Comforting visits

I want to begin as simply and naturally as I would begin a piece of writing, but with nerves and many ideas that are difficult to weigh in the letters written here. For more than two months a very natural conversation arose with the beautiful Nathalia Quintero, a professor at the School of Librarianship of the University of Antioquia, in which she expressed to me her desire to come and visit us and get to know, with her students, the Corporation "Laboratory of the Spirit", located in El Retiro, Antioquia, Colombia. Recognising how important it is to listen to each other, to tell each other, to ask each other about what we do in our places, is essential to understand if this is our way or if it is necessary to deviate our path slightly in order to strengthen it.

The time came to welcome them and, with all the love and dedication to make this visit a memorable one for them and for us, with a smile on our faces we began to talk about how it had gone on the way there and to introduce ourselves. And oh, surprise! I met the beautiful wife and daughter of Alfredo Mires, an exceptional being that I remember and admire deeply. I spoke with him in several places and he shared with me that the simple, the kind, the ineffable is the most beautiful thing we can have.

The whole morning was filled with smiles, questions and answers and a very special moment that, as the Laboratory of the Spirit, we always offer to those who visit us, sharing also in a reading and creative writing workshop. To experience a space for reflection on reading aloud and that from the book we can recognise ourselves and understand the situations that occur in our lives: let the blank pages be our greatest listeners of what we feel and think, for there they take shape; in words that become phrases that give meaning to the moment we are living. And, finally, to thank life for these wonderful new people that I was able to meet and that I will always carry in my memory.

Luz Mirella Bedoya - Member of the Corporation "Laboratorio del Espíritu".