Free market & global issues

My experience has shown that the free market - powerful and useful as it is - could treat problems such as global poverty and environmental degradation if only it weren't too concerned in accomplishing the financial goals of its richest shareholders.

Extracted from the book Creating a world without poverty, by Mohammad Yunus

Soul, you worry too much

by Rumi

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

You say,
I make you feel dizzy.
Of a little headache then,
why do you worry?

You say, I am your moon-faced beauty.
Of the cycles of the moon and
passing of the years,
why do you worry?

You say, I am your source of passion,
I excite you.
Of playing into the Devils hand,
why do you worry?

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

Look at yourself,
what you have become.
You are now a field of sugar canes,
why show that sour face to me?

You say that I keep you warm inside.
Then why this cold sigh?
You have gone to the roof of heavens.
Of this world of dust, why do you worry?

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

Your arms are heavy
with treasures of all kinds.
About poverty,
why do you worry?

You are Joseph,
beautiful, strong,
steadfast in your belief,
all of Egypt has become drunk
because of you.

Of those who are blind to your beauty,
and deaf to your songs,
why do you worry?

Oh soul,
you worry too much.

You have seen your own strength.
You have seen your own beauty.
You have seen your golden wings.
Of anything less,
why do you worry?

You are in truth
the soul, of the soul, of the soul.
You are the security,
the shelter of the spirit of Lovers.
Oh the sultan of sultans,
of any other king,
why do you worry?

Be silent, like a fish,
and go into that pleasant sea.
You are in deep waters now,
of life's blazing fire.
Why do you worry?

Jalal ud-Din Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic jurist, theologian, and mystic.
More: http://www.rumi.net/


And for the Portuguese speakers, check out Letícia Sabatella's reading of the poem "A hora da união".

Comforting poems

In this sensitive emotional moment, I've been finding a lot of comfort in Mario Quintana's poems.
Free translations below the original quotes



A arte de viver é simplesmente a arte de conviver... simplesmente, disse eu? Mas como é difícil!

The art of living is simply the art of co-living... simply, did I say? But how difficult it is!



BILHETE
Se tu me amas, ama-me baixinho
Não o grites de cima dos telhados
Deixa em paz os passarinhos
Deixa em paz a mim!
Se me queres,
enfim,
tem de ser bem devagarinho, Amada,
que a vida é breve, e o amor mais breve ainda...

NOTE
If you love me, love me quietly
Don't scream from the top of the roofs
Leave the birds alone
Leave me alone!
If you want me,
in the end,
it needs to be slowly, my lover,
'cause life is brief, and love is even briefer...



A amizade é um amor que nunca morre.

Friendship is the love that never dies.

Statutes of Man

Thiago de Mello

Be it decreed
that now what counts is the truth.
that now what counts is life
and that hand in hand
we will all work for what life really is.

Be it decreed that all the days of the week,
including the grayest Tuesdays,
have the right to be converted into Sunday mornings.

Be it decreed that, from this instant on,
there will be sunflowers in all the windows,
and that the sunflowers will have the right
to open in the shade;
and that the windows must stay open the entire day,
open to the green where hope grows.

Be it decreed that man
will never again
doubt another man.
That man will trust man
like the palm tree trusts the wind,
like the wind trusts the air,
like the air trusts the blue field of the sky.
Man will trust man
like a child trusts another child.

Be it established during ten centuries
the practice dreamed of by the prophet Isaias:
that the wolf and the lamb will pasture together,
and the food of both will have the same taste as long ago.

By irrevocable decree be it established
the permanent kingdom of justice,
and clarity,
and joy
will be the generous flag
forever unfurled in the soul of the people.

Be it decreed that the greatest pain
always was and always will be
not to be able to give yourself in love to the one you love
and to know that it is the water
that gives to the plant the miracle of the flower.

Be it permitted that the bread of each day
have in it from man the sign of his sweat.
But above all that it always have
the warm flavor of tenderness.

Be it permitted
that any person
at any time in life
be allowed to wear
party clothes.

Be it decreed, by definition,
that man is an animal that loves
and for this reason is beautiful,
much more beautiful than the morning star.

Be it decreed that nothing
will be ordered or forbidden,
everything will be permitted,
including playing with a rhinoceros
and walking in the afternoon
with an immense begonia in the lapel.
Only one thing is forbidden:
to love without loving.

Be it decreed that money
never more will be able to buy
the sun of future mornings.
Driven out of the big trunk of fear
money will be transformed into a fraternal sword,
in order to defend the right to sing
and the celebration of the day that has arrived.

Be it prohibited:
the use of the word liberty,
which will be abolished
from the dictionary and
from the deceptive mires
of the mouth.
From this instant on
liberty will be something
alive and transparent
like a fire or a river
or like a grain of wheat,
and its home will be forever
in the heart of man.

Written by the Brazilian poet Thiago de Mello in Santiago (Chile) in 1964, as areaction to the military junta which had seized power in Brazil that same year, issuing a series of repressive extra-constitutional decrees.

