Making BIG differences... I do believe!

It is funny, I just made a posting today and few minutes later I got an e-mail...

The e-mail was from Gabiza, current President of AIESEC International and my successor in that position.

The e-mail brought good news...
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The previous story ended by saying:

We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can, like that young man, become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our vision the power to shape the future.

And that is your challenge. And that is my challenge. We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, I have no question that the 21st century is going to be a wonderful place.
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In AIESEC we make BIG differences.

We offer young people to live transformational experiences nested in a global learning environment.

The most powerful of those experiences in terms of personal awareness and discovery is an international exchange.

Today AIESEC has reached 4000 exchanges realized worldwide in ten months and still two more months to go this year.


























The goal?
5100 by the end of December 2007.

While in AIESEC we have our starfish, to deliver as many of those transformational experiences as possible. Young people around the world, dancing the dance of change, of believing in a better world. Many of them never go abroad, but make it possible for others. Each contribution of each member counts.

It really counts!

I do believe tons of young people around the world are courageous enough to adventure themselves abroad and discover life.

I do believe AIESEC's starfish makes a difference.

I do believe in a generation of visionaries that set a vision back in 2005 at the AIESEC's International Congress in India.

I do believe in a generation of pioneers that explored the uncertain territory and mapped it out for a next generation to transit and achieve.


I do believe in the current generation of ACHIEVERS, the ones who will hit the target of 5100 life-changing international exchanges as part of the most amazing platform to discover and develop their own potential.

I do believe!

Thanks AIESEC...

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SMALL differences | big DIFFERENCES

This is a story that I had the chance to watch in a video of Joel Barker back in the 90's at my university.

For some reason it came to my mind recently and I decided to look for it again.

Here you have it....
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There's a story I would like to share with you. It was inspired by the writing of Loren Eiseley. Eiseley was a very special person because he combined the best of two cultures. He was a scientist and a poet. And from those two perspectives he wrote insightfully and beautifully about the world and our role in it.

Once upon a time, there was a wise man, much like Eiseley himself, who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer, he called out,

"Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied

"Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves.

"It made a difference for that one!"

His response surprised the man. He was upset. He didn't know how to reply. So instead, he turned away and walked back to the cottage to begin his writings.

All day long as he wrote, the image of the young man haunted him. He tried to ignore it, but the vision persisted. Finally, late in the afternoon he realized that he the scientist, he the poet, had missed out on the essential nature of the young man's actions. Because he realized that what the young man was doing was choosing not to be an observer in the universe and make a difference. He was embarrassed.

That night he went to bed troubled. When the morning came he awoke knowing that he had to do something. So he got up, put on his clothes, went to the beach and found the young man. And with him he spent the rest of the morning throwing starfish into the ocean. You see, what that young man's actions represent is something that is special in each and everyone of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can, like that young man, become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our vision the power to shape the future.

And that is your challenge. And that is my challenge. We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, I have no question that the 21st century is going to be a wonderful place.

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Do we dare to look ridiculous and make a difference?

I wonder...

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Reasons for BEING

Today, as every day lately, I have been reading.

I found something that I would love to share with you, it is called "Reasons for Being".

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Beyond obvious goals, such as making a living or taking care of loved ones, each of us has one or more essential reasons for being.

Here are some common reasons: to love, to learn, to serve others, to heal, to create, to enjoy life.
Knowing your reasons for being makes the act of being a more graceful and joyous experience.

The Practice:

Find a quiet moment.

Ask yourself: What are my reasons for being?

When an idea comes up, say it out loud and see if rings true.

Notice what happens in your heart, your gut, and throughout your body in the wake of this statement.

It might take a few tries before you strike gold.

You know you've found a true reason for being when your body says: "Yes!".

Your own personal yes might come as a knowing, a sense of peace, or a surge of uplifting energy.

For the next week, repeat your reason for being each morning before you get out of bed.

Imagine it permeating every cell in your body.

Then, throughout the day, notice whether you live more "on purpose".

I will be practicing it, maybe we can share our experiences.

Love,

Dey

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Closer to Myself

This is something I wrote during my short visit to Venezuela, in an amazing place called Choroni... I rediscovered this today while cleaning up my room and decided to share it...

