No Better Place to Meet Yourself
No hay mejor lugar para encontrarte a ti mism@--por Moussa Ag Assarid
Moussa Ag Assarid (MAA): No se mi edad. Nací en el desierto del Sahara, sin papeles. Nací en un campamento nómada de Tuaregs, entre Timbuktu y Gao, en el norte de Mali. […]
Periodista (P): ¿Qué hacen para vivir?
MAA: Pastoreamos camellos, cabras, ovejas, vacas y burros en un reino de infinito y de silencio….
P: ¿De verdad es tan silencioso el desierto?
MAA: Si estás solo en ese silencio oyes latir a tu corazón. No hay un lugar mejor para encontrarte a tí mism@.
P: ¿Qué recuerdos tienes de tu infancia en el desierto?
MAA: Me levanto con el sol. Las cabras y mi padre están ahí. Nos dan leche y carne, y nosotros las llevamos donde hay agua y pasto. Mi bisabuelo hizo eso, y mi abuelo, y mi padre, y yo.¡No había nada más en el mundo y yo era muy feliz!
P: ¿De verdad? No suena muy emocionante.
MAA: Pues lo es. A los siete años puedes salir solo del campamento, y debido a eso se te enseñan las cosas importantes- oler el aire, escuchar, mirar cuidadosamente, orientarte con el Sol y las estrellas… y ser guiado por el camello si te pierdes. Él te llevará a donde haya agua.
P: Saber lo importante, sin duda.
MAA: Todo es simple y profundo allí. Hay pocas cosas, y cada una de ellas tiene un valor enorme.
P: Así que ese mundo y éste son muy diferentes.
MAA: Allí, cada pequeña cosa transmite alegría. Cada contacto tiene valor. Sentimos una gran alegría al tocarnos, al estar juntos. Allí, nadie sueña con llegar a ser, porque todo el mundo ya es.
P: ¡Qué es lo que más te impactó en tu primer viaje a Europa?
MAA: Vi gente corriendo en el aeropuerto. ¡En el desierto solo corres si se acerca una tormenta de arena! Me asusté, por supuesto.
P: Iban tras su equipaje. Ja ja.
MAA: Si, así era. […]
P: ¿Qué es lo que menos te gusta de aquí?
MAA: Mucha gente aquí lo tiene todo, y no es todavía suficiente para ellos. Se quejan.¡En “el mundo moderno” mucha gente se queja todo el rato! Se encadenan a una entidad bancaria; mucha gente está ansiosa por tener cosas, por tener posesiones. La gente va con prisa. En el desierto no hay atascos de tráfico, y ¿Sabes porqué? ¡Porque nadie tiene interés en ir delante de los demás!
P: Háblame de un momento de profunda felicidad para ti en el desierto.
MAA: Ocurre todos los días, dos horas antes de la puesta del sol. El calor disminuye, todavía no hay aire frío, y los hombres y animales vuelven despacio al campamento, y sus perfiles se pintan contra el cielo que es rosa, azul, rojo, amarillo, verde.
P: Suena fascinante.
MAA: Es un momento mágico…. Todos vamos a las tiendas a hervir té. Sentados en silencio escuchamos el sonido del agua hirviendo… Todos nosotros inmersos en la quietud: con el latido de nuestros corazones afinado con el ritmo del agua hirviendo, potta potta potta…
P: ¡Qué tranquilidad!
MAA: Si… aquí tenéis relojes; allí, tenemos tranquilidad .
Moussa Ag Assarid es el mayor de trece niños de una familia nómada Touareg.Nacido en el norte de Mali en 1975, fue a Francia en 1999 a estudiarDirección de Empresas en la universidad de Montpellier. Lo de arriba es un extracto de una entrevista con Víctor Amela.
Moussa Ag Assarid is the oldest of thirteen children in a nomadic Touareg family. Born in northern Mali in 1975, he moved to France in 1999 to study Management at the University of Montpellier. The above is excerpted from an interview with Víctor Amela.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have you had moments of deep happiness in the midst of nature? Are there any practices that support you in being immersed in calmness and entering a space where you can meet yourself?
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23 Past Reflections
On Jul 28, 2023 Mary Thomson wrote :
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On Sep 2, 2021 Neeta Raajkumar wrote :
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On Jan 20, 2019 Hema wrote :
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On Jul 24, 2016 Krishna Shethji wrote :
Wonderful read for sure ! I agree that best way to meet yourself is to be in nature without any other rush in mind. My all nature camp trips from my school helps me in overcoming my weaknesses which I have within me like swimming, height phobia, etc. I can spend time with myself introspecting things which I do in life and give a re-think on it.
