she is everything

Santander by night – 0 experience in busking

cloide — Fri, 10 May 2013 02:03:00 GMT

When travelling I never go by the rules, I love to talk to strangers, I take photos of everything and I sleep in the street if the hostels are too expensive.

There is no point in being afraid of what might go wrong because I’m confident and trust my instincts and usually bad people tend to avoid me. It’s the art of the energy, I can only attract good energy, because I’m good, so do I believe, anyway.

Well, when in Santander, with no money, I managed to spend 4 hours in a corner with several layers of clothes on top since I didn’t have a sleeping bag; this lasted until the city hall workers came to wash away the dirt from the streets. Then it was all humid, with wind and rain and I couldn’t stand it. If only hearing the birds singing was enough to warm me up… Then I went to a hall of a bank and I stayed there for a while.

…I only saw the police once, one guy invited me to his house, the street washer was kind not to put water over me, people were always nice when I questioned them…

…The hours started to get heavy on my backs, I had to sleep somehow, but didn’t know where to go.

I wanted to be a street performer and the streets were empty as well as my patience. Oh, some more washing cars passing by, making sure the streets were perfectly clean…I returned to the bus station, needed to walk to warm up a little. I just spend 2 minutes there and the security guard told me they are about to close, but he was really considerate and let me stay there until the reopening of the station, so I managed to sleep a bit more.

A good looking guy comes and starts the preparation of dozens of different croissants and other cakes that awake every living cell in my body. Staying in the street gave me silence, a really long day and a hole in the stomach. I started to understand the importance of routines as I saw the window getting filled with the croissants which he embellished with icing sugar. His work seemed hugely important since there was a lot of people coming in the station early in the morning whose appetites needed to be filled.

I was shaking with starvation, cold and anxiety…10 minutes left to the opening of the croissanterie and my stomach screaming like a baby.

I felt pretty happy though because I felt so alive, more alive than ever before. I just wished for the sun to raise, that would make me feel confident enough to face the street and the people in daylight for the first time in my life.

I ordered a chocolate croissant and a glass of milk, but it wasn’t so tasty as it looked and smelled, I was really disappointed. But the music was ok and kept me going. On a full stomach I never feel alone, but my body was still shaking with excitement for the new day to come.

I really didn’t know what to do alone in a big city, but my goal was to go to the library in the morning and work all afternoon. I didn’t know what to do in the street, I was afraid, but I knew it was just like a big playground to be explored – maybe not so big as a huge and dangerous city, but it was like having sex for the first time.

To be continued...

Donkey Paradise is here

cloide — Fri, 10 May 2013 01:10:00 GMT

When you get to live in paradise you find all the inspiration you need to enjoy yourself and others and build the best memories of your life.

Once upon a time there were wild donkeys in African and Asian landscapes. They ate whatever was available and nurtured a special taste for stinging plants.

The donkeys lived free until the day they allowed themselves to get caught up in wild man’s routines. They began to work in exchange for food and shelter but forgot to learn about how to live their own lives aside from work. They just focused on carrying and transporting all sorts of load from one place to the other.

Suddenly donkeys were removed from their natural environment and ended up living in wet and snowy mountains where eatable food was scarce, having the occasional moldy bread. Their feet would always be sore and their teeth would fall like autumn leaves. Even though they would be asked to work nonstop until exhaustion; after what they would be cooked, eaten and forgotten.

Almost all of them lost their adventurous spirit and started to apologize for pretty much everything. They stopped breathing naturally and were always nervous; this led them to twitch and curl up like old trees and to live short lives.

It’s not that donkeys don’t feel pain, they can’t show it on the outside; they are faithful even to the worse people, they cry when there is no one watching and they prefer to die alone than to ask for help.

But fortunately a lady came from Holland and managed to rescue some of the poor Asturian donkeys that were mistreated or that lived improperly. That extraordinary lady is called Marleen Verhoeff and she is out of the ordinary because she found the strength and suitable help to build Donkey Paradise.

Donkey Paradise is a sanctuary for both donkeys and donkey lovers where they are invited to forget about the past and live in the present.

In reality donkeys are like each one of us, they need exceptional care, attention and love; donkeys can’t be alone, they need a house to live in, they must have a special diet followed by routines and some daily exercise in order to be physically and mentally healthy.

If a donkey gets sick it needs special care, which means it can’t be treated like a cow, it must be treated like the donkey it is.

All donkeys living in Donkey Paradise had a hard life previous to the one they have now and that’s why they are treated with lots of love at all times. This doesn’t mean they are petted and spoiled with care, people just see them as they are and try to understand their individual needs day by day.

Usually the donkeys that seem really mean are the sweetest and smarter of all. How is that? Because they learned that in kicking and being nasty they were protecting themselves from both bad people and bad donkeys.

If you are patient, have good intentions and don’t get nervous around them it means you are a natural donkey person and that you can help in pretty much everything such as brushing, feeding, walking and nursing. Sometimes it’s nice just to watch them be on the hills, “donkeys being donkeys”.

The unusual thing about the donkeys living in Donkey Paradise is the noise they produce when they’re hungry, it can sound like a ship, a truck, a tea kettle or even a dinosaur and all you get to do is act naturally and smile, because they always know what they are doing.

Garabullos - The farm of the future

cloide — Wed, 8 May 2013 20:09:00 GMT

Welcome to Garabullos the place where the talking animals live and whom you can talk to (if you know how to listen), a place in which the trees hide stories that you’ll uncover (if you’re curious enough).

