When you decide to follow your heart, magic happens …

Madrid, August 28th 2022.

I have spent the weekend chasing a love story. This time not my own but one that has been close to my heart for many years. And now finally, mama universe has orchestrated life in a way that I just had to follow this creative urge.

Even though this weekend was about taking the first micro step, I already know this story is going to take me to places. This story is going to put people on my path that will bring me so much wisdom. Because it took just 48h and I have already been exposed to many synchronicities.

My love for storytelling is reaching a new dimension. And at the same time, chasing this story is helping me answer my own personal question of belonging. I am not going to lie, I am scared to take on this mission. Because I have no freaking clue what I am doing, how to do this and by when. Am I even able to do this? But I know what I feel and so I have to be brave again and trust that everything always happens for the best. Just like they did.

So this is it, I am getting myself into trouble again. And I have had a few restless nights to make sure I am aware of it. But the world needs to learn more about love and how love conquers all. Because it really does.

The story I am chasing is one about how love makes us courageous, how it talks to our strengths and how it can help us move forward in a bold way because we feel invincible. It’s about believing in things that are not yet there but feel right. And because we honor that, what we thought was impossible became possible.

It is a story about two individuals who, together, decided to chase their dreams. And who, because of this, have been criticized and ridiculed. Their relationship and their dreams were not taken seriously, except by themselves. They were seen as dreamers and for many years they dreamt in silence. Both separately, until they met and learned how alike they really are.

So they decided to share their thoughts with the world. And because they were breaking the silence and showed vulnerability in a big way, they were celebrated. Their lives changed in an even bigger way. They were flown across the world, invited to speak and newspapers all over the world mentioning their names. Because many like minded others dreamt in silence too, until they learned they were no longer alone. And thus a movement was born.

It is a story about the power of believing in your dreams, in doing the right thing, in building a life driven by values and a promise to always speak your mind. And to always follow your heart, and to surrender to the voice of emotions that creates works of art. Because that is what makes life worth living when you are born a sensitive soul, you are always looking for deeper meaning.

This story is about a man and a woman who met in a bookstore on a random day in October 1946 in the north of Spain. Little did they know that a simple exchange over French poetry would make the world a better place, would fill their lives with adventure and how their love for each other would support them in doing what was not done.

This story is about my great aunt and I can’t wait to go explore and retrace her footsteps. This weekend I came to Madrid to go visit the house where she used to live. A house that has a memorial stone, donated by Madrid, to honor the work that she and her husband wrote in that small studio apartment.

As we are approaching the final sprint of 2022, “the year of doing”, I hope I have not disappointed you in bringing inspiration to always follow your heart. Because that is what I have done. I took bold decisions, leaving everything behind and just trusted that everything would work-out. With another 4 months on the clock before the end of year, I can already look back and feel fulfilled. The moments become memories and one day will be written as part of this story.

The final sprint will be intense tho. I decided to give up my apartment in The Netherlands without having an alternative in place. Yes, I will move to Spain (eventually) but until this day I have not yet figured out where. Still exploring this amazing country. I am travelling to Barcelona and Valencia the next few weeks to test grounds there. And once I have handed in the keys in The Hague in October, I will be flying to Tanzania for a few weeks. Hoping to find the space and the surroundings to support me in creating more.

And as always, I will be sharing my journey along the way …

Wishing you a wonderful week!

With love.

Ines