Ecuador Joannan silmin - Ecuador in my eyes: May 2014

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Why do you sing - Maya Angelou

“I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

― Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou, the internationally celebrated poet and author, died at 86 on Wednesday, May 28.

In addition to her trove of writings about her heartbreaking childhood, her convictions on civil rights, and dozens of film, television and play scripts, Angelou often wrote about her faith as well.

"While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God's creation."

Maya Angelou

"And finally I said, "God loves me" [crying]. It still humbles me that this force that makes leaves and fleas and stars and rivers and you, loves me. Me, Maya Angelou. It's amazing. I can do anything. And do it well. Any good thing, I can do it. That's why I am who I am, yes, because God loves me and I'm amazed at it. I'm grateful for it."

Maya Angelou

“Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.”
― Maya Angelou, Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women

“Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.”
― Maya Angelou

Friday, May 30, 2014

I have nothing

Once there was a man who lived in a small town.

He had a small house, a beautiful and happy family and a good work that gave him enough for his needs.

One night a thief entered his house and wanted to rob him.

The man ran to downstairs to meet the thief.

He saw all his belongings that the thief had taken. There were many things that were necessary for him and his family.

How are you going to carry all this, he said to the thief, isn't this going to be very cumbersome for you?

The thief looked at him.

He had thought the man would threaten him or point him with a gun, or tell him that he had already called the police.

Wouldn't it be easier for you if I gave you all our valuables, the man asked, we don't have much.

But they are easier to carry than these.

Of course, it all depends on you.

And the thief looked with his mouth open how the man's wife brought the little money and jewelry that they had for him.

Is this enough, she asked, or would you like something else?

I know these aren't easy to carry and they must not be that easy to sell or very valuable either.

The thief hid the money and the jewelry to his pockets and with an expert eye chose the most valuable and easiest to sell items to take with him.

Then he was ready to leave.

At the front door he turned back and said, I have to ask.

Why are you doing this?

Who will let the thief go and give everything that is valuable in his house without a fight?

The man smiled.

I do not own anything, he said, what I once had was taken from me and now everything I own belongs to my Lord.

It is not mine to give but His and I would do very badly to try to keep it for myself.

This all I gave you with a humble heart, now it yours to do the same.

The thief laughed, and then he laughed again.

Are you so stupid, he answered, or so naive, to think that I will do something good with all this.

Just because you gave them to me?

That is between you and your Lord, the man told him, I did what my Lord asks me to do.

I obeyed Him because I love Him like He loves me.

I have forgiven you what you did against me, like I was forgiven.

What you do now on is on your conscience, not on mine.

But if you were to ask my opinion, I would say that couple of things and some money aren't worth losing your soul for.

The thief left more puzzled than before the man answered him.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

The Queen With The Frozen Heart 7

This is the seventh part of the story.

If you want to read the first part of the story go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 1

To read the second part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 2

To read the third part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 3.

To read the fourth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 4.

To read the fifth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 5.

To read the sixth part of the story, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 6.

The two weeks were torture to the prince. He travelled as fast as he could to his mother’s castle where he tried to say goodbye to his mother. But he was too old, too big, too grown-up, her mother didn’t even recognize him.

In her mind the time stood still, and so in the castle and around it, everything was in a standstill. Even the sun and the moon moved slower and seasons of the rains had changed to accommodate her magic.

But her enchantment only reached the area around the castle. And the prince had treaded the outlying forests and the distant mountains. He had reached the peaks that almost touched the sky and the rivers that were born in faraway lands.

For him, the time never stood still. It moved its steady course with the rains and dry seasons, just like it always had. And through the change of the rainy seasons to dry seasons and back, the prince had grown and become an adult himself. He was no longer the little boy that the queen remembered.

- Farewell, mother, the prince whispered and a single tear slid from his eye to his cheek and fell to the ground.

Where the tear fell grew a bush of chili pepper with tiny little peppers, the strongest ones. Without saying a word, the bear took a handful of the peppers and hid them in his chikra.

From a far, prince stood looking at her mother and said his goodbyes. It almost broke his heart but he was determined to go. He buried his hands to the bear’s fur, loyally it had followed him to the castle and loyally it stood next to him while he said his goodbyes.

- Are you sure you want to go, it asked him and looked him straight to the eyes; the queen will go mad from grief and loss if you will perish also. She cannot lose both of you, you know?

- I am sure, friend, prince answered; I cannot stay here and watch her destroy herself. And I cannot be the small boy he wants me to be.

Now the whole kingdom and its future depended on his journey and its success. The queen’s magic was changing everyone and little by little this corner of the world would be separated from everything else. And who could know what would happen then?

Prince could feel the land’s dissatisfaction and knew how dangerous that was. It would not let this go too far. And when that would happen, he knew that his mother’s life would be in danger.

Fast he ran, as fast as he could. Around the castle that was not fast. It was more like treading molasses, he fought against the wind and his feet could not find a good hold on the earth. He knew that in reality he was fighting against his mother’s will.

Finally he came to a standstill. He stood next to a calm little lake where his parents had used to bring him when he was little. Prince looked at his image in the lake and stood as still as he could. Little by little he could feel the grip of the queen around him, letting go. And he could his mother’s deep sadness that lingered around the lake.

He remembered the good moments that they had had at the lake, the laughter and the play. How his father had taught him to swim and her mother how to jump. How they had spent the days in the water to dry themselves in the sand later on, basking in the heat of the sun. He remember how they would have sat under the trees, eating maitos and drinking chicha, his mother herself had made and served them.

The queen wrapped herself in these memories and let go of her sadness. It was good, she told herself, everything was good. Her son had just gone to the lake to swim and play, like he always did. And she moved on, letting go, letting the prince free.

- Goodbye mother, the prince whispered again and jumped into action.

He ran and ran, his feet flying over the forest path. For him it had been only two days but when he finally passed the area surrounding her mother’s castle and the limits of her spell, he could see that the fortnight had almost passed. It would be a close call to reach the spot where he had agreed to meet with Iluku.

So the prince ran, without stopping to eat, or drink, without taking even a slightest nap. He carried a bit of food with leaves wrapped around to it, to keep it fresh and a little bottle of chicha that his mother had given to him while welcoming the stranger that she thought he was, to the castle. From this he took sips while he ran, and felt fortified by her love. The food he saved for later.