Looking ahead

This has been a busy week. The logistics around an international move are complex, tiring and bureaucratic. It is easy to see why this process is seen as insurmountable by many people, and will prevent them from moving to a different place. However, there is also a big sense of achievement once tasks are finished. We have sold the furniture, the boxes going to Colombia have been picked up and the trip home is almost completely booked… but that is not my main motivation. My main motivation is the beginning of a new phase, full of opportunities and hidden treasures, a new and exciting chapter. And this is what I would like to reflect on.

In Colombia we tend to look only at what is happening today. No, not really, in Colombia we tend to look at the present and somewhat the future but with a pessimistic approach. We tend to reminiscence about old times and to imagine worst case scenarios for the future. There is always something bad, always something wrong, there are corrupt people everywhere; there is lack of safety, there is always something going on. In brief, there are always reasons to be pessimistic about the future, a reason to explain why things are wrong. A reason to avoid responsibility and blame someone else. And with all these reasons and pessimism, we Colombians see a dark future.

But I believe we, in Colombia, need to see a different future. In Colombia we need to start recognizing and promoting the good aspects of our lives. We need to start celebrating the honest, transparent people, we need to start visiting and promoting all those parts of our country we know are a treasure and are worth seeing and enjoying. In Colombia we can do things well if we want, we can have a promising future if we want, in Colombia we can change if we want. But that is only possible if we start with ourselves. It will be possible if we follow rules and indications, if we see the good in other people, if we start doing random acts of kindness with no expectation of reward, and, above all, if we look ahead with optimism and hope. Because for every Colombian that starts believing there is a future, ten will question if that person could be right; it means ten people that will wonder whether they can believe as well. And once we change enough mindsets we will change our future.

That is why we must remember something JFK said: The question is not what the country can do for you, it is: What can you do for your country?. And what about start by believing it could be better?