COINCIDENCES ARE WHAT ALLOW GOD TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS Albert Einstein

  My life was never immune to coincidences, although I did not call them God, but Tutelary Angel. The year was 1973, the year Chilean President Salvador Allende was ousted by a military coup organized by Richard Nixon and Chilean General Augusto Pinochet. But this writing has nothing to do with South American politics but with one of the most significant coincidences that took place in my life. The day was warm because the Buenos Aires winter was already over; a gentle breeze was blowing and the sun was warming the city battered sidewalk tiles. I had gone with my boyfriend to a garage located on Calle Paraguay; he had to pick up his car to go to the Ezeiza airport. Paradoxically, the fact that my boyfriend was going to Europe made me happy because our relationship was at its end, and I was eager to explore new horizons. After leaving the garage I began to walk down Paraguay toward Avenida Alem to return to work. I hadn't even walked ten steps when suddenly a horn began to blare repeatedly behind me. When I turned around, among the endless line of vehicles I saw a red car whose driver was waving at me. The driver was a journalist who worked in the same company where I was a translator; although I had already decided to meet him in some way, I had not yet found the opportunity. But that day, with my boyfriend about to leave the garage behind me, I decided not to miss the opportunity to get into that red car. To make a long story short, suffice it to say that on that day, on busy Paraguay Street, what would become my thirty-year marriage was born. The fact that said cycle has come to an end does not matter; when life cycles close it’s because other cycles will open. Actually, we are not the ones who decide what cycles to close; the Tutelary Angel shows us the way.

LAS COINCIDENCIAS SON LAS QUE PERMITEN A DIOS PERMANECER ANÓNIMO Albert Einstein

 Mi vida nunca fue ajena a las coincidencias, aunque yo no las llamaba Dios, sino Ángel Tutelar. Corría el año 1973, año en que el presidente chileno Salvador Allende fuera destituido por un golpe militar organizado por Richard Nixon y el general chileno Augusto Pinochet. Pero este escrito no tiene que ver con la política sudamericana, sino con una de las coincidencias más significativas que tuvieron lugar en mi vida. El día era cálido porque el invierno bonaerense ya se había acabado; soplaba una brisa suave y el sol calentaba las aceras siempre maltrechas de la ciudad. Yo había acompañado a mi novio a un garaje ubicado en la calle Paraguay a buscar su automóvil para dirigirse al aeropuerto de Ezeiza. Paradójicamente, el que mi novio se fuera a Europa me alegraba porque nuestra relación estaba en sus finales, y yo estaba deseosa de explorar nuevos horizontes. Al salir del garaje empecé a caminar por Paraguay en dirección a la Avenida Alem para volver al trabajo. No habría dado ni diez pasos cuando de pronto una bocina empezó a resonar repetidamente detrás de mí. Al dar vuelta la cabeza, vi entre la fila interminable de coches un automóvil color rojo cuyo chofer me hacía señas con la mano. Se trataba de un periodista que trabajaba en la misma empresa donde yo era traductora; interiormente yo ya había decidido conocerlo de alguna manera, aunque aún no había encontrado la oportunidad. Pero ese día, con mi novio a punto de salir del garaje detrás de mí, decidí no perder la ocasión de subirme a ese coche rojo. Para no alargar la historia más de lo necesario, alcanza con decir que ese día en la transitada calle Paraguay nació lo que durante treinta años fue mi matrimonio. El hecho de que esa historia también haya llegado a su fin no importa; los ciclos de la vida se cierran para que otros ciclos se abran. En realidad, no somos nosotros los que decidimos cuales ciclos cerrar; el Ángel Tutelar nos muestra el camino.

AQUELLOS QUE HE AMADO

 

A veces cuando miro el día que acaba,

la luz que lentamente se apaga

las horas que despacio se alejan

pienso en los años idos que reflejan

lo que he vivido, lo que he sufrido,

pero, más que nada, lo mucho que he amado.

Recuerdo los rostros que me quisieron,

las manos que con amor me acariciaron,

los momentos de dolor cuando que se fueron,

pero mucho más recuerdo los instantes

en que con ellos comprendí que los que amamos

para siempre en nuestra alma los demoramos.

Hoy, cuando miles de días han transcurrido

aún mantengo sus nombres en la memoria,

aún pienso en ellos antes de dormirme,

y sé que cuando mi vida se termine

irán conmigo adonde me lleve el viento,

o lo más profundo de mi pensamiento.

LIFE IS DIVIDED IN TWO PARTS; THE SECOND IS THE MOST IMPORTANT

 Reading Falling Upward; A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr a second time was like reading it for the first time; a new teaching is always hidden between its pages. My new learning has to do with the importance of understanding that, when crossing the river towards the second half of our life, it is necessary to discard the values ​​of the first half. The second part of our existence is very much like a temple in which stillness and silence help us transform into who we really are. What do I mean? Are we not already who we really are? Some enlightened beings probably are; in other words, they may never need to hide themselves behind the false image of youth, that stage of life when we strive to appear what we are not because we desperately need others to admire us. Unfortunately,

most of us will live the first half of life threatened by what others think of us, and inevitably comparing ourselves and envying them; in other words, becoming a living proof of Adler’s inferiority complex. Not becoming codependent of others and building our self-esteem is a major task; that is why aging is far from being a stage of idleness. On the contrary, the mission of acknowledging our past mistakes and apologizing, of requesting that those who offended us respect us, and of closing those relationships that are not for us will occupy most of our time. However, it is essential that the task be done perfectly; otherwise, we will never leave behind that first stage of life when the only thing that mattered was feeling superior.

