Squeezed between the sea and the mountains, Rio de Janeiro is a city fragmented into several regions with their own characteristics and cultures. The birthplace of some of the most traditional samba schools, a cradle of brilliant artists, a factory of tenacious workers, the setting of a famous and democratic dance held beneath a viaduct, whose trademark is irresistible choreographies synchronized with pulsating Charme music, Madureira, a place of simple and honourable people, shelters some of the most incredible individuals I have ever known: Aunt Francisca, the folk healer. A Black woman, short in stature, very thin, with completely white hair, the same colour as her dresses, also known for her elegant, almost poetic conversation. Ever since I have known her, she has lived in a very humble and tidy house. In the living room, perfumed by the herbs of the fumigator, rosemary, benzoin, and lavender are her favourites, there is an altar with images of Master Jesus, Mother Mary, and Saint George, the warrior saint. She receives everyone seated in a faded blue armchair, “the colour of Our Lady’s mantle”. With naturally gentle gestures, she is always available to those in need of a strong prayer to ease the afflictions of the soul. Using sprigs of rue, which she passes over the bodies of the supplicants, eyes closed, she utters words that come from the depths of the heart. Regardless of the magnitude of the suffering, I have never seen anyone leave that house without a sliver of hope on their lips or a light in their eyes that had not existed before. To those who wish to pay for the service, the old woman merely smiles and says, “Kneel before the altar and give thanks to Our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him, all honour and glory. To me, nothing is owed”.
Her age is a mystery. Her appearance has always been the same since I first knew her, still a child, led by my father’s hand, worried about that distracted boy who could spend hours enchanted by unimportant things. I liked Aunt Francisca as much as I liked her house. It was as if we entered a temple set apart from time and the world. The silence and stillness of that place flooded my heart with peace. The prayer did me good, but the brief conversation we had afterward was even better. Followed by a welcoming embrace, her gentle, sweet, and wise words revealed the good side of the worst situations. They not only soothed my heart but also clarified my gaze. The folk healer always showed sincere affection for me. No matter how long I went without visiting, when I did return, she asked about my terrible grades in Mathematics, a subject I hated, and my good grades in History, a topic that fascinated me. Then she let out a mischievous laugh and whispered so my father would not hear, “We must not like something just because someone else likes it or believes everyone should like it. There are no two people alike. Each one has their own way, with their beauty, charm, and power. To flee from this is to deny the magic that was granted to us”.
As an adult, I continued to frequent the good old woman’s house. However, many years had passed since my last visit. Through distraction and carelessness, we remove from our routines tasks that are fundamental to the exercise of happiness. Nothing is worse for distancing us from who we are and from who we can become. Then happiness withers. Only through routine is it possible to trace the route toward the Light. Given the time that had elapsed, I believed she might have departed for the High Lands. As Aunt Francisca was averse to telephones, social networks, and other modernities, there was only one way to find out: it was necessary to go to Madureira.
To my joy, everything was exactly as it had been the last time. Both Aunt Francisca and her house. I did not dare delve into the mysteries of time. I carried with me other, more urgent concerns. Because of serious financial difficulties the publishing house had gone through, I had sold half of the company’s shares. The honeymoon with the new partner was brief. He soon implemented a series of changes that he believed were necessary to reverse the negative cash flow. I agreed with some of them. I did not merely agree, I applauded them. They were not only indispensable but also intelligent and creative. However, others I did not like. One of them, in fact, bothered me greatly. They would begin publishing shallow works, written by opportunistic authors, such as instant celebrities, yanked into fame due to scandals, media crimes, or launched into the stratosphere of popularity by social networks, without having performed any action of justifiable value. Despite their undeniable commercial appeal, they were empty of artistic, pedagogical, or philosophical content. In a few months, the face of the company I had taken years to sculpt would be disfigured. It was not a matter of criticism or prejudice against those who explored that niche; I simply did not want it for my publishing house. I was accused of intransigence, purism, and naivety.
