Waking up early

As I came back home last week, embracing my family after more than two months of physical and somehow mental distance, I would like to temporarily leave my passionate stories of the unique and innovative ways that "Nea Guinea project", near Athens, adopts and teaches in order to meet your needs more independently and consciously. [1] A mixture of emotions and gratitude pervades me now that I have made yet another transition, farewell to a place made up of incredible people and returning to the old nest that I am so lucky to have readily warm, welcoming and protective. I am really happy to be at home, especially in this period of crisis and holidays, and naturally express my new me, the result of two months that I will never forget, putting myself at the service of the people I love.

I feel I want to try to represent a peculiar aspect of my ESC "Sustainable Synergies", so as to give an insight into what was the essence of my adventure. I could title this diary page, written at dawn on November 28 on the beach of Nea Makri, "Waking up early".

"I begin to discover the strength that resides in stillness. Waking up spontaneously every morning, sometimes when the Sun has not yet been born behind the horizon, allows me to savor the beginning of a new day in its purest state: the fresh air is clean and full of night humidity; the Earth is still, free from the mad daily exodus of the human being and his means; the light of the moon clarifies enough to walk slowly; the plants, laden with dew, are waiting to be covered in sunlight; the animals are in transition, some are about to wake up, others have just finished a night of play, the birds humming softly.

Connecting to my breath brings me back to Mother Earth's. Feeling the air entering me, young, is like being reborn within myself, flooding me with the awareness that I am very alive. Feel my body start moving, warm my rested limbs with blood. Contemplating what awaits outside the window gives me the inspiration for positive and constructive thoughts.

Waking up early is a journey through time, the real one, that of the moment, of opportunity, of the flow of natural cycles regardless of the compartmentalization created by the human mind. [2] I find myself, step by step, at the gates of a celebration: to stay still. Meditation is the suspension of reflex activity and its subjection to the heart. [3] I let myself be penetrated by the fullness that surrounds me, leaving it the necessary space to manifest itself in my being. The observation without judgment of things leads to clarity of vision, without leaning towards the control of processes, simply understanding them in order to subsequently act so as not to interfere with its natural, perfect unfolding. Survival, the shared one, is the result of choices made consciously within the body of Gaia, freeing the guide that resides in our depths, connected with the laws of the universe that do not cause ultimate damage. Being light implies stillness: identifying the preconceptions and behaviors derived from habitual thoughts, I arrive - or better,continue - in the identification of my real needs, independent and inextricably linked to the human and ecosystemic community.

One breath at a time, every little thing becomes free to express its enormous potential, simply by giving non-judgmental, unconditional attention."

The source of conscious action that unfolds throughout the days, a sort of ritual at the base of every other event that will happen, the way to enclose the depth of my immersion in my ESC adventure.

It is possible that it may seem like a spiritual retreat, an ascetic vacation or an introspective experience… and in fact it is exactly what it was. It was not all just another classic educational course, with a figure or entity from which to learn linearly, from which one often feels separated, in a formal and standardized context; it was rather a freely participatory inclusive journey, in which "duties" were mixed with my most sincere intentions to contribute and learn.

Waking up early allowed me to live fully a lot of these "Sustainable Synergies"... inspiration, moods and competences as complex but simple as breathing, walking or cycling, cultivating the land, eating its fruits, and dreaming.

[1] Neaguinea.org 

[2] Kairos and Kronos ancient greek mythology 

[3] Deepak Chopra