Cuba: The Year We Left Behind and Some New Reflections
HAVANA TIMES – When we leave another year behind, it causes us to reflect, summarize in our minds the positive and negative events we experienced. Of course, maybe there were more of one kind, and fewer of the other. Undoubtedly, we will surely fantasize that the new year will bring luck and substantial changes to our life.
Beginning with the first days, we’re poised for miraculous happenings, which is a mistake, because action should be our recourse if we want to see the results of a project. Nothing is going to fall from the heavens, only if the vibes exist and our thoughts give them shape.
For me, 2024 wasn’t a bad year. I’m satisfied that I was able to work and also be in touch with friends who, despite the distance, share our daily experiences and are there for each other. I’ve found beauty in simple things, like feeding the birds that come to my balcony every morning.
Despite the economic and social pressures we’re subjected to, and given the impossibility of resolving those issues, what’s left for us is to work and survive. The ideal is for the material and the spiritual things to be well-balanced, and that’s not possible here. The social disparities grow ever greater, and values appear that denigrate and destroy human beings.
It’s not unusual that the animal world should offer us constant lessons in living together, and it’s a mistake to ignore these.
A very dear friend, who I talk frequently with on WhatsApp, has a very unique opinion about humanity, and it’s the following: we’re slaves, from the time we open our eyes on the world – ruled by the doctrines and model for living and thinking that’s imposed on us in order to control us and turn us into automatons, when it’s the uniqueness that distinguishes each person.
Obviously, we’re divided by regions, politics and religions. My friend thinks that the best solution would be to live without social subjection, like the hermit who lives in a cave and cultivates the earth to feed themselves. A mere spectator of nature in harmony with the elements.
However, one day someone will arrive to explore the cave, invade its peace, and possibly want to build a hotel or a commercial center on that same land. In short, nothing can protect us from outside forces.
I’ve seen examples of that in literature and in film. I remember the movie “Into the Wild,” in which a young man gives up his university studies and cuts himself off from his family and social ties to live like a nomad. There’s a scene in which he destroys some money, as a way to dissociate himself from its power. On a bus that serves as his home, he decides to march off into nature, the wild and savage. Along the journey he gets to meet a simpler form of human diversity, with deep spiritual values. This is a true story, but with a gut-wrenching ending.
I think that the only thing that can save us is living intensely our internal lives, broadening our awareness, helping others, and surrounding ourselves with friends and family, in a communion of love, understanding and tolerance. To build something, make art, find sense in observation, and let the days go by.