After listening to me without saying a word, Aunt Francisca prayed over me. Then she embraced me for interminable minutes, as if she could hear the sensitive words of the heart, unpronounceable by hurried and afflicted lips. She offered me some water taken from a pitcher that rested on the altar: “It has been energized; it serves to bring calm to the soul”. She waited for me to empty the glass and asked, “How do you understand success?” Although I had not grasped the reason for the question, I replied that success happens when an individual achieves desired goals or surpasses their own expectations. The good old woman continued, “What happens if what was achieved is lost for any reason?” Still without understanding where she was leading me with those questions, I said that in such cases, from success comes failure. She went on, “How can we ascertain a person’s success?” I explained that the most common criteria were fortune, fame, or political and social power. Aunt Francisca curved her lips into a slight smile and asked, “What happens when, for some reason contrary to our desire, money disappears, fame frays, or power is usurped?” I answered that from achievement comes the fall. And the fall is the cruellest of failures. It is better not to reach the top than to plunge from it. The folk healer frowned and commented, “Success is frightening. It scares me. I do not want it for myself”.
I tried to correct the reasoning. I clarified that fame, fortune, and power were common parameters, not necessarily mine. For me, success was being happy, dignified, and free; loving deeply and living in peace. The good old woman looked at me with compassion and reflected, “Universal truths are indisputable and impressive in the beauty of their idea. However, almost no one turns them into action. It requires effort, self-denial, and courage to apply them to daily life. Very few are willing to change. Change hurts. One must admit mistakes, deconstruct false truths, and accept the effort of personal reconstruction. Leaving behind ways of being and living that, because they are so intimate, we believed immutable to our personality, is not easy”. I asked her to explain further. She exemplified, “Everyone claims to desire peace in the world. I believe they are sincere. However, they cannot maintain it even in their own homes. They demand that others act according to their taste, do not tolerate differences, fight when contradicted, and curse uncomfortable truths. They consider these behaviours an inevitable part of who they are. No one reaches the right destination by traveling the wrong road”.
She sipped a gulp of coffee contained in a small enamelled iron mug that rested on the floor beside the faded blue armchair and commented, “Everything that can be taken, lost, or disappear by the action of time or of someone else is with me, but it is not mine. It is a loan or a concession. In either case, it is a transient experience whose greater purpose is my evolution. What is mine, nothing and no one can steal, because it neither ages nor rusts. It does not depend on laws, political systems, or economic policies. It does not fit into accounting or frames, nor can it be kept in safes or serve as currency in the market. The origin of most suffering arises from the anxieties over achievements that unravel according to the variations of days and the world, without our being able to prevent it. These do not fit in the luggage toward the High Lands. We know this, yet we continue to attribute them as fundamental to success”. She looked at me gently and whispered as if telling a secret, “To a person belong the virtues they have added to the soul. No more, no less. An inner construction emanated in serenity, balance, and strength of movement”.
She furrowed her brows and warned: “Bankruptcies, layoffs, illnesses, betrayals, slanders, unwanted separations through divorce or the death of loved ones are just a few examples of situations that make the world collapse for many people. Success is the foundation that keeps us standing when everything around us falls apart”. She shrugged and concluded: “If we have not built these inner pillars, we still do not know success. If we already have them strong, we are free to move forward without depending on any external circumstances such as fortune, fame, privileges, favours, or positions of any kind. Nothing and no one will be able to prevent us from flowing through the adversities of days. Intrinsic success stabilizes, protects, illuminates, propels, and guides. Extrinsic ones, although they shine brightly, often lack light”.
