If Someone Accompanies You, You Will Go Further
The verses of the poet Antonio Machado remind us that life can only be seen as a path in itself to be followed and which inevitably presents obstacles.
On the other hand, you have the power to decide how to overcome obstacles and tackle the path that will lead to the achievement of your goals. And for that, it is good to know that someone is accompanying you.
Cook Alberto Chicote told in an interview that one of the lessons he learned in life was to realize that to be alone is to be dead.
He probably realized this when he saw that the path is full of lions with different faces and shapes. You might be able to beat someone faster than you if you’re alone, but you can never beat everyone if no one is with us.
If you are alone you are dead
Being alone is not the same as feeling alone, nor the same as wanting to be alone. That is, the desired loneliness is always a good thing at times, and it is even necessary.
To feel alone is to be surrounded by people and to see nothing but emptiness. To be alone is to wish to cross a river and not get there because no one is there to throw you a trunk to act as a bridge.
No one is going to make your life easier and it will be very complicated if you want to lead it alone. If you want to cross the river on your own you might get there, but by surrounding yourself with people who are willing to help you, you will manage to multiply the strength and ingenuity that you are capable of showing in the face of an obstacle.
This is certainly why the Maasai shared this teaching with Chicote: not because loneliness is a bad thing, but because it is sometimes essential to travel with someone.
To give a practical example, let’s say you want to start a business. You probably don’t have all the tools you need to create everything on your own.
It will therefore be much easier to do it as a team, with various capacities, and with people who can help you and share the happiness of your success.
The important thing is not to reach the end, but to do it with someone
When you have successfully positioned the trunk and reached the other side, you will understand the importance of being accompanied and the power of knowing when it is best to be alone.
You will then know how beautiful it is to have someone with you, by your side, who holds you back when you fall or when you drown, who picks you up and allows you to rest for at least a few moments.
We often tell ourselves that it is better to be alone than in bad company and we forget that it is up to us to choose who accompanies us.
There is a time and situations for everything: for the desired solitude and for sharing the joys of those who truly surround us.
You might find it interesting to know that Albert Einstein once confessed to feeling lonely. Indeed, he had achieved his goals and he had become the most famous scientist of the twentieth century, but loneliness overwhelmed him emotionally.
It also shows that, sometimes, cultivating emotional relationships is a necessary ingredient to feel fulfilled.
You will go further if someone gives you a helping hand
When a baby begins to walk, his parents are aware that he has to get there on his own, although it is always advisable to give him a hand and make him feel that someone is with him.
The same thing happens when we become adults. You are then independent enough to have good self-confidence, but it is always welcome that someone gives you a helping hand to move forward if necessary.
Having certain people in your life can sometimes be the impetus you’ve been lacking to push beyond what you once thought were your limits.
These people can help you create what you deserve, and fight to achieve your dreams and hopes, without stopping in the face of doubts and fears.
Making the journey with someone is to realize how lucky we are to have found unique people, who we care about and who share their goals with us.
If they are really important, they will also follow us until the end and they will fight endlessly to get us to where we have decided.
