisation and to be the one to have the chance to guide this team through this so special
Discernment – The most needed ability at the moment…
How to understand something that you are not raise for? How to have a decision on a situation where no answer is the right answer? How to seek for support when you do not know exactly the consequences of this support? How to know when to judge and when to discern?? What is really discernment????? Wikipedia translation: Discernment is the ability to obtain sharp perceptions or to judge well (or the activity of so doing). In the case of judgment, discernment can be psychological or moral in nature. In the sphere of judgment, discernment involves going past the mere perception of something and making nuanced judgments about its properties or qualities. Considered as a virtue, a discerning individual is considered to possess wisdom, and be of good judgement; especially so with regard to subject matter often overlooked by others. During the last period we are living a situation when no decision is the right decision, sometimes, if one seeks for the right decision, one can take too much time, and still not deciding, or deciding, but with a frustration that can not allow the celebration of finally deciding… How to deal then, with a situation when one can not feel comfortable with anything, how to feel in peace in case the no answer is not acceptable, meaning, waiting is not an option and you have to find a decision despite of not having information enough or despite of being sure that none of the solutions are the exactly right ones??? The last one year was a PHD on discernment… The moment we unveiled the real meaning of discernment it was so clear, it was so liberating… Following C P Spurgeon, Discernment is not knowing the difference between right or wrong, it is knowing the difference between right and almost right… We have translated on a way that fits better our situation, following the “2015/2016 team”; Discernment is not deciding what is the best solution, but being able to distinguish between the worst and the least worst – then being able to follow your intuition and feel comfortable deciding on what is least worst – knowing that the consequence of both decision will bring to not good consequences, but the decision you are following will have a smaller impact in the future, meaning a better long term decision… Then comes the courage and the “guts” – to assume the responsibilities of the consequences, and ALWAYS, always remember – during the journey – that the decision was based on the long term, even if the journey takes you to be hurt, to have to struggle, to have to stand for your decisions – always the solution during the journey, whenever you have doubts, is to ask: “the journey I am taking should lead me to the result which has the least impact – is this way still correct?” If you have chosen the least worst solution and picture the impacts, anytime during the journey you can redirect your way, and you can always find alternatives, and nothing is written in stone, the important is to remember that you are looking for the best decision, because if you will forget this, anytime during the journey you will be sure that you are wrong, as the decision to pick the least worst will oblige you to take responsibility for your acts, and they might not be good… …well, why to share this right now? I share it, because the way to go might be very lonely, unless others understand it and do not judge you for making decisions that are hard, and better than this is if your have partners for the journey who do believe in it, and have the courage to fight the battles and also live a life where fear is not a barrier and indeed seeks a purpose and see the transcendental result of decisions, seeing how important is to go ahead, humboldt, but never, never losing sight of our dreams, values and purpose… So, if you are living a period of difficult decisions, changing perspective might help – are you not finding the best solution, all solutions do not look good enough?? Then change your glasses – ask your self, from each decision I would take, which are the consequences? … and which out of all consequences seem to be the least worst? …and which out of all consequences seem to be the one that I will be able to live with when I look back sometime in the future?? The real wisdom does not consists on taking always the right decision, but indeed the real wisdom consists on having the courage to take a decision that is not the perfect one, but a decision that, in the future, is seen as the right one, when all is visible, and is also seen as a very hard decision to take, but also a decision that can not be avoid, but if avoided, the consequences are much, much stronger… Good night – send your energies for everybody to be able to take the decisions with the right level of discernment!!!! This will make this world a better world!!
What Venezuela is teaching us – lessons for eternity…
Lately there is one question repeating itself, which makes us more and more meditative…. “Do you still like living in Venezuela?” There is something interesting in the answer, and it is not simple, neither complex, it is indeed deeper, and really “spiritual” reflection. Each day that we spend more in Venezuela, our beliefs, principles and values are stronger. The difficulties make us see huge opportunities for our family. The San Francisco Prayer means more right now (see above in yellow card)… Why??? In any other circumstances, our family would never be so united. In any other circumstances, our family would never need to be so strong in our faith and in our self judgment. We are learning to value small things; one Saturday night watching movies, in our living room, with pop corn, cola and sweets is great! One breakfast together cooking and having fun, is better!! Even better is singing together any Brazilian music and teaching the kids Portuguese! The kids ask a lot, doubt a lot, and see things that no other children will do, is it bad? No, this is a huge opportunity, depending on how you handle and “juggle” with the subject – we learn to be better parents, to answer more adequately, to give the right attention to their questions. We finally are really being vegetarian!!! The good food is the one that we are able to cook with the magic ingredients we are able to have in our shelves, we have never valued good food as now… Also we are able to find good in anything, we finally really understand the meaning of “look the positive side”, and really see how important it is for you to build resilience. Paradigms – we are breaking them… we are learning that being flexible, but knowing your values is something that sometimes seems impossible (being flexible with your principles and keep values?), then we have a challenge, a real one, a REAL one, not what normal people have, and then we learn that, to be able to be flexible and keep our values, we have to look for the greater good, looking for the results in long term, but not leaving the short term, otherwise you will have no short, neither long term… Ambiguity? Complexity? This is our daily learning!!! Who would ask for something else? Our family is learning what is to have unconditional love, but really unconditional… if you say you love – then take this… Bummm something happens that makes you look again to everything and then you have to look deep inside yourself and your hearth and ask – is this the size of sacrifice I would do for what I love – AHA…. Didn’t you tell that you had unconditional love???? Yes, unconditional love, unconditional commitment – this has been the biggest learning I think I will take forever. This is the kind of love you tell you have for your kids, but is it really unconditional??? Just one question – would you ever be able to be alive if any of your kids would tell that he/she loves someone else more than they love you – and not a partner, not their children… If you have a love for your children that is jealous, that is possessive, then it is not unconditional love… The really unconditional love for your children is loving them despite of any choices they have, despite of any love they have for someone else, any decisions they make – the real unconditional love, is the kind of love, that you do not ask anything back, you, indeed, do not expect anything, you simply do everything that you really think is the best for them, not protecting them, but making them independent and being ready to live one day without you, because believe me, they will have to do so… On this same logic – what is then unconditional love for a country??????? Would you do whatever you could to make it improve, without any expectation? Without any judgment, helping and supporting whatever is needed, keeping your beliefs and simply looking for what will make this nation stronger? Would you be able to leave some battles that seem to be important, but they are not adding up for the future of your country? Are you able to see what will make you leave a legacy? Are you able to do something without any expectation, and simply for the sake of seeing your country having a future? Yes, I love being in Venezuela, with and despite everything – my secret – I really believe that these years here in Venezuela will finally build the human being I will be, the “old lady” I will, Venezuela will end up building the greater part of the picture I will be when I die. …and I want to take each second, each lesson from these period and build a better human being from myself and all my family, learning to be happy from inside, not needing anything else, and knowing that when you love something, you just live for it, and do never forget who you are and what is your mission here in this life… Yes, I do know I have to be here right now and I do not regret one second being here, indeed I thank God for placing me here right now! Venezuela is already part of me, Venezuela gave me my family…