I asked how to achieve this kind of success. The folk healer explained to me: “Contrary to common belief, it is not protagonism in extraordinary events, stages filled with spotlights, plump bank accounts, happiness fabricated through perfect photographs, trips to paradisiacal places, positions of authority, or attendance at luxurious ceremonies that determine a life full of achievements. Success is an inner construction that allows us to live with joy, serenity and clarity, balance and strength of movement, regardless of the events around us”. I commented that, judging by the old woman’s words, it was a very valuable power and within everyone’s reach, since it depended solely on each person’s will. I asked why we were so far from this important conquest. Aunt Francisca smiled and recalled: “To find and enjoy something, it is necessary to understand the search and the purpose. Whatever it may be. As for deep success, what prevents it are the small undue permissions we grant ourselves day by day, driven by the impulse of unbridled desires and senseless interests. This makes us choose brilliance over light, going against truth and virtues. Without realizing it, every day we move a little farther away from who we could become”.
She furrowed her brows again as she increased the tone of seriousness and commented: “Forget the idea that we are in a bad place because of someone else or bad luck. Each person is where they placed themselves. The fall does not come from the bad influence of some friends or the neighbourhood. We listen to the words that flatter our affinities. Each one is responsible for themselves and for the consequences they have caused. No one has a cursed destiny. We are the exact product of our incessant factory of choices”.
She took another sip of coffee before concluding: “Nor would it be fair to attribute failure to great and sudden catastrophes. No one trips over mountains, my child. Life collapses outwardly only after it has crumbled inwardly. This takes time. The waste of an existence happens little by little, in the small daily concessions we authorize out of dubious interests, comfort, or lack of courage. It is necessary to reverse the routine of the relationship each one maintains with themselves. There is no other path to success”.
She paused briefly so I could connect the reasoning and suggested: “At every moment, bring to the surface of consciousness the hidden feelings that drive your choices, for they speak of the genuine intentions behind each decision. We do not always decide for the reasons we like to justify and believe”. Then she asked a simple rhetorical question: “Do you understand what distances us from true success?”
Seeing that no answer was necessary, she added: “The sincere analysis of the feelings that propel or restrain reason is an indispensable part of a good routine. Recognize them, accept them, and transmute them when necessary. Thus we define choices and destinies. Choices serve to craft routes that, in turn, bring us closer to or farther from genuine success. Feelings reveal the habitual behaviours that lead us to walk in circles. All feelings have a name. Until we decode them precisely, we will continue without understanding the gears of reason. We will continue without understanding the authentic foundations of our own decisions and the reason we cannot move forward, even after so much effort. No one understands where they are going before knowing themselves more and better. Deep success will always lie offshore from those who refuse to make the movement toward their own core. To find the essence is to understand the genuine feelings that move thoughts, for they are essential in the process of expansion or contraction of existential advances. Success occurs as a natural consequence of this understanding, as well as of the transformations indispensable to refining the inner foundations, indispensable to facing the adversities inherent in life”.
She looked at me seriously and concluded: “Without understanding the Path, in the frantic search for positions and privileges of apparent success, we will not know personal magic”. I asked what that magic consisted of. She explained by example: “Peace is not the absence of storms. Peace is feeling serene, balanced, and strong during storms. This is success. There is no more powerful magic”.
Aunt Francisca was right. Genuine victory will never be about permissions and authorizations. Any conquest whose maintenance does not require merit, but depends on the variations of the world, can become a prize in reverse. In truth, success would be like a ship, although small , or even invisible to the belief of many , it was very well built, proving itself capable of safely and autonomously navigating the uncertain and treacherous seas of existence. It involves a set of conquests of the soul. The idea of dignified, free, and firm inner movements, strong enough to sustain external displacements according to one’s own gaze, taste, and will, possessed irresistible arguments and charms.
