Originally uploaded by Lia Stelea

Iata si un desen de-al meu.
O continuare a celor pe cae le faceam cu 20 de ani in urma, ca si metoda de a descoperi si de a intelege lumea.
Desi am studiat desenul artistic, am lasat laoparte ceea ce am invatat acolo, mai ales perfectionismul, pentru a lasa tineretea din mine sa se exprime.
Nu e un desen de copil ci unul de om mare. Un om mare care vrea in continuare sa inteleaga mai mult din lume.
Imi place sa invat de la copii. Eu nu prea am fost la acea varsta. As vrea sa am cufletul curat asa cum l-am avut candva, nu otravit de tot soiul de porcarii care mai de care.
Unii incearca sa imi ucida si tineretea. Nu conteaza pentru ei ca am si eu visele mele, sperantele mele, aspiratiile mele.
Mi-ar placea sa continui sa pun cate un desen cu o floare, o pasare, un chip vesel sau trist de fiecae data cand postez. Numai ca, desi asa ma absoarbe si ma bucura cand scriu sau desenez despre Natura, sufar considerabil din pricina gunoiului care e varsat in mintea mea.
Ce e bine e ca imi dau seama. Vad atatia tineri ucisi imprejurul meu incat fac o sarbatoare cand
mai vad cate un spirit tanar. Si cu cat varsta mai inaintata, cu atat mai bine.

There are big and complicated novels that want to embrace the universe but fall into oblivion.

There are simple stories that go straight to the heart and stay there.

So are the stories from the book called “Între râuri” (Between rivers) – written by my professor Constantin Drăgulescu. Why this name? He said – “Most places on earth are located between rivers” — and this book is mainly about places and life experiences…

What made this book so special for me was the fact that it lives. It has feelings and a life of its own.

Same feelings as mine. Different life experiences.

I felt this book so close to my heart that I sometimes wonder: “Wasn’t this written by me?”

If you feel awe for the Creation,

If birds and trees are your dear friends,

If you enjoy the company of mountain flowers,

If you get your energy from the Sun and the Earth,

If you sometimes get lost in thoughts while looking at the sky,

Then you know what I’m talking about.

The book was published in just 100 copies. Very few for its value… One can see there the life of a man who began his life in hardships and surpassed them little by little to see his dreams come true…

It’s so close to me but not only to me… there are some people I know and many people I don’t know who would find themselves well described in that book. You don’t have to be a botanist, you don’t even have to be a researcher or an engineer… Just to feel close to Nature. Peasants used to be. Shepherds used to be…

I say “used to” because… rural dwellers — peasants and shepherds — aren’t as close to Nature as their parents and grandparents used to be. Some aren’t at all. The bold sense of right and wrong that came with being close to Nature, God’s Creation, began to vanish… and so the once-beautiful surroundings began to get littered, clearcut or devastated…

I wish all the people who live close to Nature to take by the hand those who didn’t have the chance… and cure them of drugs, anxiety and illnesses… in the heart of a forest.

I wish I was back there in the mountains, after a good day of work, sharing stories near the fire and drinking wine with my friends…

I wish the next generations will enjoy that wine as much as I did .

There’s one thing I could proudly tell about myself: I’m passionate about Nature’s wonders.

That’s why I went to study Ecology and Environmental Protection in college. That’s why I read as many books and participated in as many project as I could. My mind was preoccupied with finding the solutions to problems like pollution and loss of biodiversity and natural resources.

I used to see only the bad part: the ugly gray city, devastated forests and littered villages. Things going from bad to worse.

Until I realized that there must be a balance.

The mindset that I got into all those years told me that the world was splitted in two: one side was Nature and the other side was Man.

I kept looking at Nature but I didn’t look around myself. And when I did look around, I saw the greatest waste of all, the one that produced the huge costs on Nature.

That’s the waste of human potential.

I know so many intelligent people, girls especially, who buried their God-given gift because their parents or teachers told them they shouldn’t be smart and creative…

A person like this could find a cure for AIDS.

I know so many talented people who chose a different career because that’s why others do… Depriving the world of their potential and offering instead what the majority can offer.

A person like this could bring happiness in people’s hearts.

I know so many lively and enthusiastic young people who were drowned in the sea of negativism and pulled back by the others…

A person like this could become a modern-day hero.

I know so many sensitive people — but since kids they weren’t perceived as “real men” and discouraged to express and strengthen their peaceful side.

A person like this could become a peace-maker.

Mouths to feed? I think it’s possible to feed all the poor of this world. Just think about redirecting military expenses to charity, international volunteering. Training and hiring professional peace-makers: negotiators, problem- and conflict- solvers. Still the greatest force that drives this world is — I think — fear.

I think that the mouths could be fed. But this also means making the people lose their dignity.

Feeding their minds so they could work changes the problem.

What about the minds to feed?