Like a message in a bottle

For a while now I've been thinking and feeling that I want to share more of the things that I've written.

I have many writings that I've never shared.

Today marks 7 years since the end of a journey that began another one much bigger than I ever imagined.

This morning my intuition led me to learn and research about the origins of some words that have been going around my head. One of them was Kairos -that our linear society loves to direct towards chronos but that actually has to do much more with a subjective time-.

---The opportune moment---

Shortly afterwards I came across this text that I wrote 7 years ago. It was like finding a message in a bottle, a treasure that my past self kept.

Wow...how many lives have I lived since, and yet what a timely reunion with that brave Berni. Just yesterday my therapist and I were talking about that part of me, the brave berni.

Re-reading this text feels very synchronistic. Kairos.

It reminds me of many things in life, and among them it also reminds me of some parts of who I am.

And I thought maybe it could help someone else remember something about life, or about some parts of who they are.

Maybe it can be a message in a bottle for someone else.

With love,

Berni

*I have re-worded some of this translation to remain more accurate to the essence of the original message, putting to use the improvement of my english in the past few years.

---

April 4, 2017:

["Do it,

And if it scares you, do it with fear."

Today marks 6 months since I started my solo trip through Asia. Today I take my last flight of this trip and it is to return to Chile. 16 and 17 were the flights and ferries that, along with 32 buses and 7 trains, took me to the 9 countries, 11 islands and 38 cities of this wonderful trip, in which I met places that I never imagined could exist or that I couldget to know.

It's hard for me to explain what these months have been like but I feel like I can't keep it all to myself. Doing this trip alone taught me a lot, about cultures, people and religions that were completely different from what I knew, but what matters the most to me is that I learned that in essence we are all the same.

I learnt to look and see with my eyes and heart open and not to judge without knowing. I learnt to listen more and talk less. I learnt that saying thank you and I love you looking straight to the eyes is worth more than anything. I learnt that being careful doesn't mean to be closed or indifferent, rather knowing how to act at the right time to protect myself. I learnt that if I protect myself too much nothing happens to me and that we have to try to put the fair dose of courage. I learnt that things always turn out better when I follow my heart, but that doesn't mean that my head doesn't also have an opinion about it. I learnt that being good doesn't mean being stupid but that sometimes is worth appearing stupid for being good. I learnt to trust myself like others do and to love myself like no one else. I learnt to be humble but also to never allow -myself or someone else- to devalue me again. I learnt that being afraid is okay and that I can't do absolutely everything by myself. I learnt that I am my best company but that there's nothing like having the possibility of sharing with another. I learnt that "home" is not a house, a country or a city but rather where one has refuge. I learnt that my best home is within me.

Thank you to everyone who was part of my trip. To those who, even while 18 thousand kms away, were my companions during difficult moments -those in which one is sad and afraid- and also enjoyed the most beautiful and special ones with me.

But above all, thank you to each of the friends I made on this journey, for their trust, honesty, dedication and company. For teaching me things I had never heard, done or experienced before. Thank you for your love, laughter and reflections. Thank you for changing the way I see the world and for arriving at the right time.

Thank you for gifting me the opportunity to experience your light. I hope I have given you at least a small portion of all that immense love I received and I am happy to have been able to be part of your journey too. Keep building your dreams.

Wherever you are in the world, you will always have a home and two arms wide open to welcome you.

Thank you life ❤]