From My
Balcony
Champoleón's pieces of advice
By Nacho Cadena Owner of La Petite France
I was sitting on my balcony thinking about the immortality of the crab, my gaze lost in the horizon, seeing without looking, hearing without listening, strayed in one of those moments of divagation, when suddenly the topic came to mind on how can we do it to have a better time, to live better, to have a positive balance of happy moments every day.
I invoked this mysterious advisor I am fortunate to have, the invisible who only speaks to the ear, the one who shows up when he feels like it, and when he does not feel like it, well, he does not show up. This secret friend of mine, my teacher, my guide. His name is Champoleon, certainly a pompous and conceited name that does not correspond to the simplicity of this character. He is a philosopher by profession, a writer by vocation and he has knowledge of dendrology, of alternative medicine, of astrology and of other sciences which are completely unknown to me, such as magic, card and palm reading. Throughout the years Champoleón has become my personal advisor in matters related to life, happiness and love.
I invoke him again, I call him and suddenly he appears, invisible like always, as if he would not exist, as if he would just be a voice and not everything that I just said about him.
Champoleón starts to talk and I take mental notes because he gets upset if I use paper and pen. Everything has to be by memory and since mine is not so brilliant; a lot is lost between what he tells me and what I transcribe later. Well, that is the price of having a wise friend.
He tells me that if you want to increase your levels of happiness:
1. - Begin a new life every day. Be careful, he explains, it is not about forgetting the past, it is not about erasing your path. It only means that every new day, when opening your eyes, when jumping out of bed, you have to start and live it as if it were the only day and the last day. Live it, he tells me, until you squeeze it all, work all that you can work, enjoy everything you can enjoy, share everything you can share. Champoleon says that every day is a life, a whole life, being born in the morning and dying when you go to sleep.
Every instant of the day is an opportunity for something beautiful and precious, do not waste it. A day is made up of instances, of moments, just as life is made up of days.
He continues to tell me, the objective is not only to live every day as if it were our last day, but to live it as if it were the first day of our existence. Live it, admiring it, discovering it and profit by everything surrounding us, and most particularly by other beings surrounding us.
2. - Look at life with optimism, with joy, with a desire to have a good time. Leave out the ugly stuff and concentrate on the pretty stuff. There are too many good things around to keep looking at the bad things.
When getting up think that life is good, that it is worth living, that it is worth to make good use of it and to enjoy it.
With a certain tone of seriousness Champoleon tells me in a low undertone that I am barely able to hear: happiness, achieving happiness is an attitude of seeing life and all things. It is a positive attitude, facing the world with a smiling face. Nobody can find happiness, unless he is searching for it. Happiness is not a gift, you must search for it, and you must fight to achieve it. Moreover, he tells me, this attitude is contagious. Share smiles and you will receive smiles.
3. - Every morning Champoleon continues to tell me, and indeed I listen to him very pleased while he passes on these little pieces of advice, every morning before you leave your house, fill your pockets not with money, but with a desire to live. Fill up your bags to the max with an appetite for life and better yet if you have a knapsack, and in this way you can use it during the day, as well as share it, spend it, toss it all around, why not. The desire to live fully is the fuel, he tells me clearly, it is not the aim, it is the means. The desire to live fully gives you strength, it gives you courage in order to keep up this positive attitude towards life and thus you will walk straight towards the goal of happiness. Now almost secretly he tells me, well, not always that straight, but if you perfect the course, even though you may sway sometimes, you will always reach your destination.
4. - If it should sometimes happen to you that you endure something negative or sad, do not stop there. Remember that sadness is a bad councilor, says my private advisor. Don't ever remember or look back on or recall those little stones on the road, instead vitalize yourself all day long with nice memories, with pleasant moments you have lived, with gracious even funny moments. Remember that good friend, that good person, that happy and pleasant instant.
He tells me very seriously: get rid of sadness, it is the ally of all evil.
5. - Don't ever loose the capacity of admiring the beautiful things. Admire the flowers as if it were the first time you saw them. Admire the moon as if you had never known it before. Admire nature, the plants, the animals, the rocks, the sun, the rivers, the rain, the lightning, the ocean, the landscapes, the sand you step on, the fruit you eat, the water you drink.
6. - One thing he said to me in all earnest. I have not heard it that forthright. Do not be afraid to search for your happiness, do not limit yourself, do not cover yourself up with excuses. Do not be fearful, he told me with a firm tone of voice. Happiness exists for everyone; there it is within reach of your palm. We are all entitled to have it; it is not a privilege of only a few. It is the wealth of those who search for it, for those who strive for it??? Es riqueza de quien la busca, de quien la procura.
If you feel like it, do it. If you desire it, make up your mind.
7. - There was a pause that seemed very long for me. You could hear the silence. I felt a great joy because the pause gave me time to contemplate on what Champoleon had said to me. Mentally I organized the concepts; I forgot some things, other things I remembered. The silence continued but I was sure that he was still around there somewhere. I hear his quiet, paused, rhythmic breathing.
It is almost nine o'clock at night and I have to deliver my manuscript so that he can appear on Friday, in the column: "from my balcony".
Finally Champoleon returned and with great fondness he confessed to my ear: Do you wish to be happy? Love, he told me softly. Love everything you can, with all the power you have. Love, I heard and the silence became profound.
I hope that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow he comes back to talk to me more about this last matter. In the meantime in the presence of the beauty of the town, with this marvelous climate and with so many beautiful things, I closed my eyes and I fell asleep.
Hopefully a small elf or a good fairy grants me the favor of writing my column so that it appears in the newspaper. When I get up on Friday I will look for it and if it appears I will believe everything that Champoleon told me. I fall asleep and I put everything in the hands of the small elf.
That was all for today. Thank you very much.
See you next time.
Nacho Cadena Owner of La Petite France
E-mail: nachocadena@lapetitefrance.com.mx
* From My Balcony
is an independent column of Mr. Ignacio
[Nacho] Cadena, owner of La
Petite France Restaurant
in Puerto Vallarta and source of this information.
To contact Mr. Ignacio Cadena please email
to: lapetitefrance@prodigy.net.mx
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