The story of today brings us to Catalonia, in Spain. Xenia, a multifaceted stay-at-home mom with a background in Business and Political Sciences, shares with us the awakening process that brought her to step-out from a materialistic culture and to live a life that really reflects her soul and values. Know more about Xenia by visiting her blog!
MEET XENIA!
My name is Xenia Olivia, I'm 33 and I live in Catalonia, Spain, where I was also born. During my lifetime, I've been blessed to live in different countries such as France, Italy, Hong Kong or China. I spent nearly 6 years in Asia, where I pursued my BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) and where I then worked in the marketing field for some years. Prior to that, and as weird as that may sound, I did another bachelor's degree, in Political Science, so I'm a political scientist as well. My main interest in politics has always been public policy, and how politics can actually help change the world for the better or, when mismanaged or corrupted, change it for the worst. I currently am a stay-at-home mom of 2 trying to inspire people to live consciously.
THE STORY
What were you looking for in life?
The current problem we're facing as a society with climate change and the extinction of numerous species due to human greed and the choices politicians, businessmen and, yes, also us as consumers, take, is heartbreaking. Not only are we destroying our planet, we're promoting the sort of values that encourage this materialistic behavior in which it is never enough, and we always want more, and everything needs to be replaced as soon as it is slightly broken.
What was stopping you from achieving it?
I feel cheated. I feel I've been lied to and controlled for my entire life. Barely any decision I ever took was free from external stimuli and pressure telling me what to do and how to behave, which decisions to make. And this fast-paced, materialistic culture is not at all what I am deep down inside. I do not resonate with it, I do not support its assumptions, and I do not want to perpetuate it.
Which was the trigger for the change?
Eventually, as I evolved in my personal development journey, I started to realize all of this. I was able to step back, look at myself from above and understand that I was acting in ways that were not true to my soul, and were only a reflection of the society in which I was born, in which more, bigger and newer was always better. I started doing my research and came across the slow movement: slow living, slow fashion and so forth. Now, THAT resonated with me. It made all the sense. The planet was being destructed by our actions and the capitalist system, and there we were, working longer hours to earn more money to spend on things we didn't need at all.
How was your journey? What did you put in action?
As soon as I came to understand that our whole life has been marketed towards consumerism, I felt outraged. I felt as if I was living in a Matrix-like computer simulation of reality, in the sense that all of my choices seemed to have been taken for me by society and major companies, even without me realizing it. This struck to me as terrifying, but I saw hope. I understood that, as with any major evolution in personal development, this too started with the same: awareness. I was now fully aware of the forces around me, of the actions they wanted me to take and, most importantly, of the alternatives.
How do you think your life would be now if you had continued in the same direction?
Had I not realized how this profit-driven world we live in was operating, I would have just stayed the same for the rest of my life. Clueless about the fact that with my automated actions I was perpetuating a system that depletes the ocean of fish, fills it with plastic, pollutes our air with CO2, and encourages the consumption of food that is obviously killing many of us.
How is your life today?
All I can say today is I'm finally awake. And there's no going back. I've seen the force behind the consumer system we live in, thanks to books and documentaries I can now understand that a change is needed, or the end is near. And you know what they say: "There is no planet B". It is hard sometimes to be the change you want to see in the world, as Gandhi put it, because you feel like an ant facing giants. But as someone recently told me, there's many of us ants.
What would you say to someone reading your story?
Yes, together we have the power to change the world we live in and leave a better world for our children and the others to come after them. As Margaret Read once said "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." We are the generation that has the power to reverse all the damage that has been done to our planet, or to continue to mistreat it until it's too late. What do you want to be remembered as for the generations to come? I clearly choose to be on the side of those who became aware of the problem and of the power they had to change things with their behavior, their everyday actions. Small actions are everything, because we truly are ants capable of building a better future.
THE FAVOURITES
Which are your top 3 inspiring books?
Minimalism: Live a meaningful live, by The Minimalists. This book was a shocker. I actually watched the documentary before and it totally resonated with me and with the slow movement I was just discovering. We really don't need all the stuff society makes us think we need. Less really is more! More freedom, more savings, more LIFE.
Get it in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain.No more plastic: what you can do to make a difference, by Martin Dorey. I discovered Martin when reading his book "Kids fight plastic" to my children, and we all became trapped by how easy it is to impact the world with our everyday choices. This book for adults has everything you need to start living an environmentally-friendly life and cut down your plastic consumption.
Get it in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain.The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle. This book has nothing to do with climate change or the environment, and everything to do with what we truly are as human beings. It is a mind-blowing book about spiritual awakening and enlightenment and I always recommend anyone to read it. We're all energy, all of us, and everything in this planet is connected. We are ONE. When you hurt someone else, or the planet in some way, you're hurting yourself, we're all connected.
Get it in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain.
Which are your top 3 inspiring movies, series or documentaries?
Minimalism: A documentary about the important things. This was a wake-up call for me. As I mentioned earlier regarding the book, we have been sold the idea that we need more and more and more. And it just never seems to stop. But it truly is all a lie. And we have the chance of saying: ENOUGH.
Cowspiracy: the sustainability secret. This was one of the documentaries that made me aware of the fact that eating meat is actually contributing to climate change and that meat consumption rates in America or in Europe are not sustainable. I'm not vegan, but I do think that we should all reduce our meat intake. Not only would our planet be better, our health would too.
La mafia des océans. This is a French documentary that unveils the secrets of illegal fishing around the world, the mafia of the oceans and the profits that are being generated from exploiting and depleting the oceans illegally. I was totally in shock after learning the boss of one of the biggest mafias was Spanish and happily living in his home in Galicia, in north-western Spain.
Which are your top 3 favourite songs?
Somethin' stupid, by Nicole Kidman and Robbie Williams. It was one of the songs I learned English with back in primary school and it brings good memories.
Tant de bo, by Suu. This is a Catalan song. For several reasons I've come to believe it is the song of my partner and I.
Shout, by the Isley Brothers. This song was featured in a movie that I find hilarious, The Wedding Crashers, and it just always improves my mood.
Which is your most inspiring quote?
Be the change you want to see in the world, by Gandhi. Because that's all you really need to do to create a better world, truly. Aligning your actions with what a good world would look like for you. If we were all to follow this simple piece of advice, the world would be a much better place to live in.
Tell us about your own favourite picture!
The joy of growing your own vegetables 🙂
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