Let us get back to last November, spring. I was walking on the beach in Cariló with my friend Carla. Strolling alongside the ocean, trying not to get our feet wet, while chatting away.
We have a peculiar history together, Carla and I. Our friendship started with a kind of ‘blind date’, after my son insisted that his friend’s mom would be a perfect friend for me, and at the same time Carla’s son tried to convince her to make friends with me. Neither of them had ever done anything like this, nor did they ever do it again. Neither of us was inclined to listen to our offspring on this matter -we are well able to find our own friends-, but both our sons kept nagging so eventually we gave in.
Since then we have become best friends.
Then both our sons moved to the first world. She moved out, I moved out. And all of a sudden, she and I were walking on that beach in Cariló again, together, just like in the old days. She had moved back to Argentina, I had refurnished our place and am spending half my time in my adopted home land again.
That’s what we were discussing. Look at us, we left, we are back. Why on earth do we have this incredible urge to be here. Why are we so attracted to this place? Why do I consider this a country of delights? Definitely not because of its great economy, nor its fantastic politicians!
We discussed this for ages and we didn’t really come to a conclusion. Friends? Yes, for sure! Its beauty? Definitely! But what else? There must be something more!
We couldn’t quite put our finger on it, which does not come to a surprise, considering I, for years, had this Why on earth did I move to Argentina?-blog, and never found a consistent answer either. Carla said it’s the “je ne sais quoi“, which we then both accepted as final answer. It also sounded good.
But then totally out of the blue, at a moment I wasn’t even looking for the answer, it came to me during a podcast by Tiago Forte (a second brain). (more on him later)
Argentina is, just like Brazil (the country he describes), a developing country. He describes them as informal, where spontaneity and improvisations are part of daily life.
There’s just something in the air. There’s a magic. Things happen that just surprise you, that you would never expect. It’s this open ended possibility that things can happen that you didn’t expect or planned for. That is informality.
Tiago Forte, a second brain podcast
He totally nailed it.
I immediately called Carla to tell her the answer to our question.
She agreed. That is the ‘Je ne sais quoi‘ we were looking for. It is a magic, something in the air, things happen that just surprise you…!
Photo by Lachlan Dempsey on Unsplash
The Feel Good Way 
3 responses to “Je ne sais quoi!”
A smile on my face after a stressful meeting 😊. Thank you!
That’s why I do this 🙂
A friend send me this in reaction to this post :
Las tardecitas de Buenos Aires tienen ese, qué sé yo, ¿viste?
Salís de tu casa por Arenales
Lo de siempre, en la calle y en vos
Cuando de repente, de atrás de un árbol, me aparezco yo
Mezcla rara de penúltimo linyera
Y de primer polizonte en el viaje a Venus
Medio melón en la cabeza
Las rayas de la camisa pintadas en la piel
Dos medias suelas clavadas en los pies
Y una banderita de “Taxi Libre” levantada en cada mano
¡Te reís! pero solo vos me ves
Porque los maniquíes me guiñan
Los semáforos me dan tres luces celestes
Y las naranjas del frutero de la esquina me tiran azahares
¡Vení! que así, medio bailando y medio volando
Me saco el melón para saludarte, te regalo una banderita y te digo
Ya sé que estoy pianta’o, pianta’o, pianta’o
No ves que va la luna rodando por Calla’o
Que un corso de astronautas y niños, con un vals
Me baila alrededor… ¡Bailá, vení, volá!
Ya sé que estoy pianta’o, pianta’o, pianta’o
Yo miro a Buenos Aires del nido de un gorrión
Y a vos te vi tan triste, ¡vení, volá, sentí!
El loco berretín que tengo para vos
¡Loco, loco, loco!
Cuando anochezca en tu porteña soledad
Por la ribera de tu sábana vendré
Con un poema y un trombón
A desvelarte el corazón
¡Loco, loco, loco!, ¡loco!
Como un acróbata demente, saltaré
Sobre el abismo de tu escote, hasta sentir
Que enloquecí tu corazón de libertad
¡Ya vas a ver!
Salgamos a volar, querida mía
Subite a mi ilusión super-sport
Y vamos a correr por las cornisas
Con una golondrina en el motor
De Vieytes nos aplauden: “¡viva, viva!”
Los locos que inventaron el amor
Y un ángel y un soldado y una niña
Nos dan un valsecito bailador
Nos sale a saludar la gente linda
Y loco, pero, pero tuyo ¡qué sé yo!
Provoco campanarios con la risa
Y al fin, te miro, y canto a media voz
Quéreme así, pianta’o, pianta’o, pianta’o
Trepate a esta ternura de locos que hay en mí
Pónete esta peluca de alondras, y volá
¡Volá conmigo, ya! ¡Vení, volá, vení!
Quéreme así, pianta’o, pianta’o, pianta’o
Abrite los amores que vamos a intentar
La mágica locura total de revivir
¡Vení, volá, vení! ¡larai-rarai-rará!
¡Viva! ¡viva, viva!
¡Locos, locos, loc