Lucas

Pain is compulsory but suffering is obtainable.

I got to know Lucas at a small hostel in Baños, Ecuador, where he stayed with his Argentinian travel buddies. He left his country for a long trip all over South America, taking on some small jobs where necessary and enjoying the vagabonding lifestyle.

What is the most important thing in your life, for what do you get up in the morning?
I don´t know, I think just for the sake of living, right? I have been working for a long time in a business, in commerce. And my life was very monotonous. A year ago I was doing the same thing every day, each day. And suddenly it clicked and I realized that this is not life, neither just earning money nor having material goods. Rather it is something else, it is to be happy, to enjoy ourselves. I think that is what it means to live, to have an adventure. To enjoy the moment more than anything, people, everything, right? The thing is that if someone wants to throw himself in for the money, he loses all this, he becomes impoverished with all his money. You’re missing out on a lot of things that happen. And that’s why I said “I’m leaving”, taking advantage of the moment.

And how did that happened? Was there a day when you got up and thought “Oh, all this sucks!” Or was it a conversation that made you realize that you do not want to continue like this? What was the moment of change?
Yes. I think on the one hand I got tired of the monotony of working for 6 years. Little by little, time passed, I saw no progress. On the one hand it was that. And I knew that this is not it, that’s not what I have come for on this earth. That on the one hand and on the other hand I went to the valle grande with a friend, this is a tourist place near where I am from. We met some Chilean girls and invited them to eat with us. We asked them, “How do you guys manage to travel?” One told me: “You have to pack your bag one day, strap it on and leave.“ And that’s how I got the idea. It would be great, I need to do it. If I don´t do it today, I’ll never leave. And I really did it. And so with that trip … you see everything in a different way, it’s good. Here you realize that material goods don´t matter. Our life is in a bag like this one and a sleeping bag.

And I also noticed … with my old lady… we lived there in a house, fighting a lot about opinions, it didn´t go well. And now that I’ve left for a trip the relationship has totally changed.

Speaking of which: what is the best lesson you have learned from your parents?
Well, my old ones, thanks to them … they have educated me quite well. I was never much required to study or work. But I also think I owe a lot to my grandfather. It was a man who had worked a lot, a very straight person too but he had a heart of gold, and I’ve been there a lot. I have been studying in Spain, for 8 years, as a little boy, from 9 to 17 years of age… And when I came back I was living a long time with them. What remains is the heart that he had and the integrity of pursuing something and achieving it.

And concerning my mom… now on this trip I am realizing a lot of things that she told me back then. Not to worry because money will always come to you. This was her problem. And I got sick of starting this topic. How can you believe that we will be well off? How will the money arrive? The numbers do not work. And my mom would say “No, no, calm down“. And now that I’m traveling we’re spending money, but we don´t run out of it. Always something comes up, there is always money to eat. Only now I’m realizing this.

What makes you laugh? What makes you feel good?
I want to be with people. I try to get to know every person I see, who gives me the opportunity to meet her. To learn in part, about culture, about everything. Be with friends, right?

And every bad thing also has its positive side, doesn´t it? You only have to focus on the positive side of each thing. If there is pain it is obligatory to feel it, but the suffering is obtainable. It is not to say “oh no, I cannot, I have no money … oh …” Suffering is obtainable. That’s why: I have no money. Alright. But I’m going out to get a job and see it in a positive way. Pain is compulsory but suffering is obtainable.

What does a perfect day look like for you?
A perfect day? I don´t know. Being healthy I believe that any day can be perfect. Well, a good barbecue with good friends, drinking wine … In Argentina the barbecue is made with firewood, not with charcoal. Now it is very difficult to do it, but it would be nice.

And do you have any wish for the future?
I hope … every time I think about it I think it is even more difficult,… but I hope there may be more unity in the world. That there is not much war, so much conflict regarding things that are not necessary. We can focus on improving ourselves as a society. Maybe change has to start with oneself, I think. If I want to change the world I have to change myself. As a good example, that’s pretty hard, right?

Lucas - suffering is obtainable

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