Just do it!

"Just do it" is a very famous expression that we have heard or read maybe in many occasions (I can suppose) and which meaning is act! don´t wait, act! The objective of this phrase is animate people to act, and give up that lazy attitude and conformism, with which we can not improve as a person in any case. Progress is impossible without attitude and the desire of improving and things would be very different if instead of acting and fighting for everything we want to get, we were sitting in front of the television, smoking and taking a coffee, while we observe everything happens before our eyes, without enter into the "game".

But, I don´t name this expression to promote Nike of course, because although the brand has been using this phrase in many advertisements, and in words of the creator of this company says that "Nike" is described perfectly with this words. Definitively, Im not going to talk about this, because I am going to say something much more important than see how runners train every day to go further, to beat the world records in each championship, or to show that velocity is fully trainable and improvable.

In this article I am going to talk about an experience that I could live with other three partners together exactly a week ago, when I was in the city of Wrocław. Why did we decide to go this city? We decided to travel to this city from our lovely Łódź, for cultural reasons and for seeing one of the most beautiful cities in Poland too (people say that and I agree with them). But Im not going to tell you my trip (there is much time for that), because I want to stop other topics of this blog, and tell you this story that while I write still makes my hair stand on end.

The reason why I write about this is simple: I think it is much more important to improve as a person every way talking about this kind of stories (I love extending introductions to create interest and mystery), and not just what I do in my daily life or the gym I go (which I certainly do not go), because I have been much lucky to travel to this city until recently unknown, with three people who not only speak and live for fun; furthermore, they have more to show and useful to learn, and that is why many of the conversations we have had in these days have been about how we see the world and what we could do to improve it. Not only from the political point of view, but also from the economic and personal, finishing with the conclusion that we all agreed that the problem we have nowadays is the lack of values (personal values) in society.

We could argue about which system was better right now Communist system or liberal one in various ways, but what was clear was that world need some fundamental personal values that we should have. It does not matter if we are in a democratic government or dictatorship government, because without these fundamental principles, never can be good.

The principles that I was talking before are respect and tolerance that would lead to that freedom we are looking for; allowing us to have a real state in which all people were equal under law. Without respect for the rules and the people, and without that tolerance that makes us respect any person everybody would be lost.

However, the protagonist of this story showed us something in my opinion much more important, and it was the attitude that defines the phrase "just do it". One of my partner was defending that not everyone can get a decent job or decent house and that if you start your life as many people in the world, from the lowest point being homeless on the street, is practically impossible to achieve anything in life. I argued that with attitude everything is possible, because one idea opens the door to success and if you want you can. Because many things can be very bad today, but we have the tools to change: a body and a brain, and with this we can move mountains (not literal, don´t you try). Nobody can stop thinking you, and with that intimacy that everybody have, we can invent or create something fascinating. You only need to look around and saying ourselves "I can", and thinking to find a solution to change our actual situation. Obviously there are insuperable problems, such as loose the vision, or legs, which makes you have a handicap in society, very big.

We were eating in a dining room of the city of Wrocław, when a man of around fifty years old sat next to us. He looked us all the time while we were eating as waiting to say something, but we kept on with our food. But, soon, he took out a bag of his coat and began to bring out. I have to say also that he had an enormous scruffy beard, did not smell too good and clearly his clothes and hands were very black, so, he was living in the street. He was what is commonly known as a vagabond, but he was special.

In his bag, he had more or less twenty golden medals, and we didn´t know what was happening at that moment. Then, he began to show one per one medal to my partner and was looking at him firstly and then all of us to explain the origin of them. He run marathons, but not only run, he wins. For example, he had got a medal for running in ten days, ten marathons, something that very few people in the world could do it, and furthermore living on the street, homeless and was about fifty years old.

We were surprised and at first the truth is that we can´t believe the story. Of course it was also strange that may have stolen so many medals, so we were just confused. It was when he began to tell us his story and said somes truths, as if each was put to investigate, come to the same conclusions as him. The truth is that few people know, perhaps due to ignorance or simply because the media does not want we know. But before getting into these amazing story that I want to share with you, I have a bit of his life.

Firstly, it's important to say that this vagabond knew at least four languages, not only was Polish and of course spoke the native language, but he also spoke English, had been working seven years in Germany and when he didn´t remember any complicated word in English, he could say it in French. All that said us that he was not an ordinary man, and he was an educated and prepared man. Something must have happened to this man, is the question that we all jumped at that moment.

Then, he started saying that Poland and Wrocław city in question, when he was young and the Communist Party was still in power, treated very bad to people with qualities and attitudes were something important nationally and internationally. She worked in a film and music company and told us how one day while he was at work (he was a senior), because of their ideals were not with the Communist Party, came two huge Polish people and threw him out the window from a room floor. Still he doesn´t know how he has survived and nothing happened, but opened his mind to know that he had to leave the country. I had no freedom of speech or action, and the best of each field in the country were put them in jail, so he could not continue for much longer there.

He had to move with a few of problems to Germany, where things once the Second World War was finished it seemed better, at least in the non-communist side. And it was when working for a music company for seven years, followed improving and looking around if all you saw was true or not. He noted that the media exposed only the news that suited them, hiding so many that no one would know that there, but yes for our own research in Germany and it was there he began to realise how was Poland. It was a country without freedom, a country where if you did not believe what the ruling party says or had just in jail or dead. But of course, the people who have not seen more as not fully account for this state of freedom.

To be continued..... due of story has much more to tell about and I do not want a huge and endless article, the best idea is going on in another one.

    just-07eff90618708ce0fe3e07522467f59b.jp


Photo gallery



Content available in other languages

Comments (4 comments)

Want to have your own Erasmus blog?

If you are experiencing living abroad, you're an avid traveller or want to promote the city where you live... create your own blog and share your adventures!

I want to create my Erasmus blog! →

Don’t have an account? Sign up.

Wait a moment, please

Run hamsters! Run!