However, I still had not understood how that conversation applied to the problem that tormented me at the publishing house. Aunt Francisca explained: “The model of apparent success manifests itself in various ways. It is not always in the unbridled desire for fame, money, or prominent positions invested with power. The exercise of control and dominance among family members, friends, or in the work environment reveals nuances of this surface power. There is nothing wrong with wanting things our way. What is wrong is entering into conflict when contradicted. We have the right and the responsibility to conduct our lives in our own way, driven by interests and flavours that are akin to us. For this, it is necessary to understand the limit of action. Both desire and freedom have insurmountable boundaries. No one is obliged to agree with or accompany anyone. This rule applies both to us and to others. If the matter concerns intimate issues, we have the right to stay or leave, say yes or no, do or undo. When it intersects with another’s right, dialogue and sensibleness become necessary, knowing that others have interests and desires not always equal to ours. We may agree or disagree; however, accepting the choice that belongs to the other by right is an act of respect. Welcoming differences of opinion and taste without resentment or rancour is an even nobler act, whether for the dignity contained in it or for the freedom self-granted”.
She sipped a little more coffee and argued: “The conflict of ideas requires dialogue for a healthy solution. The difference in perspectives is not about who is right or wrong. Clear, gentle, and sincere communication serves to find a point of light in the relationship, where those involved can yield and coexist without betraying their own essence. Without vanity and pride, with humility and honesty. In relationships like this, driven by goodwill, there can never be a loser or a winner. We win or lose together. These are the basic rules for winning a game called success”.
I argued that this point of communion is not always possible in relationships. Concessions need limits so they do not become abusive. Some people do not understand this. The good old woman reflected: “When one of those involved prioritizes surface success over deep success, driven by feelings they cannot understand or do not wish to change, they will act driven by illegitimate intentions or impulses devoid of any virtue. By not knowing the inestimable value of unmonetized wealth and truth detached from obligation, whatever the result, they will make themselves a loser, without anyone having pushed them toward defeat”. She looked at the image of the warrior saint on the altar, as if seeking inspiration, and commented: “One may head toward bad conflict or choose the good fight. To defeat the other or oneself. Genuine love for the world requires detachment from the things of the world. With each choice we define the type of success we seek and, consequently, the destiny that awaits us”.
Once again, the good old woman was right. My publishing house was not mine alone. The new partner was a good man, full of virtues, and had found excellent solutions to serious problems. He simply had a different view from mine in some business aspects. Something natural and not necessarily bad. I needed to dialogue with myself to understand the boundary between what was inadmissible and what was mere captiousness, between intolerance and respect, between pride and humility. I needed to understand whether the problem lay with me, with him, or with both. Then I would invite him to a frank yet gentle conversation. Something within me told me we would find the point of light: a place in the heart where we could coexist well and in peace, despite inevitable differences. I only thought this, without saying anything to Aunt Francisca.
The folk healer smiled and, as if guessing my thoughts, asked me for a hug. She wanted to listen to my heart just to confirm what she already knew. Then she said: “Vanity grants the illusion of success. That is why it is so difficult to overcome it. Among other traits, vanity manifests itself in the exaggerated desire to be right about everything and every subject. A futile attempt to fill an existential void that will continue to distort behaviours and choices as long as it is not understood. You will go on believing that applause, subservience, and reverence will make up for the lack of something that, no matter how much you search, you will never find in the world. What fills the inner void is an ever more refined understanding of oneself, wrapped in good feelings. Nothing else will suffice”.
She held my hands tenderly and brought the conversation to a close: “Genuine power lies in the richness of the elements that build consciousness. When you discover them and bring them to the surface of life in the form of virtues, in the way you treat yourself and everyone else, you will gain access to personal magic. A way of crossing through the days with authenticity and originality, but also with lightness and gentleness. In other words, without giving up your values and directions, you will be able to move without conflicts, resentments, guilt, or fear. Even if belittled or misunderstood, only these will know success”.
The prayer had ended. I thanked Aunt Francisca for the blessing with a loud kiss on her cheek and left. Like the others, that visit had done me a great deal of good. I left carrying with me the enchantment of finding joy and beauty where before there had been only agony and sadness. Along with two certainties. One is that when conflict is imminent, it almost always means there is a route available that has not yet been perceived. It is the path to success, or, if you prefer, the route of light. If success and light are not aligned, the road is wrong. The other certainty is that I needed to return to Madureira more often.
Translated by: Cazmilian Zórdic
