Erasmus+ and mindfulness, a life changing experience

For some years, I have known of the existence of Erasmus+ projects, mobility and cultural exchange projects which costs (travel, food, accommodation and courses) are covered by funds allocated by the European Union. Finally, in the summer of 2022, I decided to take part in it and to send my application to the Burnout Lab which was held in Sweden, in September. During that experience (of which I speak, in more detail, here) I received the positive outcome of another of my applications for the “Empower your nature” project which was to be held on the Greek island of Tinos, about a month later. Tomorrow, October 28, 2022, just four days after returning from Greece, I will leave for a third project to be held in Berlin (update: I tell you about this other experience in this article). Why am I telling you all this? Because I want to make you understand, right away, how much I am appreciating these experiences, to the point that I want to do more and more.

Tinos is a quiet island of the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea, very close to the best known tourist destination Mykonos. Although the tourism of the island is in a phase of strong growth that raises, among the locals, not a few ideas for reflection on its sustainability, it maintains a strong identity linked to the main pilgrimage destination for Orthodox Greeks: the church of Our Lady Evaghelistria . Obviously, the sea is a great protagonist of the panorama of the island which sees, however, in its inside, peaks that offer characteristic glimpses of the mountain landscape. This is the location where the Hellenic Youth Participation ngo, in the person of its president Eleni Kardamitsi, has decided to set the “Empower your nature” project. More precisely, we are located at the Akti Aegeou, an accommodation facility close to the beach which, after the frenzy of summer, pampered us with all the warmth of its staff and with the fabulous dishes cooked in their restaurant.

The individual is or should be in constant search of its wholeness. Imagine it in the center of a compass and imagine that in the four cardinal points there are as many parts that, together, create that wholeness. If in the north the responsible and protective adult and "parent" component is represented, in the south we can find the root of the distant wild origins of the human being; if to the east we find our carefree and childish side, to the west we find the more introspective and creative one. This scheme is the basis of the “Empower your nature” project which aims to generate reflection on these sides of our individuality and on how much they are more or less developed in each of us. Eleni Kardamitsi, Sandra Horea and Sara Marzo (president of the association Vulcanicamente of Lecce) guide the participants of the project to discover or rediscover those cardinal points, through activities that stimulate human interaction and empathy, the intimate relationship with human nature and with the nature that surrounds us, the body, mind and spirit. The goal is to create awareness, reflection on how well our "parts" are balanced and how close we can get to the concept of wholeness. The path of the participants is not the only (human) space in which the activities have an impact. Each participant, at different levels, becomes a new nucleus that will generate activities or situations that will affect those indirect participants, once they return home.

Of course! You know who you are and life has led you to rely on those sides of your personality that become your cornerstones. Yet, there was a time, even in your life as a hard worker, when your dominant thought was "I have to play, I have to have fun". Yet, there was a time in human history when life in society had not yet conditioned our deep connection with nature, our being wild. You know who you are but the question is: do you feel complete? Look in the mirror or, more simply, close your eyes and reflect on when was the last time you were carefree like a child or wild like a primate. Found it? Well, if you have found it, chances are you have lived it or that it is in your genes, in your nature. So, it is a part of you, a part of you that you found yourself putting aside for several reasons. You are not broken, you do not miss anything. It is possible, however, that the four cardinal points above are far from balanced.

Do I walk around with a visible luminous aura? Am I floating in the air? Do I hover one meter above the ground, rising above the unlit mass? No, no and no. I am a person who has dedicated time to himself, who has put his everyday life on hold and immersed himself in a beautiful natural context, populated by beautiful people with so much to share and teach. I am a person who has stopped to observe the sunrise, the sunset, the stars, the sea, the sand and who, from time to time, has turned his eyes from the outside to the inside, reflected, found ideas and found himself grateful for the gift of life, who has been able to enjoy those simple pleasures that we too often take for granted. I discovered that my refractoriness to dance is due to a deep-rooted insecurity and fear of judgment but that my body is able to dance and my mind is able to let itself be carried away by the notes. I felt the contact of people, their respect and, at times, their admiration. I have heard their whispers, those words that vibrate in the eardrums and give you an amazing strength and I have been the dispenser, in turn, of whispers, of acts of affection, discovering, once again, the pleasure of giving pleasure. Does it seem little to you?

The body moves and, in doing so, finds new stimuli, new landscapes, new people and stories and is enriched by a parallel journey that takes place within our individuality. As long as we are always subjected to the same stimuli, in our mind it is as if there were a traveler, with a suitcase, stopped at a station from which no trains pass and, by staying there, he is no longer able to surprise himself, to learn new things, to live. The journey, in different forms, such as the one I'm telling you in this article, makes those trains pass, collect that traveler and take him to discover new places, inside and outside of him.

I hope to have inspired you and/or to have removed some doubts. If the article left you something, likes, shares and comments are greatly appreciated. If you want to read other similar content, subscribe to the newsletter!