I’m writing these lines today with a bit of nostalgia as I close my thirties today. And however I feel excited for the coming years with a base four, I can’t stop wishing to stay a little longer at this age, not because I do not want to grow, but because I feel an enormous gratitude for everything I learnt in these ten years of my life.
I remember that in my twenties I used to be a girl who was so confused and unhappy in life that I told myself this must be just a season, and that by the time I reached thirty-five everything would be sorted out. LOL. I think my mind at that moment made this assumption based on statistics, because I always thought that a woman at thirty-five was already an ‘old person’ and must have everything sorted out. In reality, we know this is not always true!
THE LESSONS
Years passed, and as you know, I finally found my passion in life when I became a documentary filmmaker at 32 years old. To this day, I believe it has been my greatest accomplishment, and I truly wish everyone could discover their own passions as well. For me, filmmaking and telling positive stories is what keeps me creative and happy every single day.
I also learned to appreciate the time that people offer me, whether it is for a conversation, a meeting, or even a simple message. I believe there is nothing more valuable or beautiful in life than someone giving me their time and energy. Because of this, I have met incredible people everywhere, both in Peru and around the world, in very remote places as well as while working with well-known actors and companies. These connections are only possible when they grow from honesty and from meeting people whose values and intentions align with mine.
At the same time, this taught me to be more empathetic toward people who have been hurt in the past. I learned that no one is born as a “bad person.” Unfortunately, society and the systems we grow up in can shape people in painful ways. Many behave as they do because of deep traumas, and we often have no idea what they carry inside. Still, we are all human and we all make mistakes, and I feel that I am learning to understand people rather than judge them, while also paying attention to my own boundaries.
In this sense, I learned to build a closer relationship with my parents and today we truly enjoy deep conversations and reflections about life when are together. I feel very lucky to have parents with whom I can talk about anything, without any judgment from either side. Which, by the way, as a funny anecdote, I’m the product of their Valentine’s Day passion night! LOL. Scorpio sign yay!
I also learned to deepen my connection and openness to life and the universe in whatever it wants to show me. This means trying to understand the lessons behind situations that don’t go the way I expect and, above all, learning to be patient which I think is one of the best secrets in life.
MY RECENT CONNECTIONS
And something I’ve been learning in recent days since I came to spend some time in Cusco, the city of the Inca Empire, is to understand and above all to feel our special connection as human beings with plants and nature. And although it may sound “too green” to many people, it’s actually not like that at all.
To be honest, I was never a big fan of plants. My mom is absolutely passionate about them and collects every single one she can, so I am nothing compared to her. There are so many on our terrace that people sometimes think she sells them, which always makes us laugh LOL. Because of her, I have always liked having plants around, but I never felt a strong connection with them until a few years ago since I started to learn about them and used them as medicines.
A month ago, I got sick with a strong flu that lasted for a very long time. And although it showed up as something physical, I have recently discovered that it was actually emotional. The truth is that in earlier cultures, like the Incas and many others before them, they used plants to heal emotional illness as well!
The Incas understood so clearly what we now call “mental health,” and they knew it was just as important as physical illness. They had their own medicines for this because they understood that a human being is made of both physical matter and energy. And even though it might sound like this belongs only to an ancient culture, it does not. We are the same kind of human beings they were, with the same bodies and the same brains, so speaking about them is also speaking about our present as human beings.
These days, I am experimenting my new days with great sleep, great digestion and great focus thanks to our sacred Mama Coca but I will tell you more about this in a future post.
THE PRESENT
Being two weeks surrounded by beautiful mountains, at more than 3300 meters above sea level, going on treks, learning about my connection with nature, making offerings to the mountains, cooking healthy food in front of an incredible view, breathing clean air, learning a lot through my beautiful and meeting wonderful people along the way is showing me that this is truly the life I want to keep building.
I have learned that life is not only about the great moments. To reach this place where I feel at peace with myself and with life, I had to fall many times in my thirties, and I am sure there will be more in my forties, because life is a constant change. Life is not guaranteed, but it becomes extraordinary when you finally start to understand that everything is worth it for our growth as human beings, as professionals, as children, as friends, and so on. In the end, I truly believe that we were born in this world to learn to be better humans.
This journey through my thirties has been the best season of my life so far. And although I feel nostalgic about leaving my base three behind, I also have hope that my forties will bring new and exciting experiences. At this point, I do not have any specific wish for the next few years, except the desire to keep growing within myself and with the relationships that surround me.
Welcome to my 40’s! Yay!
Documentary Filmmaker & Production in Peru (Fixer) 