Design problem

"All the ants on the planet, taken together, have a biomass greater than that of humans. Ants have been incredibly industrious for millions of years. Yet their productiveness nourishes plants, animals, and soil. Human industry has been in full swing for little over a century, yet it has brought about a decline in almost every ecosystem on the planet. Nature doesn't have a design problem. People do."

Extracted from Cradle to Cradle: remaking the way we make things, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart

Brazilian Attractions

In the exact week Brazil is celebrating the Standard & Poor's raise of debt rating to investment grade, which can potentially open the floodgate for foreign investors - particularly big endowments, pension funds, and insurance companies that are restricted from buying risky debts - I came across an article talking about another of the Brazilian attractions: the Brazilians.

Two hundred years ago, José Bonifácio in his "Living Thinking" expressed the following about the citizens from my country:

"Brazilians are enthusiastic about beautiful ideals
They love freedom and suffer very little whenever they lose privileges they once had
Obedient to those who are fair, the enemies of arbitrary actions, they would rather be robbed than despised
Ignorant due to a lack of instruction, but talented by nature
With a brilliant imagination, they are therefore the lovers of novelties that promise perfection and nobility
Generous, but braggers
Capable of great actions, as long as they do no require a long attention span or constant monotonous work
Passionate about sex, climate, life and education
They take on a lot, but finish little..."

Recently, a research carried out for the National Tourism Company (Embratur) confirmed the uniqueness and attractiveness of our people. When foreign tourists come to Brazil for the first time, their main motivations are the beaches (31%), the climate (20%) and the scenic beauty (16%). When they leave, asked about what they liked best, some of the most common answers are the tropical climate (19%), the scenic beauty (22%) and the beaches, sun & sea (28%). However, the absolute leader wasn't showing in the expectations' list: 52% of the interviewed will miss the Brazilian people the most.

Wanna come along?

Confrontation

Last night, I went to sleep as a child
Only to wake up this morning and find I was a man
In my hands I discovered the tools and the wage of my father
Into my heart I found the love and the fears of my mother
Into my seed I discovered the promise of the future
The soil to be nurtured, the wounds to be sutured and the essence of my nature
I awakened and a kokoon was resting gently on my leaves
And bounced insects from my limbs sending a flattering bye
My tender kiss, my butterfly
She appears hopeless in the fire and wind
But always manages to land sweetly in her destination
Confrontation

Extracted from 1 Giant Leap, a complete artistic statement by two English musicians who traveled the world. The project offers music, digital video, images, rhythms and spoken word content about time, god, inspiration, money, confrontation and other themes. I certainly recommend it!

Blessed Unrest

After seeing a super cool video on the internet (embedded in the end of this post), I decided to read a book called Blessed Unrest, by Paul Hawken. The book talks about the huge decentralised, democratic, global movement going on at the moment, led by more than 1 million organisations fighting for social justice and the environment, and what it represents in the context we're living in.

Below you can read the passage which inspired the title of the book. Enjoy it!

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. [...] There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than others."

Martha Graham to Agnes DeMille at Dance to the Piper

Tudo vale a pena... se a alma não é pequena

Ó mar salgado, quanto do teu sal
São lágrimas de Portugal!
Por te cruzarmos, quantas mães choraram,
Quantos filhos em vão rezaram!
Quantas noivas ficaram por casar
Para que fosses nosso, ó mar!

Valeu a pena? Tudo vale a pena
Se a alma não é pequena.
Quem quer passar além do Bojador
Tem que passar além da dor.
Deus ao mar o perigo e o abismo deu,
Mas nele é que espelhou o céu.

Fernando Pessoa

Cantinho Escondido (Hidden Corner)

Composed and beautifully sung by Marisa Monte

Dentro de cada pessoa
Tem um cantinho escondido
Decorado de saudade
Um lugar pro coração pousar
Um endereço que freqüente sem morar
Ali na esquina do sonho com a razão
No centro do peito, no largo da ilusão

[...]

Eu posso até mudar
Mas onde quer que eu vá
O meu cantinho há de ir

============================

Free translation

Within every person
There is a hidden corner
Decorated with nostalgia
A space for the heart to land
An address it visits, but where it doesn't live
Located in the corner between the dream and the reason
In the centre of the chest, in the illusion square

[...]

I can even move
But no matter where I go
My hidden corner goes with me

Poems & quotes #6: Great quotes by amazing female AIESEC alumni

Because "normal" people say awesome things all the time...


"Learn to dance with the universe. My experience – increasingly – over the past several years is that we can learn to work in tune with the universe. Often when we are in flow, things don't actually come from us, but rather come through us, and it is our work to learn how to be this channel, and how to access flow."
Marianne Knuth


"Think about it ... is life something different than a journey where day after day we have the right to choose who we want to be? And who we want to be is driven by our dreams. Let´s be conscious around that and be clear that dreams are realities and they are not buzzwords! Let´s enjoy this constant activity of exploring and taking choices and let these choices be the guardians of our dreams. If we approach life like that, I am pretty sure there is always a reason to wake up every day with a smile and with this emotion on our hearts that we feel when we are so close to our dreams."
Oriana Torres

Poems & quotes #5: Another world in her way

Arundhati Roy - Indian novels writer and activist - once said:

"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. And on a quiet day, if you really listen, you can hear her breathing."