This is a world that spins at the speed of your breath where time walks by your side having no place to hide. A world with no hassle where there’s always something growing along with you, which presents unexpected problems that must be solved right away.

It’s a farm inhabited mostly by ladies of all colors and sizes with feathers or hair that follow you everywhere (if they like you). They know far more about you than you about them, they perceive if you are sad and what you had for breakfast even though they’re not familiar with you at all. In a few days they tell you their secrets and invite you to be part of their games.

The animals are never late although having no clock; they discover the most appetizing grass without going to school and prank you every time you’re distracted. More importantly they don’t whine whenever it’s raining or it’s too hot, they adapt and teach you how to do it as well.

Here you don’t get mad with the animals and they never get mad at you; they help you realize how much love you have in your heart and show where to put it to avoid being sick. They tickle and warm your hands in exchange of a few pats and kisses.

There is a basic routine but nothing works the same way every day, here you are the writer of your own instruction manual using what your guts tell you and what comes into your eyes.

The trees are colorful mountains that set balls on every windy day; releasing the birds and the leaves they house whenever they twirl. The clouds rush by but whenever they outstay your skin cools down making you wish for the sun to come back and fill the animals with color and joy.

The house is a stone dinosaur expelling smoke from its nostrils in cold days and crying on the inside once it’s hotter on the outside, flooding with fog every field around.

On full moon nights you can see the stars and look for blue birds with golden beaks saved by pixie Pit.

Garabullos a quinta do futuro

cloide — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 23:01:00 GMT

Bem-vindo a Garabullos onde moram os animais com os quais podes falar, se souberes ouvir, e as árvores que ocultam histórias, que descubrirás se fores curioso.

Este é um mundo em que a velocidade é a da tua respiração e o tempo caminha ao teu lado sem ter para onde fugir. Um mundo onde não existe aborrecimento porque há sempre algo a crescer, como tu, onde o inesperado te presenteia com problemas que tens de resolver no próprio momento.

É uma quinta habitada maioritariamente por meninas de todas as cores e tamanhos, com pêlos ou penas que te seguem para todo o lado, se gostarem de ti. Isto, porque sabem mais sobre ti do que tu sobre elas; percebem se estás triste e até o que comeste ao pequeno-almoço, mesmo que não te conheçam de lado nenhum. Em poucos dias contam-te os seus segredos e deixam-te entrar nas suas brincadeiras.

Os animais nunca se atrasam, mesmo sem relógio, encontram a erva mais apetitosa sem ir à escola e pregam-te partidas quando estás distraído. O mais importante é que não se queixam quando chove ou faz muito calor, adaptam-se e ensinam-te como fazer o mesmo.

Aqui nunca te zangas com os animais e eles não se zangam contigo, tornam-te consciente de que tens amor no coração e mostram-te onde guardá-lo para não ficares doente. Fazem-te cócegas e aquecem-te as mãos em troca de algumas festinhas e beijinhos.

Existe uma rotina base, mas nada funciona da mesma maneira todos os dias, aqui és tu quem escreve o manual de procedimentos com o que te entra pelos olhos e o que te dita o instinto.

As árvores são montanhas de cores que fazem bailes em dias de vento, soltando as folhas e os pássaros que as habitam, sempre que rodopiam. As nuvens passam cheias de pressa, mas se demoram arrefecem-te a pele, deixando-te saudoso do sol que faz vibrar os animais de alegria e de cor.

A casa é um dinossauro de pedra que chora por dentro nos dias em que faz mais calor do lado de fora e que deita fumo pelas narinas nos dias de frio, enchendo de neblina os campos em redor.

Nas noites de lua cheia observam-se as estrelas e procuram-se pássaros azuis de bico dourado guardados pelo duende Pit .

Photos: Helpxing

cloide — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:20:00 GMT

Sharing Stories - A Glimpse into Another's Life - She is everything

cloide — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:03:06 GMT

When Carlos asked her what she wanted in this life she answered EVERYTHING!!! He told her that she was crazy she couldn’t have everything and would have to make a choice.
He was filling the room with the sound of her guitar and his voice, while she was singing in the background just to herself – as always. It was late and she went home, she took a deep breath and just crawled into bed.
The next day she was allowed to wake up late since she was working the lunch shift in the cafe. Lately she was oversleeping not to realize that her life was meaningless and that she was alone in the big old fancy house in the heart of Tomar.
She used her favorite trick to wake up, an orange followed by a long boiling shower with lots of body scrub, a self-massage and hair conditioner. This would make her feel whole, relaxed and clean all in one.
Without any warning not only tears were streaming down her face but she started to sing as loudly as she could. The song was Andorinha da Primavera by Madredeus, her new favorite portuguese band.
«My choice…my choice is to do EVERYTHING!!!»
She dressed herself and went to work like it was nothing. Once Paló came in and told her it was so sunny that he was about to miss the rain, she began to cry and never stopped until the sun came down that day.
«EVERYTHING, PLEASE!!!»
One month later she disappeared; she started to traveling and working as a volunteer In Europe. Little by little she found everything she was looking for with only a bagpack and a smile in her face.
She would stay one month or two living with complete strangers and becoming a part of their lives. She would help them in little tasks specially to maintain their daily routines and to keep their minds out of the earthly problems. Whenever she felt she wasn’t needed she would move on to the next place.
Living like this was giving her life experience, friends and time.
But one day she realized that those people were helping her more than she would help them. And that was the dey when she decided to stay.
She wrote postcards to the family telling them that life was good once one finds everything – HIMSELF/HERSELF.
« I am a butterfly, I am an artist, I am everything… »
She was happy, in love and completely free in one place.