Hola, amigos. ¡Feliz semana para todos! Deseo que este mes haya sido próspero en diversos aspectos.
Hoy he estado reflexionando sobre la importancia de la salud mental. Esta va más allá de un simple malestar momentáneo, pues el desequilibrio emocional y económico de la familia puede agudizarla.
Esto me trae a la mente la historia de una familia que conocí siendo adolescente. En ese momento, no tenía clara la realidad que enfrenta un hogar para salir adelante. Solo noté a personas nuevas y aisladas en mi vecindario. Pero la esencia que nos caracteriza —la de ayudar— nos impulsó a acercarnos. Aunque ellos no pedían ayuda, al ver que ya no podían más, hicimos nuestra parte.
Supimos que el señor de la casa era un emprendedor que tenía a su familia bien acomodada: escuelas privadas, personal de servicio, etc. Sin embargo, no contaban con bases económicas sólidas, pues todo lo construían sobre la marcha.
El negocio iba bien, y con las ganancias, poco a poco, la familia extendida del señor empezó a desear lo que él tenía. Aunque él siempre buscó ayudarlos, nunca fue suficiente. Les daba trabajo y apoyo económico, pero uno de ellos, su hermano, vivía a sus costillas, como decimos en Venezuela. Él y su familia solo pedían y pedían.
Hello, friends. Happy week to everyone! I hope this month has been prosperous in many ways.
Today I have been reflecting on the importance of mental health. This goes beyond a simple momentary discomfort, as emotional and financial instability in the family can exacerbate it.
This brings to mind the story of a family I met as a teenager. At the time, I didn't fully understand the reality that a household faces in order to get ahead. I only noticed new and isolated people in my neighborhood. But the essence that characterizes us—that of helping others—prompted us to reach out. Although they didn't ask for help, seeing that they couldn't cope anymore, we did our part.
We learned that the man of the house was an entrepreneur who had provided well for his family: private schools, service staff, etc. However, they did not have a solid financial foundation, as they built everything on the fly.
The business was doing well, and with the profits, little by little, the man's extended family began to want what he had. Although he always sought to help them, it was never enough. He gave them work and financial support, but one of them, his brother, lived off him, as we say in Venezuela. He and his family just asked and asked.
Ese hermano, con problemas de apuestas y alcohol, gastaba más de lo que podía ganar y vivía en aprietos. Como usaba los camiones del señor y vestía bien, aparentaba ser el dueño de la empresa. En medio de su mal proceder, le pidió dinero a gente peligrosa para una vida de excesos que no podía pagar. La deuda crecía por sus apuestas. Como medida de presión para el pago, esa gente quemó uno de los dos camiones de la empresa.
Nadie supo de esto hasta que un grupo de personas interceptó al señor y a mi vecino. Lo amenazaron con desaparecerlo y lo obligaron a vaciar todas sus cuentas bancarias para evitar que atentaran contra su hermano. En ese instante perdió todos los ahorros de su vida. Aún le quedaban la casa, su carro y el otro camión.
Pero la deuda no estaba saldada. A los pocos días, su hermano cayó preso por una pelea en un bar. Llamó al señor para que lo ayudara, y este tuvo que pedir dinero prestado, dejando su casa en garantía para sacarlo y cubrir los gastos médicos del herido. Luego, su madre le recriminaba constantemente que no ayudaba a la familia, y volvieron a pedir dinero prestado para más apuestas. Esta gente, al igual que los primeros, quemó el camión restante cuando este iba a hacer una entrega. Esto sucedió porque el hermano decía que el camión era suyo y así lo creyeron. Perdió su flota y enfrentó una enorme deuda por la mercancía extraviada que no pudo pagar.
Llegó el momento de pagar la deuda de la casa y fue desalojado. Solo le quedó el carro para él y su familia. Como venganza por las deudas familiares, asesinaron a otro de sus hermanos que no tenía nada que ver en el problema, y lo amenazaron con matar al resto de su familia. Mi vecino pagó la deuda, una que no era suya. Vendió sus pertenencias, las de su esposa, prendas y todo lo que pudo conseguir, y se marcharon. De esta forma, les perdonaron la vida.
