You walk, you fly, you run, you sail, you travel; in life, we are all just passengers. Where to stop, when to continue, how to enjoy the stay: the intensity of the ride is exclusive to each individual. Amidst such maze of paths and possibilities, the final destination becomes a distant contemplation for those focused on the journey; and the precise certainty of such imminent arrival maintains our wondering heads above our moving feet.
Traveling requires planning; life takes planning.
The contact in Chile did not go through. The documentation was supposed to start during the week prior to my departure to Easter Island; yet, because of the rainy weather, the plan went down the drain (one of the reasons behind the unplanned trip to La Serena). After returning from the Northern Chilean coast, I was stationed in Santiago for another four days, solely waiting on the organization for further scheduling details. The period coincided with national vacations; thus, most of the children who participated in the organization’s activities, as well as staff members, were off during that week.
An extension of my stay in Santiago was requested, which I immediately concurred. The proposed plan was to interview staff members during the remainder of the respective week, fly to Easter Island for five days, return to Santiago for another five days and finish the documentation. One day prior to my departure I still had not filmed anything, nor locked down a filming schedule. Moreover, after changing my ticket three other times, the cumulative fees felt like a rather unnecessary expense. Family members were also flying to Easter Island just so they could accompany me home. Once news was broken, disappointment clearly undernoted their reactions. Perhaps a bit selfish on their behalf, there were truth in such unexpected response: some plans are destined to remain unaltered.
Traveling requires decisions; life takes decisions.
I could have taken different decisions in order to assure the documentation in Santiago. Another lesson learned: we have control over the ride – more than we like to believe we have. Surely there are uncontrollable forces guiding our paths, but we must remain realistic in moments of failure. We must acknowledge our mistakes from a rather constructive perspective; otherwise, the contemplation might solely do us harm. Mistake after mistake, the ride must be constantly on the rise.
I am in Easter Island. It was scheduled from the beginning I would end this journey here, and so I preferred. The destination did not happen by chance. Before I even decided I would start the project, I had a dream in which I was sailing through the seven seas, until a current brought me to an unknown island. The location, besides presenting beautiful scenery, provided a peaceful sensation. After exploring the perimeters of the island, I met one person who would not reveal the name of such desirable place. I kept on insisting and yet, he would not give in; in the back of my mind I just knew I had to be there. While the man was distracted, one of his friends cut his wrists wide open and with his blood wrote “Moai” on the wall; he then winked and walked away.
My dreams are very vivid, and the sensations and imagery are usually remembered for a long time. As soon as I woke up the next morning, I decided to research the word “Moai,” which eventually revealed Easter Island. The word might have been in my subconscious but back then the fact that the word even existed did come as a surprise. The whole dream might read like madness to some; yet, the ride does provide hints as to which path to choose. Bottom line: there are not right and wrong choices – we choose, we chose. How can we know the alternative path would have been more enjoyable than the chosen one?
I could be returning to Santiago and filming the documentary; I chose not to. We waste too much time on the possibilities, causing distress along the ride. For those focused on the journey, each and every decision brings life lessons – further providing enjoyment. We travel, we choose. And the more we choose, the more control we have as life passengers.
To be continued.
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Hi, Fernando! I’m Raira and I study at Energia/Brusque (Karline is my teacher). Well, you really write very well. Your texts, pics, videos… everything is beautiful… congratulations!
Karline told us about your project and I liked a lot, you deserve all good! Good luck
concordo com você sobre a vida precisar de um ‘planejamento’. nossa, essa vida de viajante não deve ser fácil, HAHAHAHA. tenho inveja sua por conhecer a beleza de vários lugares. Sou aluna da Karline Beber e escolhi essa crônica para fazer um trabalho de inglês. estou esperando ansiosamente sua palestra aqui no colégio energia. até quarta – feira, então.
Hello Fernando! I’m a student of teacher’s Kali, and she told us about your project, photos, videos .. a little bit about your life. I read some of your texts and they are actually very good. Your initiative is excellent, you really change de world. So, good luck!
Oi Fernando, eu sou aluna da professora Kali, e estudo no Energia de Brusque. Ela nos mostrou esses dias o seu trabalho e nos contou um pouco sobre a sua ”aventura”, que é viajar pelo mundo e fazer projetos sociais. Achei muito legal seu site com as suas histórias, seu dia-a-dia e suas fotos, pois milhares de pessoas podem perceber como é bom ajudar o próximo. Deve ser muito difícil essa vida, viver longe da família, dos amigos, e deixar tudo aqui, mas por outro lado deve ser incrível, conhecer lugares novos, ver pessoas diferentes e o mais importante, ajudar quem precisa. Quando você fala que viajar exige planejamento, imagino que nem sempre o que é planejado é o que acontece em suas viagens, pois nunca temos certeza do que pode acontecer, mas eu concordo com você que a vida requer um planejamento. Tenho certeza que muitos de nós não teríamos coragem de fazer o que você faz e por isso fico muito feliz em saber que existem pessoas assim, como você, que não pensam apenas em si próprios, mas vivem para os outros e acho que é isso que faz você querer a cada dia continuar nessa “aventura”. Desejo a você muita sorte e que continue fazendo esse trabalho incrível. Parabéns!
