Alex Rovira

HERE AND NOW

It is a pleasure to compile texts, poems, aphorisms, and to share them with all of you. Yesterday, reviewing and editing some of them, fate would bring two poems to remain linked on. The first one is written by the poetess Matilde Casazola. The second was written by Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach....

THE OLD PROFESSOR

THE OLD PROFESSOR

I read it over for the umpteenth time. I just wanted to remember a piece of text I found when I first read it, and that I remember I underlined. I take it in my hands and re-read a passage, and then another and another through. I can not quit. It’s Sunday afternoon, I have a...

MEANING

“Why do we live?” would be the question that appeals to our purpose in life, and perhaps no one like Dr. Viktor Frankl in his book Man’s Search for Meaning has given such lucid answers to such questions. This book, whose reading marked a before and after in the existential...

SEED, FLOWER, FRUIT, TREE, FOREST…

SEED, FLOWER, FRUIT, TREE, FOREST…

Every seed contains within itself not only the fruit. It contains an entire tree. And every tree itself contains thousands of seeds that can lead to a forest. Then, every little seed knows in essence that a forest can become infinite. But the flower is born from a tiny, minuscule...

THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES

THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES

[Free and unofficial translation] “So as the character of an exceptional human being shows his true qualities, it is necessary to have the good fortune to be able to observe his actions over the years. If his actions are devoid of all selfishness, if the idea that directs him...

GURU

He’s twelve and a half, which would become, let’s say, about ninety years old in the human scale. I know but few more good souls, as faithful, sweet, staunch, noble, brave, serene and pure as him. But he is growing old: cataracts, deafness, epilepsy, hip problems…...

WHAT UNITES US?

WHAT UNITES US?

Through the mist there we are two poles together. The image is poetic, simple, naked. Captivating. It seems to me as a metaphor for this life, when two souls love each other whatever the type of link they may have, parents and children, friends, lovers, brothers… we are like...

SAKURA

Sakura means cherry blossom in Japanese. It is brief, fleeting, beautiful, fragile. A metaphor for life. Existing does not mean living. One can exist unconsciousnessly, while a life well-lived requires consciousness. The contemplation of beauty awakens us to life, makes us appreciate...

THE EYES OF THE ETERNAL BROTHER

THE EYES OF THE ETERNAL BROTHER

This is a wonderful book, an exceptional one, for which I would lack compliments to qualify it. I have given dozens of copies of it to friends, to my loved ones, who, for one reason or another, by reading it, could be brought clarity, serenity, or simply comfort in a difficult situation...

CURIOSITY

I never liked the expression ‘Curiosity Killed the Cat’, but now I understand the meaning of the catchphrase. Not far from home, in a hidden corner, a beautiful peach tree is blooming. Just attracted by its beauty, my partner and I approach it, as always carrying our little...

REVIVAL

In the distance, over one thousand meters high, this tree stands up yet asleep for the winter, in the forest. He is Spring. I shall zoom in to see its fresh green, tender, among the still numb beech and oak. The fog bathes them all, sunset is in and the temperature does not exceed...

THE ART OF LIVING

THE ART OF LIVING

If you love the aphorisms, quotations and short extracts from good and beautiful texts, you will find a wonderful selection of them in ‘The Art of Living’ -to be tasted capriciously or in strict order of appearance. Gaspar Hernández , a great friend of mine, has written...

THOUGHTS ON THE WAY

THOUGHTS ON THE WAY

This is a delightful book, written by an intelligent man. Bert Hellinger gives us lucid reflections on various issues of life in these pages. This is a book-balm, consisting of short and profound notes at the same time, and it invites us to meditate on key aspects of life: from joy...

A LIFE WITH MONTAIGNE

A LIFE WITH MONTAIGNE

Reading Montaigne is delicious. I remember the first time I read his essays I just got stuck in them. Ever since, I always have them close at hand. More than humanistic, human. Perhaps the first essayist, Montaigne was so close to the sublime and the banal, and he did it in first...

GOOD PEOPLE

I’m working on one of my soon-to-be-published books, ‘Good People’, and I’d like to remember this precious poem by Hamlet Lima Quintana [free and unofficial translation]: Some people just say a word and Turn on the excitement and the roses; Smile just between...

BENEDETTI, PLEASE

BENEDETTI, PLEASE

If you require a balm for grief, Benedetti, please. For love and justice, Benedetti, please. For the one you love, Benedetti, please. For the laughter and humour, Benedetti, please. To cry with emotion, Benedetti, please. To reflect and illuminate, Benedetti, please. To convene the...

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, LIFE

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, LIFE

This has been a dry winter, with very little rain. Just two weeks ago, it was hard to guess the tips of the leaves and flowers, very much expected. They would not show. The severe cold kept them hidden. And suddenly, life explodes. It manifests itself in an overwhelming exuberance. Dozens,...

