Page of Swords & The High Priestess, vol.4
Today I am going to tell you about my visit to Madrid on November 4, 2001. "You remember the date quite accurately," you say? Of course, I looked it up. I used the Internet. That day I went to the "Estadio Santiago Bernabéu" to watch the football game between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, called "El Clásico" in Spanish and "El Clàssic" in Catalan. I remember that Real Madrid won by two goals by Fernando Morientes and Luís Figo. So, it was easy to find out the date.
No, I was not there to watch football, it was business. The day before, we had closed a very good deal for both of us, and I was very happy. The negotiating partner for the deal asked me if I was leaving immediately. I was going to, but he was so taken aback by my busy schedule that he said.
You would be a fool to come to Madrid and leave without seeing the "Museo del Prado" and Real Madrid.
In fact, he was so eager to take me to "El Clásico" that he designated this as the date for negotiations. As I mentioned last time, these were the heady days when I was most into business, so passionate about it and so excessive that I was beating many of my business rivals to the punch. I could not leave without seeing the "Museo del Prado" and Real Madrid after being told that I was a fool. I was quite angry, but I told him with a smile, trying not to show any sign of it.
That's good. Indeed it is. Please show me your wonderful "Museo del Prado" and Real Madrid. You will show me around, won't you?
That's how I saw the "Museo del Prado" and Real Madrid.
You know what? "El Clásico" is said to be the most exciting game in the world of football. To begin with, "Real" means "Royal" in English. Real Madrid is the pride of Spain and has won the "UEFA Champions League" many times. They have won the title of the world's strongest club team the most times.
In contrast, FC Barcelona is the football team for Catalans in Catalonia. During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco Bahamonde, the Catalan people were even forbidden to speak their language. Because of this political background, "El Clásico" is more than just a hot football game. I knew that.
And since both teams were full of superstars, it was a frequent topic of conversation during business negotiations with Europeans, so it was to my business advantage to see "El Clásico" at least once.
Of course, the same is true of the "Museo del Prado". I generally knew what paintings and sculptures the "Museo del Prado" had in its collection.
Being educated is very, very, very important. If we are well versed in anything, we are respected. But, if possible, we should have experience, not just knowledge. In that sense, I was not well educated about Real Madrid or the "Museo del Prado", because I had only knowledge but not experience.
Now, be that as it may, I have discovered something remarkable about myself afterwards….
At the "Museo del Prado", I saw Diego Velázquez's "Cristo crucificado (Christ Crucified)," Francisco de Goya's "La Maja desnuda (The Naked Maja)," etc., and unbelievably, I burst into tears. I cried a lot. I cried a lot. I couldn't believe it myself. People were watching. It didn't matter. I just cried and cried and cried. And then, at the "Estadio Santiago Bernabéu," I watched two goals by Fernando Morientes and Luís Figo of Real Madrid, pumped my fist in the air, and screamed.
Surprising….
I was a calm, collected, outstanding and successful businessperson. I was accustomed to dealing with every pinch with a nonchalant face, with the idea that to be underestimated and belittled by others was the equivalent of being killed ten thousand times over. This way of life denied me the opportunity to experience a wealth of emotions. I loved music, you understand from my story so far, don't you? I also watched American films, even though it was to learn English, and I liked looking at paintings and sculptures. I studied traditional Japanese culture such as "Sado (tea ceremony)" and "Kado (flower arrangement)," I liked sewing, and I liked cooking. However, the richer the emotions I could experience in all of these things, and the spirituality that should have been nurtured by experiencing these emotions, the more immensely successful my business became, the less I came to nurture them. We had knowledge, but it was only knowledge, and we had somehow lived without experiencing the true sense of richness/abundance that brings joy to our lives. What a cramped, boring, poor life.... That is what I had come to realize.
I sincerely wanted to afford it. Then one day, I took the plunge, took a vacation, and revisited Billings, Montana….
Continued story : Deciding to Return to Love - Barry Epstein's trout made me cry. -