Oi Fernando, eu sou aluna da professora Kali, e estudo no Energia de Brusque. Ela nos mostrou esses dias o seu trabalho e nos contou um pouco sobre a sua ”aventura”, que é viajar pelo mundo e fazer projetos sociais. Achei muito legal seu site com as suas histórias, seu dia-a-dia e suas fotos, pois milhares de pessoas podem perceber como é bom ajudar o próximo. Deve ser muito difícil essa vida, viver longe da família, dos amigos, e deixar tudo aqui, mas por outro lado deve ser incrível, conhecer lugares novos, ver pessoas diferentes e o mais importante, ajudar quem precisa. Quando você fala que viajar exige planejamento, imagino que nem sempre o que é planejado é o que acontece em suas viagens, pois nunca temos certeza do que pode acontecer, mas eu concordo com você que a vida requer um planejamento. Tenho certeza que muitos de nós não teríamos coragem de fazer o que você faz e por isso fico muito feliz em saber que existem pessoas assim, como você, que não pensam apenas em si próprios, mas vivem para os outros e acho que é isso que faz você querer a cada dia continuar nessa “aventura”. Desejo a você muita sorte e que continue fazendo esse trabalho incrível. Parabéns!
Fernando,Karline told us about your project and commented with us about the work that you`re having.. but she said that you do that because you like,not for have any kind of profit.. and i`ve really got admired by your work,i`ve just loved it! in this comment that you do,you talk about plannig,saying that lifes requires plannig but i thik the most important thing that life requires is hope! and i`m sure one day you`re gonna have the reward that you deserve!
Hi, Fernando. I read some of your texts and saw your videos and I like very much. Your life must be really adventurous but really dificult because you are far from your family, friends. But I imagine what helps you to continue is to be sure you helping lots of people. And I´m sure that when the things don´t happen like we plan is because there is another thing better waiting for us.
Oi Fernando! É realmente uma pena quando alguns imprevistos fazem com que a viagem não ocorra como o planejado… Adorei seus videos, textos e fotos, essa do post achei incrível! Parabéns pelo seu trabalho maravilhoso!
Hello Fernando!
I read some of your articles, and all of them made me realize that the world we live in, has more beautiful places and beautiful people we can imagine.
I’ve already travelled to Europe and to the United States, but I dream on traveling to all these different places that most of the medias don’t show us. If we want to know about a country, we just need to know their people, and with them we can learn AMAZING things.
Loved your site!
Kisses, Aline.
Hi Fernando, I’m Maria Augusta and a student of teacher Karline in Energia/Blumenau. She told us about your life and i loved your texts, pics, videos.. Your project!! You write very well and so much better you can relate the pics!! Congratulations!! Your life must be amazing with all the travels and places you have to know. But of course always have some unexpecteds.I chose this text to work bacause I agree with the first letter to the last point. We have planning our life, cause the and of journey depends how we planning averything… running, flying, walking, thinking…We are all passengers!!
Olá Fernando, estive lendo algumas de suas matérias e simplesmente achei fascinantes. E sobre este texto, muitas vezes tive de parar para pensar sobre os momentos da vida, do que elas são feitos.. planejamento e escolhas. Mesmo que em alguns momentos nossos planos não dão muito certo, temos que estar preparados para tomar novas decisões. E não se esqueça que seu trabalho, sua escolha, é incrível. Abraços.
Opa Fernando,você está de parabéns pela sua dedicação e seu esforço.Deve ser uma experiência incrivel poder conhecer esses lugares magnífico,as sociedades,os diferentes tipos de convivência,costumes.Eu também penso em planejar bem tudo o que vou fazer,e vou aprendendo em cada erro.Boa sorte parceiro
Hi Fernando! I read some of your texts and I loved your job. Your decision to travel around the world and show other cultures, places, people and the job they do to help the others is amazing! I have the same point of view about our passage for the life and the decisions we take. Sometimes we need to change our paths and some plans we did don’t work, but we must do what we feel that it’s the right thing to do. Keep strong with your journey, it is very important to have people that care about the others like you!