I do believe in signs, this is a sign.

Choroni is a popular beach located in Puerto Colombia, Venezuela. It is about one hour and a half from the city of Maracay, on the seaside of the Henri Pittier National Park. It is definitely one of my favorite places in Venezuela, many important things in my life have happened there...

Hope you all will be able to visit it one day.

Here is what I wrote:

Another big circle in my life has been closed.

It is time to put myself together again,
the angel and the demon,
all the parts that make me complete,
my lights and my shadows,
all the parts that I have been leaving behind.

I need to start all over again,
from a superior level,
from a more elevated way of taking a look at things,
from a more elevated way of living life.

Green paths are in front of me,
blue sea waters call me to explore the world more and more.

I surrender to the tenderness of life.

I trust my destiny,
I have decided to listen to the words of my heart,
I have decided to listen to the wisdom of my intuition,
I have decided to feel the touch of happiness on my skin.

I have always made it on my own.
Now I cannot fight the feeling,
now I cannot resist falling in love.

The mystery of the next destinations keeps me awake.
The beauty of the route keeps me alive.

I have discovered that I exist in multiple levels.
I cannot lie to myself that it has been always like this.

I am in love with life,
that is making me closer to myself.

Enjoy some pics of Choroni...









You can find more info in English about Choroni at www.venezuelatuya.com
You can find more info in Spanish about Choroni at www.choroni.org
In Spanish, English and German at www.choroni.net

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About life and death...

Today is a strange day...

During my two years in Macedonia I experienced a new manifestation of life. I rediscover meaning and purpose. I made life-long friends. Those two years are embedded in who I am like a tattoo.

Tose Proeski is one of the most famous and amazing singers of Macedonia. Today he died. I have spent the whole day listening to his songs and reconnecting with my experiences there. In a way he was part of each one of those experiences. His music, his songs - even if I still cannot understand many of the lyrics - marked moments; his music gave completeness to the movie of my time there.

Today he is not here anymore, but his music is.

One of my best friends in Macedonia wrote me a mail, he knew how important Tose was for me... Another friend invited me to a facebook group created to honor Tose's achievements... Thanks all of you.

I feel I need to share with you his work. This is my simple and small tribute to the artist he was and at the same time this is the way to show him my gratitude for putting music into the film of my life while living in that amazing spot of the world.

Here you have one of his performances, simple extraordinary...



Why is this posting about life and death?

Life was the song that he sang when he participated in Eurovision 2004, I still remember we were at an AIESEC Conference and we made the whole set up for the delegates to see the contest. Here you have the lyrics and the video...

I saw my ID it wasn't me
It was someone else's identity
Why do I need to prove my self
And who is the judge of my sanity.

Roaming through my old emotions
I find new feelings of misery
I bet with my soul to get back to truth
Where I would face reality.

Chorus:
Life is a book and you gotta read it
Life is a story and you gotta tell it
Life is a song and you gotta sing it
You've got to know how to live it!

Walking around with some thoughts on my mind
I search for a place where I'll be free
From all that I said and all that that's been done
It will be hard to find it inside of me.

Chorus:
Life is a book and you gotta read it
Life is a story and you gotta tell it
Life is a song and you gotta sing it
You've got to know how to live it

I know that I've gotta try
No one can see me cry
I can't take it anymore
I must find a way to let my self go.

(Life is a, life is, life is...)
Oh, it's true, you know it don't you

Chorus:
Life is a book and you gotta read it
Life is a story and you gotta tell it
Life is a song and you gotta sing it
You've got to know how to live it



It is about death because he is not anymore with us, even if his music will allow him to live in my memories, throughout my life...

It is about life because after my term and President of AIESEC International I have been struggling to put myself together; to collect all the parts of me that are not the AIESECer and discover what is next for me in life...

Then I decided to move to Barcelona, I decided not to accept any job offer that was made to me, I decided to take some time off and evaluate who I am, what I have become. In this order of ideas I arrived to Barcelona with one suitcase and a lot of hope.

Finding the job I wanted was not an easy thing to do. In the meanwhile, my savings were decreasing and my need to find something to do started to grow. The search intensified and I started to get some calls; however, nothing seemed to trigger my sense of purpose. If I had wait so long, why shouldn't I wait a little bit more?

