Dey Dos

This year I wanted to make something memorable for my birthDey (by the way my birthDey was on the 11th of May for those of you that missed it…) Something I will feel really proud of, something for others, something that could have a wider impact, something that will involve others and inspire them to do some good, and finally something that was not complicated…

So I decided to focus my efforts on bringing people to Kiva.

“Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.”

I have been part of Kiva since February 2008 and since then I had made around 12 loans and I had invited successfully around 15 people to join. This year I wanted to take advantage of an incredible opportunity: For each successful invitation I make, Kiva will give me a bonus of 25 USD to lend them to whomever I want in the list of borrowers. The best part? My invitee will also get 25 USD to do the same (find more details here)

With a simple message as a response to each one of the messages that I received for my birthDey (wall posts, PMs, emails, tweets, etc…) I was able to keep the ball rolling: 

Thank you for your wishes!
If you would like to give me a present, please click in the link below and claim the FREE 25USD and make a loan to people that truly need it! Already some friends have accepted this invitation and have given me the best present ever, the present of knowing that I have friends that not only “talk” about changing things, but that see opportunities like this and use them to make a difference no matter how small…
During check out, you can edit the option of donation to Kiva to 0 USD, so you will have to pay nothing… Yes, NOTHING! and still you will making a difference, A REAL ONE, in someone else’s life! (there is a link that says “edit” just under the proposed donation to Kiva) 
I truly hope to use my birthDey as an opportunity to have a wider impact in Kiva by engaging my friends as well… 
Thank zillions in advance for this birthday present and love tons,
Dey
http://www.kiva.org/invitedby/deydos

I posted the message both in English and Spanish depending of the language of the person that was congratulating me online for my birthDey…

After 179 successful invites and 275 loans made by my invitees, I feel that this year birthDey was not just another trip around the sun. 

I made it memorable!
Memorable for me because it taught me simple ways of making a big difference, memorable for my invitees (I know how good it feels to do good) and most importantly memorable for the over 350 people that received loans due to this simple action.

My questions to you: 
What is it that will make your birthday memorable? A big cake and a hard core party? The amount of alcohol that you will put in your body? The size of the hangover the day after? 

Whatever you do with your life is your damn choice and I don’t care at all and will not judge you for that - I mean it! - I just host a hope that this experiment inspires others to go a bit further than a party and a hang out with friends. It just takes a bit of thinking and the genuine desire of making of this world a better place.

Love tons,

Dey

Paraphrasing Jovanotti’s lyrics for his song “Fango” I want to get out of me something that has been bothering me for a while…

I just don’t feel looniness… I just don’t. 

Which is a great thing, since I used to get very depressed and ‘drama-queen’ because of feeling that I had nobody by my side.

My path in Life has taught me that I’m never alone, even when I am alone. I am not sure when it happened, I do not believe it was in a moment, I guess it was a process that happened unconsciously, or so I choose to believe.

When looking back, I can see certain things that helped me to get to where I am right now concerning this specific journey, and hereby I want to share them with you:

1. I have learned to deeply enjoy the simplest tasks; from ironing to cleaning the kitchen. Therefore, I am not alone, I become one with the task and a magical fulfilling sensation invades me.
2. I have learned to call. When I feel I want to talk to someone, I don’t postpone it; I just grab my phone and call. If the person is not there I leave a message or send a beautiful e-mail (in my past the anger I felt when someone didn’t pick up the phone was excruciating, today I look back and say: “goooooosh….”)
3. I have learned to set the environment around me to help me enter emotional states. I carefully crafted several playlists in my iTunes and play them when I want to enter a specific mood. And of course I have deleted those that are not useful anymore or drag me into emotional places I don’t want to be. I craft the physical spaces around me, fill them with green, with beauty, I keep them clean, I enjoy transforming them into pieces of art - very kitsch as I love them to be…
4. I have learned to love myself. I talk loudly to myself in 1st and 3rd persons. Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy; but I do so and I actually reply to myself. I have discovered that I can have incredible amazing conversations with myself in this way - Ah! and I switch from Spanish to English to Portuguese in the middle of this conversations and when I realize it, I laugh like crazy and then say out loud: “Dey you are totally nuts” and then I say: ”I know, I know…” and I keep laughing…
5. I have learned to communicate with whatever is around me. I talk often to Kiko and Lulu (my birds), to Lolo (my dog), to Josefina, Maria, Marta, Petronila and the other girls (my plants). I tell them stories, I ask them how they are doing, I ask them for advice and most importantly, I let them know how much I love them. I talk to the roads I walk, to the busses I take, to the products I’m buying at the supermarket… You name it, I talk to it!
6. Finally, I have learned that people that love me and also people that I love are always with me. Just that, without explanation, they are always here. They exist in me and within me, and that is enough to stay up and shining.

I know this post is weird, however it’s totally genuine; and there are so many messages in my inbox about feelings of being alone and lonely that it triggered these thoughts and I decided to share them with you (so, to add to the list, I also speak with whomever reads me and take a look at the things I post online.)

I could not end this without clarifying that I still believe that face to face contact with other beautiful individuals is the most divine of all experiences, and I have a lot of them; from the cashier at the supermarket to my taxi driver; from all the people that attend my retreats and conferences to the people with whom I share public transportation and to whom I smile shamelessly. However, when nobody is around, I still don;t feel alone, I don’t feel lonely, I feel connected, I feel part, I feel I belong.

I wish you the same.

Love tons,

Dey

And here I leave you the beautiful song from Jovanotti…