Claudia Cortéz
Wherever God has planted you
It blossoms!
One day I went for a walk,
One of those grey days, where you feel sad and melancholic, when you remember all your loved ones, those who are no longer in this world, and those who, due to circumstances of life, you had to leave behind, on the other side of the sea, and who are now so far away?
Walking along a deserted street, I came across a flower… at first I thought that someone had placed it there, because it was all alone, in the middle of nowhere, then, as I got closer I could see it more closely, observing that it had grown on the other side, that surprisingly its branch had managed to cross a mat fence, and a grille, passing through a narrow hole, making its way and blossoming on the other side…
At that moment, that beautiful flower, with its bright and cheerful red colour, which contrasted with the weather and everything around it, gave me a great lesson of life, to see how it, despite its difficulty, was able to make its way, against all odds with tenacity, going through different obstacles, fighting with perseverance, patience, strength and resilience, until it reached its goal, which was to get out of there?
“Me siento honrada de tener su confianza, con lagrimas de felicidad y de emoción, de sentir la belleza del espacio y de reírme tanto.”
That day that flower taught me, that we can stay locked up and trapped by our fears, difficulties and problems, or we can be a bit like her, fight our way out and show the world our best colours, transmitting a bit of joy and hope to those who pass through our lives.
Now, when I feel a little sad …. I close my eyes remembering that flower, and although I know it is no longer there, I will always remember how it made me feel, teaching me that it is precisely in the little things that God shows us that in the end everything has a purpose in our lives.
Florece!!!
Claudia Cortéz
Transplanted
Trasplantados
I always thought that emigrating was for the “BRAVE”, risk-takers, who for different reasons decided to leave in search of a better future for themselves and their families.
I also thought about those young people with an adventurous heart and a free spirit, who wanted to get to know and travel the world in search of new experiences and adventures.
But… I almost never stopped to think about those for whom emigration was a matter of life and death, those for whom fleeing was the only possible alternative to safeguard their lives and the physical integrity of their families, those who had to quickly pack a suitcase without planning with illusion what to take, but packing just enough to escape and survive.
Much less did I even imagine that I myself would be “one of those”, who would carry in a single suitcase a few items of clothing and all their dreams, their memories, their experiences, their life and their whole heart. You are then faced with a terrifying, uncertain, unknown and desolate panorama, but you know that there is no turning back, because there is no other option, so you take a deep breath and cling to your faith with the hope that the pain you feel inside you will gradually pass, and that the lump in your throat will slowly loosen as the days go by, and the tears will no longer flow uncontrollably….
You think every day about everyone and everything you have left behind, on the other side of the sea… but you know you have to be strong and take the courage to keep fighting because you can only choose one option:
1. to see everything as a great tragedy, and to continue being only a victim of the people, events or circumstances that made you suffer and forced you to uproot yourself untimely from your land, your family, your work and your friends, to continue carrying unjustly with all that pain, that rage, impotence and frustration, disowning the current situation and longing every day for that which was and will never be the same again…. Or, on the contrary, you can choose:
2. to see this forced change of life as a new beginning, where God has wanted to TRANSPLANT us, and give us a new opportunity, (that which many of our people did not even have nor will have) a new opportunity, which we must take advantage of with RESILIENCE to take root and germinate in this “new land” fertilising ourselves day by day, with the nutrients that he himself will give us, in the form of knowledge, experiences, people, cultures, languages, flavours, smells and others, until we create new flowers, fruits and seeds for those who will come.