Greater Longings – ElPropósito3 min de lectura

Photo by Yohann Lc on Unsplash

Today I had the good fortune of carrying Gabriel, my third son, almost all day. On a walk of more than five hours I held him close, very close, so close that it made me think deeply about the pain and suffering so many people endure through migration and long journeys on foot. For several years now I’ve seen firsthand the long walks and crossings that many brothers and fellow countrymen undertake for the sake of dreams, ideas and longings, driven by many different reasons. What makes a person able to endure so much suffering and the worst hardships in that relentless pursuit of a dream?

Gabriel has grown, and this may have been one of the last times I’ll carry him like that. His weight, his antics and his total reliance on my two feet and how steady they were made me intensely aware of his safety, at 2,000%. At some point during our long walk my mind wandered to parents who have had to migrate carrying a child in their arms. I confess I can’t come close to imagining, let alone feeling, what a border-to-border journey across Guatemala means, never mind across a continent. My baby (not such a baby anymore) in a harness, in a safe and peaceful setting, and the memory of Juan Diego made me reflect on several things, especially these greater longings.

Why does this move me so deeply? What we carry on our shoulders day to day is, in truth, our dreams, our longings, our deepest prayers and everything we love and care about most, in this world, in this life and perhaps the next. Calling it a burden or a weight misses the point. We also carry on our shoulders (with or without a harness) the lives of many people, the dreams and longings of many who depend on us directly or indirectly. The key is recognizing the weight we carry (if weight or burden is even the word) and, above all, asking what we carry it for.

Life is short, and the weight we carry is unique, unrepeatable and beyond compare. When we least expect it, life rewards us with the very load we wanted so badly, with the goals we fought so hard for. Then suddenly, as if we didn’t know how to handle it, that load becomes so heavy and unmanageable that it seems endless and rest seems impossible. Often we don’t even notice the weight we carry.

We fight for and long for dreams so hard to reach that, from one moment to the next, our effort pays off and things happen. Now we run with the weight of our results on our shoulders. We run a race we signed up for ourselves, and we even created the prize. Many people depend on us, on our decisions, on our next steps. The audience watches, all eyes are on us, and the race goes on, the race we call life, where many lives come to depend on us. What can we do to keep running? What lies in our hands to keep from forgetting the past or losing sight of the future, and above all to keep from forgetting to be here in the present? Greater longings are fulfilled when purpose is clear. Life will keep rewarding those longings as long as we learn to carry every weight we’ve asked for.

Warm regards,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. I dedicate this post to my dear friend, coach and mentor Eva. Eva, the world is better with you in it. You’re going to be okay, you’re all going to be okay.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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