Umberto, Love, and Enough Nuts for All
Mobile: La Ghianda (The Acorn)
On vulnerability
“But what if I don’t want to?” chirped sparrow.
“To eat the nut,” replied squirrel, “you must crack the shell.”
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Mobile: La Ghianda (The Acorn), based on the dreamy illustration by Costanza Alvarez de Castro for a story by Jelena Cerović . Costanza is resident artist at Kou Gallery, and founder of “A painting for Marguerite,” a nonprofit that brings together art, love, and charity in beautiful ways.
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Thoughts while making
His name is Umberto.
He’s a hard worker. A little shy. And a bit eccentric.
Oh, and he likes nuts. A lot.
More specifically, acorns.
See, Umberto is a squirrel.
And if there’s one thing he’s more than passionate about than love, it’s nuts.
Recently, I had a chance to sit down and chat with Umberto.
He’s Italian, so a quick shoutout to our polylingual friend sparrow for translating.
We talked of many things, including his reasons for being a vegan (“Earthworms taste gross”), his obsession with bocce, and why he chose to write his PhD dissertation on Seneca rather than Epictetus.
But it was the questions he asked me at the end of our chat that I will never forget:
“Perché gli esseri umani continuano a ferirsi a vicenda e alla terra?”
“Perché è così difficile per te solo amore?”
“Quando imparerai che ci sono abbastanza noci per tutti?”
“Why do humans keep hurting each other and the earth?”
“Why is it so hard for you to just love?”
“When will you learn there are enough nuts for everyone?
I had no good answers for him.
Umberto said this was okay, and that he loved me anyway.
He hugged me longer than usual that day, wrapping his furry tail twice around.
And I knew he was trying to lead by example … or make me forget where I’d just seen him bury that last nut.
Who can you hug today, virtually or in person, to let them know you’re choosing to lead with love?
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