That brother, with gambling and alcohol problems, spent more than he could earn and lived in dire straits. Since he used the boss's trucks and dressed well, he appeared to be the owner of the company. In the midst of his misbehavior, he borrowed money from dangerous people to fund a life of excess that he couldn't afford. His gambling debts grew. To pressure him into paying, those people burned one of the company's two trucks.
No one knew about this until a group of people intercepted the man and my neighbor. They threatened to make him disappear and forced him to empty all his bank accounts to prevent them from harming his brother. In that instant, he lost all his life savings. He still had his house, his car, and the other truck.
But the debt was not paid off. A few days later, his brother was arrested for a fight in a bar. He called the man for help, and he had to borrow money, putting up his house as collateral to get him out and cover the injured man's medical expenses. Then his mother constantly reproached him for not helping the family, and they borrowed money again for more gambling. These people, like the first ones, burned the remaining truck when it was making a delivery. This happened because the brother said the truck was his, and they believed him. He lost his fleet and faced a huge debt for the lost merchandise that he could not pay.
The time came to pay the debt on the house, and he was evicted. All he had left was the car for himself and his family. In revenge for the family debts, they murdered another of his brothers who had nothing to do with the problem, and threatened to kill the rest of his family. My neighbor paid the debt, one that was not his. He sold his belongings, his wife's belongings, clothes, and everything he could get his hands on, and they left. In this way, they spared their lives.
Fue en ese momento, al ver cómo su madre y hermanos lo culpaban por las malas acciones de su hermano a pesar de todo lo que había hecho, que decidió alejarse por su paz mental. Optó por olvidarse de esas personas que, aun siendo su sangre, solo le traían problemas. Llenó el tanque, montó las maletas con lo poco que pudo sacar de su casa y condujo hasta que tuvo que llenar el tanque varias veces.
Dejando el pasado atrás, se detuvieron a descansar y reabastecerse en el pueblito donde yo vivía. Escucharon de una casita en venta, alejada del bullicio, con una escuela pública y un centro asistencial cerca. Se interesó. Aunque la vida no sería la misma, iba a empezar de cero, pero en paz, sin cargar con la familia que solo le traía problemas.
No tardó en conseguir la casa; de hecho, lo dejaron mudarse sin haberla pagado. La gente era buena y él solo pasaba por un mal momento. Vendió su carro, pagó la casita y compró lo necesario para comenzar de nuevo. A la fecha, eliminó todo contacto con su familia, vive en otro estado e intenta sobrevivir con un nuevo estilo de vida, pero en paz. Ya nadie lo llama a medianoche para decirle que su hermano está en problemas; ya no tiene que perder lo que ya se perdió.
Esto me hizo reflexionar sobre la importancia de soltar aquello que nos destruye. Entendí que no se puede salvar a quien no quiere ser salvado y que, muchas veces, es necesario pensar en nuestra estabilidad emocional y cuidarla como nuestro bien más preciado.
It was at that moment, seeing how his mother and siblings blamed him for his brother's misdeeds despite everything he had done, that he decided to leave for his own peace of mind. He chose to forget about those people who, even though they were his family, only brought him problems. He filled up the tank, packed the few belongings he could take from his home, and drove until he had to refuel several times.
Leaving the past behind, they stopped to rest and refuel in the small town where I lived. They heard about a little house for sale, away from the hustle and bustle, with a public school and a health center nearby. He was interested. Although life would not be the same, he was going to start from scratch, but in peace, without the burden of the family that only brought him problems.
It didn't take him long to get the house; in fact, they let him move in without paying for it. The people were good, and he was just going through a bad time. He sold his car, paid for the little house, and bought what he needed to start over. To date, he has cut off all contact with his family, lives in another state, and is trying to survive with a new lifestyle, but in peace. No one calls him at midnight anymore to tell him that his brother is in trouble; he no longer has to lose what he has already lost.
This made me reflect on the importance of letting go of what destroys us. I understood that you cannot save someone who does not want to be saved and that, many times, it is necessary to think about our emotional stability and take care of it as our most precious asset.