 

 

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO SEARCH ITS MEANING

 I just read with delight and for the third time Victor E. Frankl's book, The Unheard Cry for Meaning (Psychotherapy and Humanism). Frankl states that, besides love and work, life never ceases to have meaning. According to Freud, love and work are the pillars of our humanity; however, according to Frankl, our main purpose is to search for the meaning of life even without an occupation or a lover to show us the way. The real task is to discover the meaning of existence in situations that only emanate despair. Even on the stormy nights of our life, if we look hard enough, we will discover the meaning of our suffering. Frankl’s thesis is something that, after professional successes and failures, deep and hopeless loves, I had also inferred. The true meaning of life has to do with suffering because suffering is the window to true knowledge. In other words, if we are able to live our days of pain with courage and the will to overcome them, we will be transforming our soul into a virtuous soul. In other words, our true life purpose should be the transformation of our soul into an impeccable soul. Still, what is an impeccable soul? An impeccable soul inhabits a being that is always ready to assist those in need, no matter if friend or foe; it’s a soul that shares what life gave him/her with those who have less; he/she never lies because he/she knows that lying prevents others from making a correct choice; he/she takes charge of the tasks delegated by life and does so responsibly; but more than that, he/she is grateful for everything he/she has received and that others lack. In other words, it is a soul cleansed of envy and resentment, the need for revenge and the desire for material goods in excess. Transforming ourselves into impeccable souls, in addition to the peace it provides us, has another unique benefit: knowing that when we travel the right path, everything falls into place.

5Maria S. Viale, Donna Katz Maples and 3 others

DANIEL, MI COMPAŇERO DE COLEGIO

El otro día se me ocurrió mirar una fotografía de la época de cuando iba al colegio; sería cuando tenía unos catorce años. Este era un colegio mixto en el que, a pesar de estar ubicado en Buenos Aires, en vez de aprender castellano, aprendíamos francés. Tal había sido la decisión de mis padres, y allí fui sin protestar. Resultó que, además de aprender francés como una francesa, me hice los mejores amigos que tuve en la vida. Esos fueron años mágicos que todavía conservo en la memoria como un tesoro al que recurro en mis horas de soledad. Aquellas horas transcurridas con mis compañeros de aula

me acompañarán hasta el último día. Pero a lo que me quería referir era que, a través de Facebook, me volví a conectar con uno de ellos; se llama Daniel. Si bien de joven era un poco distante, era sin duda uno de los mejores alumnos de la clase. Cuando le mandé un mensaje para preguntarle si él era el Daniel que yo buscaba, y me contestó que sí, sentí que había vuelto a recuperar un pedazo de mi pasado. A los pocos días de habernos contactado decidimos enviarnos un breve resumen de nuestras vidas en los últimos cincuenta años; y al leer el suyo volví a encontrarme una vez más en aquella construcción antigua de la calle 3 de Febrero, donde transcurrió la mayor parte de mi infancia y adolescencia. Me dije entonces que amigos como los que compartieron con nosotros infinidad de horas en el silencio de un aula no volveremos a tener. Tendremos otros amigos, diferentes, más maduros, pero que no sentirán por nosotros ese afecto de hermanos que recibíamos en el aula del colegio. Y así es la vida: cuando la infancia termina, lo que empieza es una jornada profundamente diferente. 

 

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO SEARCH ITS MEANING

 I just read with delight and for the third time Victor E. Frankl's book, The Unheard Cry for Meaning (Psychotherapy and Humanism). Frankl states that, besides love and work, life never ceases to have meaning. According to Freud, love and work are the pillars of our humanity; however, according to Frankl, our main purpose is to search for the meaning of life even without an occupation or a lover to show us the way. The real task is to discover the meaning of existence in situations that only emanate despair. Even on the stormy nights of our life, if we look hard enough, we will discover the meaning of our suffering. Frankl’s thesis is something that, after professional successes and failures, deep and hopeless loves, I had also inferred. The true meaning of life has to do with suffering because suffering is the window to true knowledge. In other words, if we are able to live our days of pain with courage and the will to overcome them, we will be transforming our soul into a virtuous soul. In other words, our true life purpose should be the transformation of our soul into an impeccable soul. Still, what is an impeccable soul? An impeccable soul inhabits a being that is always ready to assist those in need, no matter if friend or foe; it’s a soul that shares what life gave him/her with those who have less; he/she never lies because he/she knows that lying prevents others from making a correct choice; he/she takes charge of the tasks delegated by life and does so responsibly; but more than that, he/she is grateful for everything he/she has received and that others lack. In other words, it is a soul cleansed of envy, resentment, the need for revenge, and the desire for material goods in excess. Transforming ourselves into impeccable souls, in addition to the peace it provides us, has another unique benefit: knowing that when we travel the right path, everything falls into place.