Let's be part of the change, then!

Poems and quotes #4 - Kindness, Peace and Politics

"If governments were kind, they'd realize that conficts are resolved and wars prevented not by armies but by ordinary people.

[...]

If governments were kind, they would provide at least as much funding for people doing this work as they do for the military."

Scilla Elworthy

Poems and quotes #3 - Mother Theresa

You cannot do great things. You can only do small things with great love.

Mother Theresa

Presence, by Peter Senge

I recently started reading a book that is seriously one of the most amazing I've read. Especially because it's connects so well with my moment: integrating sustainability, learning organisations, community impact, spirituality and a search for some sort of way out.

Some quotations about the book:

If you form and hold your intent strongly enough, it becomes true.
Srikumar

Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
Margared Mead

If you know what's right, you don't need to make decisions. If you know what's right, it's just for you, and you do it.
Ackerman

Do you think you can take over
the universe and improve upon it?
You cannot improve it.
In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.
In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.
Less and less is done
Until non-action is achieved.
Tao abides in non-action,
Yet nothing is left undone.
Lao Tzu

And my favorites:

Our capacity for democracy grows from our connection with nature. As we lose that connection, isolation, fear, and the need to control grow - and democracy inevitably deteriorates.

When people who are actually creating a system start to see themselves as the source of their problems, they invariably discover a new capacity to create results they truly desire.
Peter Senge

Poems #2 - A man needs to travel

Last week I did a presentation about the exchange experience to candidates of an AIESEC exchange program between Australia and Egypt and used this brilliant quote by Amyr Klink, a great Brazilian sailor / traveller (official site and pictures - http://www.amyrklink.com.br/). Enjoy it!

"A man needs to travel. On his own risk, not through stories, images, books or TV. Needs to travel on his own, with his eyes and feet, to understand what is his.

This way, one day he can plant his own trees and value them. Know the cold to enjoy the warm. And the other way around. Feel the distance and lack of protection in order to feel comfortable under his own roof.

A man needs to travel to places he doesn't know to break this arrogance that makes us believe in the world as we imagine it, and not as it is or as it could be; that make us professors and doctors of what we haven't seen, when we should be pupils and simply go and see...”

Amyr Klink, Brazilian explorer

Poems #1 - My Crazy and Saint Friends

A homage to all my great friends, from close and far, the serious and the crazy, the social and the introspective, the big dreamers and the daily builders, who give me the opportunity to learn every day and be what I am.


My Crazy and Saint Friends

I choose my friends not by the colour of their skin or other archetype, but by the pupil. It has to have questioning shine and unsettled tone.

I'm not interested in the good spirits or the ones with bad habits. I'll stick with the ones who make me crazy and blessed. From them, I don't want any answer, I want to be reviewed. I want them to bring me doubts and fears and to tolerate the worst of me. I want saints, so they don't doubt differences and ask for forgiveness for injustices.

I choose my friends for their bare face and their open soul. I do not only want the shoulder or the col, I also want his greatest happiness. Friends that don't laugh together don't know how to suffer together.

All my friends are like thus: half foolish, half serious. I don't want predictable laughter or cries full of pity. I want serious friends, those that make reality their fountain of knowledge, but that fight to keep fantasy alive.

I don't want adult or boring friends. I want half children and half elders. Children, so they don't forget the value of the wind blowing on their faces and elders so they're never in a hurry.

I have friends to know who I am. Then seeing them as foolish and serious, crazy and saints, young and elder, never will I forget that normality is a barren illusion.

Oscar Wilde

First "saudade" feeling

Last Sunday, I received some incredible news, closing with a golden key my leadership experience in AIESEC, especially the last year in the national committee.

1) AIESEC in Brazil received the Regional UBS Award, for its Excellence and Achievements in the year 2005-2006. This means that we were the best country in the region! Congratulations to all the ones that put their passion, talent and effort to make it happen!

2) The other brilliant news was that AIESEC in Brazil was chosen to host the International Congress 2008, the biggest AIESEC conference in the world, which counts with young leaders from almost 100 countries, lots of externals, media, etc. It’s an honor and a big responsibility, as it’s the first time this meeting is happening in Latin America. Let’s go for it!

Well, I think I don’t need to say I am very proud and happy with such recognition and confidence demonstration. And, for the first time since I’m in Australia, I felt a strong saudade (for the non Portuguese speakers, saudade is a deep nostalgic feeling of missing something special). I wish so much I could celebrate these results with all the 7 great individuals who were part of the National Committee 2005-2006, eating a pizza in Cascaes, having great conversations and dancing some pagode.

I’m sure each one of them is feeling exactly the same: joy, pride, continuity wish and a good amount of saudade.

“SAUDADE

na solidão na penumbra do amanhecer.
Via você na noite, nas estrelas, nos planetas,
nos mares, no brilho do sol e no anoitecer.

Via você no ontem , no hoje, no amanhã...
Mas não via você no momento.

Que saudade...”

Mário Quintana