Life

Yesterday was a very special day, our friend Álvaro Neil (Biciclown) came to visit us. Before he arrived I had already gone up to the braña, read for a while, planted some cauliflower, spinach and broccoli with Lucia, and made progress on the tasks of an acceleration programme we have embarked on.

Getting up early is still my best strategy. So I can have the feeling of making progress every day, and then I can be present and spend time with the visit. So we spent time talking, walking around the village, having some ciders in the bar, although nothing like those in Asturias. We caught up, remembered friends and stories that united us, and above all I really enjoyed listening to the conversations he had with our daughter Lucia.

After lunch, we visited some neighbours in the village, we spent an hour together talking about life and walking around their farm. There was a certain parallelism in their lives, Álvaro leaving a career as a notary, Javier and Belén leaving their respective jobs, leaving Madrid to return to live. I admire the value of small daily acts like these, of brave people who dare, who realize what they do not want in life and make the decision to try to change it, even if the trip is long. They also shared the love of houses on wheels. Javier and Belén had designed and had their van converted to the millimeter, it was very well used around 80 days a year as a home. After his trip around the world, Álvaro travels in a motorhome.

The truth is that Álvaro and Javier are from the same generation, and although it seems that they lead very different lives, the truth is that they are unconventional lives, undertaking adventures related to creating a business and traveling. This beautiful connection was somewhat unexpected, a new gift of life for those who are attentive. I continue learning, above all I enjoy getting to know other lifestyles, how some people make decisions, listening to their dreams and projects, observing if they think about the past or the present, if they have plans for the future, if their eyes shine and they are excited about life, or if they find a way out.

Álvaro has been studying philosophy for a few years, giving lectures, writing and creating content, traveling from time to time and trying to get organized again in the north of Spain, where he lives light on luggage doing what he likes to earn a living, since he stopped working to dedicate his time to enjoy, to live his own adventure.

These types of visits at home throughout the year are a gift, we are privileged to meet so many extraordinary people, that is, people who live unordinary lives, who look inward and follow their intuition, who risk trying, who jump without a net and get up when they fall. In these two and a half years back in Cantabria, this is the life we ​​have organized, living light in a small town, traveling with the California and taking care of the family, receiving friends and travelers, connecting and accompanying people who want to work for the common good and find their place in the world.

I don’t know if I’m getting older, but I enjoy these moments of life more and more, these new opportunities after years of sharing with friends and people I admire. I think it’s something we’ve been fortunate to cultivate and attract into our lives, people we admire for their lifestyle, their purpose, their courage. These connections undoubtedly open up a world of possibilities, and that’s why our life is not linear but rather a zigzag, because Lulu ends up being invited to an Ashram in India, or we travel to Ghana with the family this summer; we have dinner in a prison or I talk with Pepe in the guardhouse.

I don’t believe in coincidences. There are already too many times in life to not celebrate and enjoy synchronicity, that magic that life gives us, those opportunities that appear and those genuine connections that someone up there weaves.

And you… Do you share your life with people you admire throughout the year?