LOVERS OF LIFE

Who said nature is not a being subject? Who said it has no soul? That it does not feel, it does not live or does not laugh or does not cry… William Wordsworth moves us with his poetic prose -it invites us to pray, to contemplate, to be aware. He writes [free and unofficial translation]: ‘And...

SUNRISE

Each sunrise is different, there are not two alike. Each wavelength of light, every cloud, every detail that can be seen, felt, every breeze and fragrance. Like every day, as in every moment, nothing is the same in nature -everything is original, literally. This sense of constant...

UNLABELED

It seems that everything has to be named, labeled, located, segmented, taxonomized, placed and sentenced. It is hard for us to see life without concepts, to stop the impulse that our mind has to classify, judge, compare. What if we were able to see the world without naming it? What...

THE ARTISAN

In his little workshop, the artisan caresses the leather he embroils books, belts, backpacks and other creations with, carefully maintained. The stone walls, built hundreds of years ago, define this chamber of only twelve square metres that smells of leather and wood, where his life...

THE BRANCH

Looking up in the dictionary, I find the word ‘Branch’, and I prefer his first two meanings: Branch. 1. f. Each of the parties that arise from the trunk or main stem of the plant and which usually sprout leaves, flowers and fruits. 2. f. Number of people who bring their...

FREEZING COLD, HIDDEN LIFE, PATIENCE

FREEZING COLD, HIDDEN LIFE, PATIENCE

February, 2012. For so many years temperatures had not dropped that much in the region. Just a week ago, the river was covered by a firm layer of ice. There were those who became alarmed by the low temperatures that were recorded every night, which were about ten degrees below zero...

BY YOUR SIDE

By your side, I have always found it a beautiful expression. By your side. Loneliness is sometimes helpful, necessary, comforting. Other times, feeling alone hurts so much that sometimes it is hard to live. When everything is strange and alien we need someone by our side who turns...

A LOVE STORY

He was born in Granada, or so we think. He wandered through the streets during his first year of life. He was abused and it was obvious. He showed clear signs of fear when someone approached him, especially if it was a man. They uploaded his picture on an Internet site, the Asociación...

EXCELLENCE, INVOCATION, CONVOCATION

EXCELLENCE, INVOCATION, CONVOCATION

YOU CAN WATCH THE VIDEO HERE This new year welcomed me in Florence. This small rental car, and I wander about beautiful Tuscany. It is a requitted and desired journey, for a long time. Even in Winter, this land is beautiful, precious. Not surprisingly, the Renaissance chose it as...

ROADS AND HUMUS

ROADS AND HUMUS

Wintry morning, I walk in the fields. A beautiful oak lies in the sleepy meadows, waiting for the Spring to come. It’s cold, fog’s low, the sun peeks shyly among the thick clouds which announce rain that, hours later, as they seemed to promise, water the soil. A road cuts...

MIRROR, REFLECTION

MIRROR, REFLECTION

I gaze at the Ponte Vecchio in the distance, in beautiful Florence. Its image is reflected in the serenity of the river Arno -a symmetrical vision, essential. I just capture the light of the moment. And, as an spontaneous association, I remember one of my favourite tunes, “Spiegel...

LOOK, BEAUTY, SURPRISE

LOOK, BEAUTY, SURPRISE

This is what life is. Beauty catches us by surprise often. Surprise gives us beauty as a present, often. It’s the same, either way. In the distance, I need a zoom, two clouds make love above two trees, naked in the winter, which seem to look for one another, too. The clouds...

BIRDS IN OUR HEADS

BIRDS IN OUR HEADS

I get lost in the streets of Florence. Suddenly, I’m facing someone who has birds over his head (or in his head: he’s scatterbrained). I take a picture. And I reflect on the phrase, “Got birds in his head”. It means he is mad or confused, or he has poor judgment,...

WELCOME

We meet again, here, to share reflections, useful, inspiring, practical and moving texts, designed by beating hearts and thoughtful minds, which can cleanse our souls and enlighten up our lives. As it does this one by Walt Whitman [free and unofficial translation]: ‘This day...

Blog

On Mondays and Thursdays, Álex likes sharing his personal view through images and words. He relies on harmony, kindness and poetry to help us finding inspiration.

Up-to-Date

Álex Rovira, Eduard Punset, Mario Alonso Puig and David Otero together in the event AHORA TÚ, at IFEMA Madrid the 23rd and 24th of June. More information here.

AHORA TÚ, con Álex Rovira, Eduard Punset, Mario Alonso Puig y David Otero

Books

From Good Luck to The Treasure Map and from genres like essay to fiction, here you are a complete journey through Álex´s thoughts and ideas. Your opinion is more than welcome.

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