Cascada en Kochel,1900
Every once in a while, I feel the urge to take an excursion that’s a little more adventurous than my daily peaceful stroll along the river.
A bolder, more challenging tour, with the sole motivation of awakening my spirit, sometimes sleepy.
I went alone.
At the beginning, the road was wide and radiant, the landscape, splendid.
After a while, the path became narrower.
At each step, the terrain became more rugged; I was avoiding stones, ice, small precipices. At times I got lost, then got back on track.
I finally arrived at a majestic waterfall.
I sat down on a big rock to rest and contemplate the path I traveled.
I didn’t know how much time had passed when I woke up from my lethargy.
I retraced my steps reinvigorated, more awake than ever.
Yes, I think that from time to time it is necessary to visit other landscapes, even if it implies higher risks.
From this personal Olympics I ended up beaten, scratched, bogged down, exhausted.
But perhaps a little enlightened.
To end with some humor, I think that closing your eyes and looking inward is riskier than swimming with sharks, water polo with grenades, or pole vaulting without a mattress.
“Those who look outside, dream.
Those who look inside, awaken.”
Carl Jung
Leonor Henríquez (Caracas, Venezuela) Civil Engineer by training (UCAB 1985), writer and apprentice poet by vocation. From her time in engineering emerged her Office Stories (1997), another way of seeing the corporate world. Her latest publications include reflections on grief, Hopecrumbs (2020) (www.hopecrumbs.com) and “The Adventures of Chispita” (2021) (www.chispita.ca) an allegory of life inside Mom’s belly.
Today she shares her “impulsive meditations” from Calgary, Canada, where she lives.
leonorcanada@gmail.com