On How Iván Vallejo Helped Me to Better Know Myself

Who likes group e-mail? I don't. Yet I get plenty of those every day. I can't help but thinking about e-mails meant for groups of people as being somewhere in the middle of the spectrum that goes from very personal messages to online newspapers. The closer and more interconnected the group that the e-mail is addressed to, the closer to the "personal message" side of the spectrum I consider it.

For months, actually for years now, I have been receiving group e-mails from somebody have never met in person. His name is Iván Vallejo, and he is a mountaineer -although he defines himself as an "expeditionary"-. These are emails that are, to my understanding, sent to a relatively large number of people. That is to say, these are the kind of e-mails that I would typically not read or read very briefly, and swiftly take them out of my Inbox. But today, when I received a message from him, I noticed I didn't delete it. Then I looked back at my saved files, and I noticed that apparently I have not deleted any of the many e-mails that I have received from his account...

The question that followed was: What does it mean? Does it say anything about me? Iván Vallejo is a well-known and well-respected person in our country, Ecuador. But I doubt that is the reason why I kept his correspondence - I do receive similar emails from other people with similar characteristics, and I tend to be pretty efficient in vanishing them from my archives. It was then that it clicked that there is something I deeply respect in him, something that I look up to, something that I feel inspired by...

A few years ago, he set a goal to himself: he was to climb the 14 tallest mountains in the world, all above 8 ,000 meters high, and all without oxygen. It was not an easy challenge. Not only did he have to find sponsors to be able to devote himself to this endeavor, but most importantly, he had to overcome thousands of small and huge obstacles along the way. He failed more than once, having to come back from mountains without reaching the top after weeks and even months of preparation, after being just so very close. The only think he had left in those occasions was to turn the page and to start over, not letting the disappointment stop him. And he did star over. Once, twice, as many times as needed. He documented in videos and in his online diary his personal struggles. Not afraid to show the weaknesses, the fears, the lack of air, the pains, the hopes, the frustration, and eventually, the happiness each time a mountain top was reached. And on May 1st. of 2008 he reached the top of the Dhaulagiri, in Nepal, fulfilling his goal.

What did he do next? Well, he set himself a new goal! The new project involves bringing along more people with him. "Somos Ecuador" gathers together group of Ecuadorian mountaineers in order to climb the big mountains of the world, and eventually climb the Himalayas. He proved he could do it on his own. Now he means to lead the way in order to prove that they can do it as a team. This just revealed very clearly what his greater goal is and has been since the beginning. The ultimate purpose of Vallejo's expeditions is to inspire and to mobilize others.

I find here one of the most beautiful metaphors of life, or better, of how to live life to its fullest, facing the challenges with optimism and purpose. It is not about not being fearful, it is about overcoming fear. It is not about the physical strength, it is about the strength of the mind and, above all, of the soul. It is about you as an individual, but just as long as you can also make it about your community, about inspiring and mobilizing other people to set and achieve their own and the shared goals. And this morning, as I discovered that I have not deleted any of the messages that I have received from Vallejo, I learned that these are amongst the values that I hold in greatest esteem, and that I really want to learn more and practice more of. Looking at the picture that I am posting here (which I borrowed from his website), taken from the top of Mont Blanc, I see both the beauty of this landscape as seen from the furthest point above, and the beauty of the path behind, the testimony of the struggle within each of the expeditionaries' hearts, and their success.

This is what I learned from Iván Vallejo about myself. I thank him for that, and wish all of the best to the "Somos Ecuador" team who are currently in Huaraz, Perú.

Back to Blogging

I think I have neglected this blog for long enough... it is time to make a come back.