Thanks for sharing this story :)
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On Jul 24, 2016 Subhalaxmi wrote :
Amazing read! The closing line is most poignant. Not only do we have watches, we have brands of watches...but we don't have time, for family, or for ourselves.
Thanks for making me re-think about what is more valuable in life.
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On Feb 3, 2016 Ramesh Narayan wrote :
Yes, I strive to enter that space where I can meet myself. In fact, in this modern technologically advanced world, I don't know who am I, where am I going and what I want. I am known to the world by my name, my position and what I possess in material terms.
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On Dec 28, 2015 jenny wrote :
As dawn is breaking, sitting with my head resting against the flank of my cow, as I draw the generous flow of sweetly scented milk from her udder. She turns her head and breaths warm sweet breath in my face as her tongue rasps across my cheek. She loves me. f s
1 reply: Subhalaxmi | Post Your Reply
On Dec 25, 2015 Tricia wrote :
I have traveled in the Sahara, camping for 3 wks at a time, with a Toureg crew & guide. All that he says is true, and as simple and as pure as his description. Absolute silence, and at night a wealth of stars. Clear dry air and no light pollution makes the vastness of the night sky overwhelming. That is part of their environment also.
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On Dec 24, 2015 paras wrote :
funny, everytime i'm at a difficult stage in life i get a reflection that speaks to it. this one was perfectly written. simplicity of life explained is a simple but clear way. the courage to follow the path while the crowd is pulling you in another direction.
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On Dec 23, 2015 arsha gosine wrote :
I had a conversation with a friend in India and I immediately googled the website. Awakin Circles immediately resonated with me and I as read the passage above it made me think further on how we are our worst enemies...... never taking time to nourish our own souls and look within. Yes we have all the conveniences like washing machines vacum cleaners etc to make life easier but we still run around, we still waste our time on frivolous things, frivolous actions. I thank you today for reminding me of the space within and the silence I can experience.
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On Dec 23, 2015 Narendra Goidani wrote :
Reading this has changed my life! I am 47. Had wanted to work till 52 and then devote myself to 'listening to silence'. I just gifted myself two more years of silence.
Thanks a ton. Hugs!!!
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On Dec 22, 2015 Rosie Bachand wrote :
what a blessing to have time and the quiet and peace for our spirit it brings with it.
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On Dec 22, 2015 Mish wrote :
The deep peace of beautiful simplicity....smiling, breathing, going slowly.
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On Dec 22, 2015 Annette wrote :
I live and work in a big city and I deal with the public doing retail which can be so stressful at times especially during the holidaze. That and the fact that my sister recently passed away. I allow myself to grieve and when I can, during breaks at work, I'll sit outside with my face towards the sun (which we have during winter) and just absorb the warmth of it for a while. A sense of peace, calm, and comfort engulfs me as it feels so healing. I try to hang on to that feeling as long as I can as it helps me during the stressful times. Nature is so much bigger than our own problems so for me, to indulge in it's myriad ways of beauty whether it's the sun or rain or birds flying in waves of grace and beauty..........or even observing the wild cats who own the neighborhood as they go through the dynamics of their hierarchies.....it's all grist for the mill in my being grateful for life.
1 reply: Amy | Post Your Reply
On Dec 22, 2015 Smita wrote :
Every time I read this, a sense of calmness quietens the noise within ....
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On Dec 21, 2015 Sunil,Bangalore wrote :
Desert ,close to nature is sublime.Connected to the life force without hindrance. But life is holistic with many other aspects also.And these are all interconnected to be complete.Let us not isolate to be incomplete but take a 360 degree facts based life view to be immersed in ourselves.Cheers
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On Dec 21, 2015 Miki wrote :
As beautiful as MAA's description is, and as much as I am troubled by the very things about Western Civilization and modernity that he describes, I cannot sidestep two challenging aspects of this.
One is that he actually made the choice to leave the desert and move to France. Without any transparency about what led to that choice, I am challenged to understand it and it leaves a veil of discomfort for me.
The other is that while I don't anything specific about the culture he comes from, many cultures of the desert are very brutal towards women. I cannot gloss over that in reading his description.
I do, personally, love the desert and have a deep personal understanding about the silence and the amazing sky and the sense of such profound and nourishing starkness.
Both are true. It's complex for me.
1 reply: Tricia | Post Your Reply
On Dec 20, 2015 david doane wrote :
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On Dec 19, 2015 Smita wrote :
This simple story says so much. What MAA describes here is what I call feeling human -- that sweet spot when the mind slows down and there's no rush at all. With all the stimuli we're surrounded by so much of the time, It can be challenging at times to feel human. It's nice to take a break from the stimuli when possible, and when not possible, find ways to feel human in the midst of it.