Silence

 « I feel an urgent need for silence.

No one to listen to. No one to talk to.

Just the space of silence.

 

A free space, surely,

But not empty.

It is full of my inner story. 

So many good moments. So many achievements.

So many friends on my side. So many changes inside.

 

 

I need to listen. I need to be still.

Stop! Shush!

Just silence.

 

And when finally come an hour, calm and silent,

Then, peace joins me like a confidante .

I know I am alive. And I thrive.

I barely know where my life is going

And still, step by step I’m growing.

 

Sensation of floating in my intuitions.

It is inside this lively silence,

That I recharge my conscience.

 

 I never enjoyed so much before

The absence of turbulence .

A great experience

Which makes so much sense. »

 

 

 

From Santiago to Paris…As Salama Aleykoum! 3/3

Personally, on my little ordinary citizen side, I am maintaining my volunteer involvment in the COP21. Next week, I will join the host team of Place to B COP21 in Paris.  It is the blogger and journalist for Le Monde, Anne-Sophie Novel, who is at the origin of the initiative. Place to B COP21,  is a working and collaborative space for journalist, bloggers and artists who will work  around climate and ecological transition solutions themes. I  can’t wait to meet all these people! I want to be creative, to fuel myself with positivism, new ideas and constructive energy! I am hoping  to see the front pages of newspapers changing from red to green. I want to be there when Parisians and French people will come up with strong symbolic actions to replace the Global Climate March. I will be actor in the COP21, and I hope you will join me in your own way!

De Compostelle à Paris…As Salama Aleykoum! 3/3

*Merci à Marjolaine pour son illustration

 Personnellement, de mon côté de petite citoyenne lambda, je maintiens mon engagement de volontaire à la COP21. La semaine prochaine je rejoindrai l’équipe d’accueil de Place to B COP21. C’est la blogueuse et journaliste du Monde, Anne-Sophie Novel qui est à l’origine de cette initiative.  Place to B COP21, est un lieu d’accueil et de travail pour les journalistes, blogueurs et artistes qui vont fabriquer l’information autour du climat et des solutions de la transition écologique pendant la COP21. J’ai hâte de rencontrer tous ces gens. Je veux faire preuve de créativité, le plein de positivisme, de nouvelles idées et d’énergie constructive! J’espère voir les unes des journaux passer du rouge au vert. Je veux être là lorsque les Parisiens et les Français vont faire preuve de créativité afin de remplacer la Marche Mondiale pour le Climat en actions symboliques parlantes. Je veux être actrice de la COP21 , et j’espère que vous m’y rejoindrez à votre manière!

From Santiago to Paris…As Salama Aleykoum! 2/3

      And then, I watched an extract of a discussion on a TV set with the journalist Sylvain Lapoix who is at the origin of  #PorteOuverte on Twitter, he was talking about his action. I said very simply: « I am the guy who did ONE tweet at 9.30 pm and that’s all! » « You can ask my family I haven’t done anything, I really did nothing that evening. » « The solidarity was there before. » « The open door, it is them who opened the door, it is the Parisians who showed the example. » This is how Sylvain Lapoix  proved me wrong, he showed me that a very little action from an ordinary citizen, can make a big difference, and if he can do it, so do I!

And Sylvain Lapoix went further, he called at the « open door » on transparency about oil money. He mentioned an article from the Financial Time which states that Isis earns 1.5 millions $ per day out of oil industry. Therefore he is encouraging us to connect the current affairs together: oil means energy, energy means climat change and climate change means COP21. We are living in a connected world, so let’s connect the current affairs!

 

De Compostelle à Paris…As Salama Aleykoum! 2/3

  Et puis j’ai vu un extrait d’une discussion sur un plateau de télé avec le journaliste Sylvain Lapoix qui est à l’origine du #PorteOuverte sur Twitter; il témoignait de son action. Il dit simplement: « Je suis le mec qui a fait UN tweet à 21h30 et c’est tout! » « Vous pouvez demander à mes proches je n’ai rien fait , j’ai vraiment rien fait ce soir là. » « La solidarité était là avant. » « La porte ouverte, c’est eux qui l’ont ouverte, c’est les Parisiens qui ont donné l’exemple. » Alors Sylvain Lapoix vient de me prouver que j’ai tort, qu’un tout petit acte de citoyen lambda peut avoir une grande impacte, et que si lui peut le faire alors moi aussi!

       Et puis Sylvain Lapoix va plus loin, il appel à « la porte ouverte » sur la transparence de l’argent du pétrole. Il mentionne un article du Financial Times qui relate que Daech tire 1.5 millions de dollars par jour du pétrole. Et il  nous encourage à connecter les faits d’actualité entre eux: qui dit pétrole, dit énergie, qui dit énergie dit réchauffement climatique, qui dit réchauffement climatique, dit COP21. Nous vivons dans un monde connecté, alors connectons notre actualité!

 

From Santiago to Paris…As Salama Aleykoum! 1/3

     I came back from Santiago on the 13th of November. In the morning, I went through the border between France and Spain, and I read the headlines in the newspapers. It was talking about closing the borders. I didn’t know why, I didn’t understand. In the car between Hendaye and Montpellier the driver of the car-share exposed to me his vision of the French news and international news. He mentioned Syria. I didn’t know why, I hadn’t followed the news. But his talk stunned me and made me dizzy. Am I well and truly going back to France? The France I know? It seemed to me that something had changed.

      The next morning; when I heard during breakfast the words « 3 attacks », « Paris », « Isis », « more than 100 dead », « Syria », I first couldn’t feel anything. As if I couldn’t connect to this reality. Indeed, after being away for 2 months, after walking for more than thousand kilometres, I lightened myself and experienced the essential. I have now the taste for life rhythmed by nature, for happy little moments, taste for simplicity and taste for taking the time; because time is the guaranty of quality. I want to contribute to a sustainable world, and not to a disposable world. Therefore, in that tragic morning, I became very conscious of the fact that all this violence, all those strategic games related to oil and other energy; we are the direct victims of it. It creates lot of agitation. And this is distracting everyone from keeping doing what each of us can do at best on earth to contribute positively to the world.  I was and I am convinced, we need to continue living life, love and keep the peace in our heart and around us.

      However, during the 3 days of national mourning, I slowly took the measure of the situation. First, I felt powerless: « How my actions of ordinary citizen can influence such events? » Then, I thought about running away: « I don’t want all this agitation, I’d better to go to the mountains and learn how to grow vegetables. » So I decided to read, I read the testimony of Erwan, a former university friend, who was in Bataclan that evening. I have also seen the front pages of all newspapers becoming so red. I could observe the limit between the « good » and the « bad » becoming suddenly very clear…too clear? When the policemen made their intervention to arrest/eliminate the terrorists few streets away from my brother’s apartment I felt fear creeping into myself. Slowly, just a timorous voice whispering « Are you sure I still want to go to Paris next week? What will you bring there? You are taking a risk with your life. »