Many things have happened in the world as I see it since my last post (in July 2009). Here is a rough inventory with on-the-go comments:

In the World:

• A devastating earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010. It felt utterly unfair, that the most impoverished nation of the hemisphere had to endure this. The recovery is still ongoing.
• Since December 2010, the "Jasmine Revolution" or "Arab Spring" is re-shaping the political landscape in the arab wold. This is probably the single most important event in the last two years. I believe that the consequences of what has happened in the last six months for the world we and our children will live in in the next few years are humungous, and we still haven't really started to grasp their reach.
• The Sudanese people voted in a referendum to favor the independence of Southern Sudan in January. The new country will be officially born in 3 days (July 9th) with huge challenges ahead. May the changes to come turn to be beneficial for its people.
• Japan was hit by a deadly earthquake and a Tsunami in march. This also lead to one of the worst nuclear crisis that humanity has seen since WWII. I was deeply moved by the tragedy, troubled by the risks of nuclear energy, and very inspired by the way the Japanese people reacted to the tragedy.
• Osama Bin Laden was killed. I don't feel comfortable with celebrating a person's death, but I must admit that I felt relief at the news. The means used by this person to advance his ideas were just evil. It is still to be determined wether this will just prompt the emergence of new Bin Ladens, or will really change the nature of the international terrorist threat.
• War criminal Ratko Mladić was captured and extradited to The Hague. This event has helped us learn and/or remember the atrocities of the war in former Yugoslavia, but it is still to be seen if it will really serve justice and reconciliation, or bring about further problems to the republics created after the disintegration of Yugoslavia.

In Latin America:

• The Mexican Drug War has escalated in the last two years. The situation is very serious, and has affected the lives of millions of people. Here, I am still in disbelief.
• A devastating earthquake hit Chile in February 2010. The Chileans showed courage and amazing organization to deal with this tragedy in the midst of a presidential transition.
• Sebastian Piñera became President of Chile in March 2010. This ended the series of governments of the "Concertación" and represents a turn to the right for this country.
• Around the same time José Mujica became president of Uruguay. I have not heard news about his government since then...
• 33 miners were rescued in Chile, after over two months of surviving 700 meter under ground. A unique story of courage. Very inspiring and happy moments.
• Juan Manuel Santos became President of Colombia in August 2010. He was not my favorite candidate, but I have liked many of his actions since he is in power, specially his openness to a tighter integration of Latin America.
• Former Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner died in October 2010. Given his ongoing influence in his country's politics -besides his being married to the current president- this event came as a shock not only for Argentineans, but for many other Latin Americans.
• Dilma Rousseff was elected president of Brasil in 2010. I don't know much about her to comment, but I can say that I have heard more good than bad things about her, and that I am happy that the largest country in my region is led by a woman.
• Just yesterday, Ollanta Humala was elected President in Perú. In full honesty, I am not happy with the news, but I agree with many of my Peruvian friends in that these are not times for complains but for hard work... Everybody deserves the benefit of the doubt, and I wish the best for the future of our neighbors.

In Ecuador:

• On September 30, a major police rebellion led to armed confrontation between the police and the army on the streets in Quito. Blood was shed. The leaders of the revolt acted stupidly, and the President's imprudence put himself in a dangerous situation (for him and for the country). A very sad episode, that ended up bringing political benefits for the government.
• Ruptura de los 25 separated from the governing coalition in Ecuador, over disagreements with the referendum proposed by President Correa earlier this year. I felt we should have done this earlier, when the president showed full support to the Attorney General in spite of the major corruption acts that he was so evidently involved in. At any rate, I find in this decision a source of hope and optimism: we need reasonable critical voices, that expand the debate beyond the "pro or against Correa" spectrum, and this is a clear move in that direction.
• All 10 questions posed by President Correa at the referendum were approved by popular vote, but by a narrow margin. This is probably the most important political drawback for Correa since the beginning of his first government. He is enjoys large political support, but about half of the population expressed concerns and doubts about his policies. This is an opportunity to correct the more authoritarian aspects of his presidency. We'll see...

All and all, the political landscape in Ecuador remains absolutely dominated by the figure of the president. The success of his "revolution", as it stands now, depends exclusively on his leadership. This kind of concentration of power is not good for any country.

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It is mind-blowing! This is an on-going intensive-history-making stretch of our lives. Gotta keep our eyes open, and make our minds ask more aggressively: what role am I supposed to play in all of this? Is the role of the captive observer enough?