Out of nothing, just by casualty and without looking for it, the perfect option just appeared in front of my eyes. Life is wise and takes you to strange roads when you dip on her and just let yourself go; trusting her, like a living being...

Life is taking me to work in Lisbon, I will start my job there by middle November. Life is taking me to my roots, to the land of my father, where I come from in a way.

The job is on Social Tourism, I will be Project Manager of a global start up that arises as a promising evolution of what tourism can be. I cannot wait any longer to start putting myself into the concept and my get my hands dirty.

For the ones that know me, you should remember my long-term vision and my soul spa. This is definitely the high way that will take me there. It is definitely good to know what you really want and focus on that dream so strongly that nothing else matters. In the meanwhile I will be working as well in my concept of Gay People Great People, but more as a parallel personal project. Two things that come together in one of the most beautiful and undiscovered places on earth, Portugal.

So I will be living in Lisbon, this is life to me in the near future... Lisbon is the place where I will go back to truth and face reality as Tose said.

Lisbon is known as the white city, thanks to its unique luminosity. The light, the atmosphere and the climate offer marvelous walks all over the city. It has a beauty that extends beyond the monuments, that can be experienced in the streets, that is embraced with all the senses.

Tourism Association of Lisbon

Life is playing with me one more time and I am happy about it.
I know life is wise and I trust her.

One more circle has been closed, the circle of uncertainty.

I know what the near future holds for me and here I go, with a tear in my face and a smile in my soul.

For Tose's music and for my new life in Lisbon.

Enjoy some pics of Lisbon...







Find more about Tose at www.toseproeski.info
Find more about Lisbon at www.visitlisboa.com

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Dey Simpson

Well, I can say life in Barcelona is like in Springfield, full of surprises... And this is how I am supposed to look like if I will show up in a Simpson's episode.

I feel like Homer, doing nothing while waiting or the perfect opportunity to show up by itself, sitting in front of the TV eating pop corn... Ha! Not true...

The search for a meaningful job opportunity after AI is hard. I have been evaluating some offers, but nothing really seems to give me a sense of purpose, the one that I need when I engage into a work relationship with an organization.

There are couple of projects in front of me that are starting to take a very interesting shape. Next week I will be traveling to Portugal to have some meetings there for a cool project in tourism and with a global view, promoted and managed by AIESEC alumni. Maybe this is the beginning of the route to my soul spa, life always wise takes me through uncertain paths but always gives me a big reward usually in the shape of the journey that I am about to start... Let´s see what it comes out of these meetings.

In the meanwhile, I have been doing some very serious research on interesting quotes... I found these ones as my ironic favorites, of course, from the most famous family around the planet...

Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably.
The lesson is, never try.
Homer Simpson

It seems Homer is telling me my efforts worth nothing... Anyway I´ll keep on the way. It made me laugh so much because one of my favorite quotes is from Yoda when he says "Do or do not, there is no try".

I'll keep it short and sweet - Family. Religion. Friendship.
These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.
Mr. Burns

Well, here it goes one more that reflects as well a little bit of what I am passing through right now... This is definitely not the kind of guy for whom I wish to work or the kind of values that are host silently in the organization that I will be working for.

So, for the moment I have been discovering myself without the pressure of work and without the pressure of AIESEC.

Life seems to have a lot of time to give me now, but the process is almost complete and I need to move on again to the next challenge.

One thing is for sure, rest is needed, make sure you always take your time to rest, to do nothing, to see yourself and contemplate life around you, and to discover how content you feel with the person you have become.

And finally, these last one was just fun...

Homer: Lisa, would you like a donut?

Lisa: No thanks. Do you have any fruit?

Homer: This has purple in it. Purple is a fruit.

Find more Simpson's quotes at www.thesimpsonsquotes.com

You can create your own Simpson avatar at www.simpsonsmovie.com

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Magic Nights

I didn't find a better way to start my new virtual-life in green that by sharing this video taken in a conference in Russia...

My decision of moving to Barcelona came completely out of my intuition, of my desire to follow my heart and my inner voice.

I know there are lots of Magic Nights coming in...

I wish you lots of Magic Nights as well...

Cheers and enjoy,

Dey

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