Posted by Raul on July 5, 2011
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Looking to the surrounding world; wishing to fly free; afraid of the trade that freedom implies with its characteristic unknown, the bird stands by the open door of the cage, immobilized.
The dreams of the outer world and its wonders from the safety of the cage; the fears of the feeling of abandonment when not protected by the cage, yet free to fly and explore
Decisions, decision!
The little bird steps by the door and takes a quick look around, weighing the pros and cons of continuing with the infinite walk.
“It’s just a quick fly around to know”. Yet the wall of invisible air is still there, holding the fears and insecurities of the unknown.
The thoughts of remaining by the side of safety attack the little bird’s mind, while it fights to preserve the images of the infinite possibilities if only another step was made into the unknown.
The door of the cage was open, but just for a short time before it started to slowly move to become forever close. The little bird, desperate because of the closing door, pushes itself into its deepest thoughts, trying to find the solution to its confusion and indecision about its most logic move.
Time passes no matter what -the only reliable element of physical life- and the door finally become closed.
So the little, caged bird looks around its forever home, and the thoughts of flying free become the dream that never was, yet its heart smiles with relief.
“I guess I never really wanted to go”
Raul
Posted by Raul on July 2, 2011
Butterflies that paint the world in beautiful colors.
Butterflies that change reality into a dream world.
Butterflies that tell lies instead of reality.
Butterflies that carelessly fly without aim.
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Where are you!
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I’ve seen a butterfly dancing in the air in front of me.
I tried, but I cannot touch it.
Sweet movements in the canvas of reality.
Bitter feelings of cross worlds.
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Logic against the so many times mentioned freaking guts.
Standing in the cold, sweating the heat of summer.
So many lists, so many thoughts.
Paralyzed by dull materials that conform reality.
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Sweet, beautiful butterfly that creates neon lights in the air with unsought movements or premeditated intentions, yet exists and calls for a revolution.
And the sun and the moon keep turning and turning!
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I know, I’m screwed! 
Raul
Posted by Raul on June 6, 2011
In any relationship that might be: marriage, parenthood, friendship, etc. the use of bad words or insults in reference to the person we are talking to as a way of joking is something I really dislike. I do understand and accept their use as part of the joke, and we know there are times when a thousand words cannot explain what one single bad word does.
But when those words are used to directly refer to the other person, it is my opinion that slowly but surely it helps deteriorate the relationship.
Say for instance, you make a silly joke to a loved one and the response to you, as a joke, is: “Jerk!”
It might be just a joke, just a word, nothing that has a real meaning or that comes from the heart of the person saying such word, yet (unconsciously) it does become already traveled road that opens the door for another road, and then another, then another, to the point that, without even knowing, the use of insults becomes the norm, putting the relationship interactions too close to the side of disrespect.
Everything we do repeatedly will become a custom and will loose its original intensity.
Having sex before marriage as another process of getting to know each other before deciding if marriage is for them, that I agree; while having sex as a normal element of any party, and just for the temporary pleasure it gives; that I disagree.
Discovering new technologies by their use as a way to learn, adapt to the new times while improving our efficiency, I agree; but getting the latest just to be with the crowd and don’t look like left behind, that I disagree.
In everything we do, if we do it very often, we will loose the magic involved in the process, and it’ll become just the base for something else to acquire in order to recover the lost magic of the first times.
For the same reason, if it becomes the norm to use insults to joke with a loved one, then pretty soon it’ll be necessary to use stronger words to retain the “fun” of it, to the point that someone external to the circle will become shocked by the way they joke with each other.
What has become a natural thing for some could be an extreme for the rest.
Joking with bad words brings resentment in the long run, and also creates a situation of disrespect, even if there was no intention of such thing from the part of those using the bad words.
That’s why I disagree with the use of insults as jokes when referring to a loved one. To keep a positive relationship in the long run, sometimes we have to “invest” in not going too far, as a way to always remain within the range of respect and love each other deserves.
My personal opinion of course.
What is your take on that? Do you accept the use of bad words as jokes with your loved ones?
Raul
Posted by Raul on May 16, 2011
Chirr-chirr-chirr-chirr (Sound of a cricket)
I know…sometimes I can be really sarcastic!
Raul
Posted by Raul on March 17, 2011
Going to the movies used to be something very special; the anticipation for an activity that wasn’t common but just a couple of times a year. The feeling of going to that magical, enclosed big room with what seemed hundred of seats, high wall decorated with old, dark red curtains and some dusty wooden decorations. The long, worn carpet that led us to the seats facing the white screen where some magical world will appear, and would let us live some different life and travel to a distant place for about two hours.
But there was also the other part of the trip; the possibility of stopping by a coffee shop after the movie and have a glass of soda and maybe a piece of cake, pineapple by preference. The small, rectangular, metallic table with a plastic tablecloth in red and white squares; the view thru the windows, watching passers by in their unknown activities for us; looking at their grey faces and dark clothing; their fast paced walk and their anonymity to each other, always dancing with sudden movements to avoid physical contact with each other in their travels by the crowded streets.
There was no need for words…there was so much to see!
The whole world and life became silent and slow moving, so it was easy to stop for a moment and watch the surroundings, the people, the physical things that conformed and created the city, society and of being part of life in itself.
Going to the movies was a moment when daily life stopped for a moment and magic became reality. It was the opportunity to step aside of my own life and self; to have the chance to see the world around with different eyes and what was always there, but never seen from that perspective. It was the opportunity to stop participating of society to become a spectator of life.
Then the trip back home, just like the one at the beginning, waiting for the bus at the stop in a dirty street. Watching the people around, up to their faces marked with worries of daily life and infinite activities; perhaps the ghosts of their future that had to be crafted day by day, and I was apart, traveling in time at the moment, aside of life, even my own.
Seating and holding the metallic rail in front at the worn out bus seat, listening to the infinite sounds made by a tired machine that spent an entire life running and still haven’t got the chance to retire and rest. The wind coming through the window that couldn’t be closed, making the noise that combined with the singer at the end of the corridor of the bus, playing an acoustic guitar with a colored cloth tied to it and some strange sticker close to the cords, with a meaning that probably only he would know and understand.
Houses, stores and empty, dirty lots went by behind other cars, competing in speed with the wooden and concrete poles that remained standing by the side of the street, providing the hold of the electric net of the city. Some graffiti in the walls, sharing space with the posters of some candidate to some political group…adult stuff!
Perhaps the best home work I ever got!
There’ll be days and weeks to remember the trip, the bus, the movie theater, the people seen from a different perspective, as a spectator of life instead of a participant. And the movie itself, whatever the story; the places and time where the story told by the white screen seemed to happen…so much to remember and analyze!
Sometimes living life doesn’t seem to be part of life, but when being a child and taken to the movies, I had the chance to step aside of it all for a brief moment and enjoy the magic of the movie, together with the magic of life and people, by watching from a distance to compare both, at the same time of taking a break of being alive.
Raul
