I was out for a walk the other evening, along the oceanfront on the island of Ihlabela, the largest island off of the Atlantic coast of Brazil, just southeast of Saò Paulo, where I am staying. I'm sort of developing into an old character, and I'm OK with that. One of the things that I noticed one evening is that as I walked around it's difficult to get people to engage an eye contact sometimes. That's because they have the their own things to do, sitting around at the many lovely restaurants and bars that line the waterfront in the town of Ihlabela. Better things to do, apparently, then to engage with an old character trying to make new friends with God knows what agenda. So as the evening wound down, I walked up to a gelato store front where there were three charming young Brazilian girls standing around with no customers. They looked to me to be high school age. I can't speak, but a few words in Portuguese, and for the most part, they didn't speak English. As I ordered a gelato, I pulled out the little Bluetooth speaker that I carry around with me and just said (Portuguese, using Google translate.)) Would you girls like to, listen to some songs that I created. They sort of giggled and said yes so I played them a couple of the things that I have up on Spotify. One of them, Natália Serafim, asked if she could post it on her Instagram account. Natália told me she played the violin and she sent me her Instagram story which contains clips of her playing the violin in various settings. Here’s her Instagram picture:
Natália's Instagram video clips
I didn't think much about it at the time, but because I often stop at this particular gelato shop and head struck up a bit of a friendship with her, she stuck in my mind. I've always tried to be a macho man to the extent that I could, I'll admit it, even though I'm not really, very macho. But things make an impression on me, and late at night I often get taken down by things that are brewing beneath my rather shaky surface. The images that I had of her working night after night at this gelato stand worked on me. I started to think about my own kids playing instruments. My daughter Molly played the cello and my son Sam played the violin. They never had to work eight hours a day while trying to go to school, make time for practice. I had watched on the evening that I return to the gelato store Natália work very hard. It reminded me of jobs that I had in high school and along the way. I was always a lousy worker because I am imaginative and always got lost in my thoughts. Nowadays that's called ADHD, but then it was just called being a flake. I think I was described in the less euphemistic terms by the employers who eventually had little choice by to fire me for not paying strict attention to my duties.
I thought of the opportunity that my wife and I were eventually able to give to our children to study, learn, play, create, and develop without having to carry the responsibilities of adulthood generally too early visited upon the young. The more I thought about it the more a deep feeling developed in my heart for Natalia’s love of music.
This song, written in English and Portuguese developed as my way of offering Natália a small bit of encouragement from someone who is and likely never will be anything more than an admiring acquaintance:
Natália has to work so hard Even though she’s really still a kid I wish I could give her back her working hours So that practicing the violin was all she did I can see that she’s touched by music’s beauty So I know she’s got an artist’s soul She’s got to follow in that direction If it’s the thing that makes her whole I wish I could do something to help I’m just a guy who’s passing by that's all But I can see a lovely woman in there Struggling hard to come alive I was a young man myself once I faced hardships and challenges all along my way And I know how it feels to get discouraged And feel like the price of dreams is far too high to pay But I never let that stop me I always did what I had to do Even if at times it left me exhausted Wondering if I’d ever make it through I’ve considered Natália as I’ve watched her And I see a person who's quite admirable I’m sure she’ll continue to hang onto her dreams And live a life that’s rich and full Natália tem que trabalhar muito Mesmo que ela ainda seja uma criança Eu queria poder devolver a ela suas horas de trabalho Para que praticar violino fosse tudo o que ela fizesse Eu posso ver que ela é tocada pela beleza da música Então eu sei que ela tem uma alma de artista Ela tem que seguir nessa direção Se é isso que a torna completa Eu queria poder fazer algo para ajudar Eu sou apenas um cara que está passando, só isso Mas eu posso ver uma mulher adorável lá Lutando muito para ganhar vida Eu também já fui um jovem Eu enfrentei dificuldades e desafios ao longo do meu caminho E eu sei como é ficar desanimado E sentir que o preço dos sonhos é alto demais para pagar Mas eu nunca deixei isso me parar Eu sempre fiz o que tinha que fazer Mesmo que às vezes isso me deixasse exausto Me perguntando se eu conseguiria Eu já considerei Natália como eu a observei E eu vejo uma pessoa que é bastante admirável Tenho certeza de que ela continuará a se agarrar aos seus sonhos E viverá uma vida rica e plena
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