Rafael - Living live a day at a time

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Words and their power

A long time ago a friend of mine told me about the "anthology of the language" and how much information we give away just by the set of words that choose in a precise moment. I have been thinking about this a lot lately as more and more people talk about the power of words and how much words are translated from ideas, and how ideas define where your energy is invested.
So it becomes each time more critical to select a proper set of words before sending out unwanted messages and getting what I call the "invisible machinery" working on providing the wrong things to you, or as Paulo Coelho puts it "when you truly want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it", but we should be careful what message we sent out to the world to work on, right?
This is by no chance a new idea and it is even in the Bible, it states something like "words will go out, do what they are supposed to and return to you with their fruits". So just be careful on what you say and how you do it!

Labels: Philosophy

posted by Rafa @ 3:34 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Change is the only constant

Blogging from Algiers as I am here for a 3 days working trip, I can only remember that so important phrase "Change is the only constant".
Within the last month too many changes have happened, but today while reviewing the installation in Algiers and the challenges that lie in the near future with it, I can only think of it.
Just when you think that things are working fine, ZAS!! it hits you. It's time to do damage control and get things working right. My project was badly impacted by missinformed people that gave the wrong information from the beginning, and did not have the guts to say "that is incorrect" or "this is missing", once more badly impacted by a third party in which trust was put as the "Specialist" in the field.
Well as I learned in Russia "That's life", not much to do but to correct things and move on. As I was told lately "If things were always right you would not have a job, therefore be happy for those bumps in the way" ha, ha, ha.

Labels: Philosophy

posted by Rafa @ 1:57 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Pull the Plug? Throw the towel? Retreat?

There's always a moment in time when you think that you should say "It's enough" take your things and retreat from the battle, count your losses and start preparing for the next time.

Me I normally go on, get the best from the battle, try to learn from it and move on; but there definitely moments when I would love to just say "IT'S ENOUGH" and stop having to overwork due to irresponsibility shown on other parties involved in the matter.

Anyways, it will not happen this time!! I will see it through and get the best out of it, but for sure I need to put correctives and controls in place, otherwise I am not learning from it, I am just behaving as a Masochist

Labels: Philosophy

posted by Rafa @ 10:49 AM 1 comments

Monday, January 29, 2007

Te deseo lo suficiente

Una historia para comenzar la semana en reflexión:

Hace poco tiempo cuando estaba en el aeropuerto escuché por casualidad a una madre e hija que se estaban despidiendo.
Cuando anunciaron la partida del vuelo ellas se abrazaron y la madre dijo: "Te amo y te deseo lo suficiente"

La hija respondió: "Madre, nuestra vida juntas ha sido más que suficiente. Tu amor es todo lo que he necesitado. También te deseo lo suficiente". Ellas se saludaron con un beso y la hija partió.

La madre pasó muy cerca de donde yo estaba sentada y noté que ella necesitaba llorar. Traté de no observarla para no invadir su privacidad pero ella se dirigió hacia mí y me preguntó: "¿Alguna vez se ha despedido de alguien sabiendo que era para siempre?".

Sí, lo he hecho - respondí. - Perdón por preguntar - contesté -, pero ¿por qué esta despedida es para siempre?
Yo soy una mujer vieja, y ella vive muy lejos de aquí. La realidad es que su próximo viaje será para mi funeral.

Cuando se despidió de ella escuché que le dijo: "te deseo lo suficiente". ¿A qué se refiere?

Comenzó a sonreír. Eso es un deseo que hemos transmitido de generación en generación. Mis padres solían decirlo. Ella hizo una pausa y miró hacia arriba como si tratara de recordarlo en detalle, luego sonrió aún más.

Cuando decimos "Te deseo lo suficiente", es que deseamos que la otra persona tenga una vida llena de SÓLO lo suficientemente bueno para vivir. Entonces, dirigiéndose hacia mí, ella compartió lo siguiente como si lo estuviera recitando de memoria:

"Te deseo que tengas suficiente sol para mantener tu espíritu brillante"
"Te deseo suficiente lluvia para que aprecies aún más el sol"
"Te deseo suficiente felicidad para que tu alma esté viva"
"Te deseo suficiente dolor para que las pequeñas alegrías de la vida parezcan más grandes"
"Te deseo que tengas suficientes ganancias que satisfagan tus necesidades"
"Te deseo suficientes pérdidas para que aprecies todo lo que posees"
"Te deseo suficientes bienvenidas para que logres soportar las despedidas"

Luego ella comenzó a llorar y se alejó

Labels: Español, Philosophy

posted by Rafa @ 7:07 AM 0 comments

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Willard Wigan - Doing the Impossible

I received a email forwarded by a friend about a dyslexic artist who was able to create the most amazing art pieces in microscopic scale, his name Willarg Wigan. So of course I thought it was one of this internet era urban legends, but I was proven wrong!!

He was born in Birmingham, England in 1957 and his work is ground-breaking - partly because of the astounding beauty of vision which challenges the belief system of the mind and partly because it demonstrates that if one person can create the impossible.

He works in total solitude at a quiet retreat in Jersey mainly at night when there is a greater sense of peace in the world and less static electricity to interfere with the immeasurable precision and tolerances required to create the pieces.

The smallest sculptures can only be measured in thousandths of an inch which is why they can sit, very delicately, on a human hair three thousandths of an inch thick. When working on this scale he slows his heartbeat and his breathing dramatically through meditation and attempts to harmonize his mind, body and soul with the Creator.

He then sculpts or paints at the centrepoint between heartbeats for total stillness of hand.

Have a look at some of the pictures attached or on his webpage and be amazed.

Barn Owl perched in the eye of a needle