• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Minhas Crônicas do Brasil

Stories Inspired by Life in Rural Brazil

Header Right

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • My Crônicas
    • Comedic
    • Socio-Political
    • Journalistic
    • Philosophy
    • Nostalgia
    • Poetry
  • What is a Crônica?
  • About
  • Blog
  • My Crônicas
    • Comedic
    • Socio-Political
    • Journalistic
    • Philosophy
    • Nostalgia
    • Poetry
  • What is a Crônica?
  • About
  • Blog

Stars in the Sky

UmaEstrelaSo.gif
“Don’t be jealous of others’ successes…. 
Imagine how sad the night sky would be with just one star shining.” – me

My students were bickering over who had stars on the Awards Wall. One was proud of her achievements, but disgruntled that there were other students’ on her heels–soon to achieve the same thing she did.

Negativity is not allowed in my English classes. I watched the dynamic for a minute, conjugated a few verbs in my head for good measure, then interrupted with–“Just because someone else has beautiful things in their life, doesn’t make your own any less beautiful.” Not my most poetic moment, but it got the point across. “Preach it, Malvina!” one student hooted.

I thought about it all evening. How often do we do this? How often do I do this? Someone gets a new house, a new car, that key promotion, and we feel that sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs. They’re doing SO GOOD. I didn’t do anything like that lately. Maybe I’m not as special as I thought I was.

beach-1d-web-copyYou guys–it’s a such sick cycle. It has us chasing possessions and working too many hours and talking about our friends behind their backs.

And yet so many beautiful things can only exist because there are MANY of them. A field of flowers. Trees in a forest (each one bent its own particular way, not a single one trying to bend like its neighbor). Grains of sand at the beach (this last one is a mind-blower, by the way–have you ever seen those up close? amaze-balls!)

And stars. Lordy, if there’s one thing I love it’s a night sky full of stars. At the farm, far away from the city lights, it’s steal-your-breath fantastic. Each sun up there shining its heart out. Only beautiful because they’re all doing it at the same time.

So you just do you super-trooper. I’ll try to do the best to just do me. Together, we’re gonna light up the night sky.

p.s., the above is my first meme in Portuguese. It took me all evening, but I finally worked out the poetry of it all. I get there eventually.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Category: PhilosophyTag: happiness, lessons-learned, nature

Previous Post: « 12 Things About Brazil the Guidebooks Never Tell You
Next Post: Broken Hallelujah: on losing Leonard Cohen and the Elections broken window and view of the sky»

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

Brazilians are savage AF (no, not that kind of savage)

How to stumble your way through the humble and humiliating

yellow and green gasoline pumps

How long could you go without gasoline?

What wheelbarrows and the Boston Marathon have in common

Readers have loved…

Lorax Tree
Sometimes, the books they choose you.
A brief pause
The Things People Say

Archives

Footer

Recent Posts

Brazilians are savage AF (no, not that kind of savage)

Brazilians are savage AF (no, not that kind of savage)

How to stumble your way through the humble and humiliating

How to stumble your way through the humble and humiliating
yellow and green gasoline pumps

How long could you go without gasoline?

How long could you go without gasoline?
  • About
  • Contact
  • All Rights Reserved
  • Privacy Policy

Site Footer

Come follow the adventures!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 Minhas Crônicas do Brasil · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme