We were lucky to catch up with Gabriela Patania recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gabriela, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Since I was a child, my passion has been to know about the universe—the galaxies, planets, and stars. I always had the certainty that its greatness and magnificence are also within us.
When I grew up, I felt a conflict with myself. Wars, fights between people, and even families had nothing to do with what I knew within me. I believe that war was extinguished, something that we just studied in history at school. Even so, the world and society show me something totally different. So I grew up following that feeling, studying music, and English, reading about history, philosophies, and science, and trying to understand more what I felt and why it was so different from what I could see in the world.
The second crisis started when I was supposed to choose a career and go to University. Society tells us that we are just valuable for the money we earn in our professions. There was no career I wanted to choose at that moment because it didn’t exist, even so, I had to. So, I started to study math in college. It was my favorite subject after learning about the cosmos. Then, I changed to finance and accountancy and started to work in accountant departments at big companies and banks. Even so, I felt empty, so I quit again and changed to Programming Computers. This time, I finished.
At that point, I started to think there was something wrong with me. I started to lose confidence in myself. When I fell in love with my husband, who knew exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up, I definitely believed I was totally wrong. So, I tried to hide my inner perception. We got married, moved to a new country for his profession, and during a few years, building our family, with everything new around us, I focused on finding a job according to my professional experience.
After four years, our children were born with tremendous joy but still empty within me. So, I started with a new perspective on personal growth, studying NPL, and coaching, among others. The feeling about magnificence within us was still overwhelming to me.
One day, I was walking down the street when the idea of writing a book with the phrase “Power of Love” came to my mind. At that moment, I knew the phrase was the perfect one to describe what I had known my whole life, but I couldn’t put it into words. Still, I didn’t trust the idea of writing a book, so I let it go.
Four years later, my family and I moved to another country again, and even though it was a beautiful experience, the deepest crisis began within me. At this moment, the memory and the idea about the “Power of Love” came back with tremendous force, it gave me the strength to overcome my suffering and the words to start writing the book.
Two years later, the book was finished, translated into English, and ready to be published, with many more titles and books to come.
One day before my book was launched in the USA, a question arose to my mind: How did you get here? Answering that question made me realize that my life was a journey, as the Platoon phrase says: “If you want to know the universe, know yourself first.”
At that moment, I could understand that my passion for knowing the universe took me on a journey of self-discovery, growth, and inner understanding.
Ten years later, I can say that I understood my passion and my purpose.
I recovered my confidence, knowing that I was able to contribute to creating a better world where people could find their true potential and inner magnificence.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
After finishing my book, I understood the importance of taking responsibility for ourselves. I am speaking about our inner work and personal development, emotions, feelings, thoughts, and actions.
When we listen about love, we relate it to the love in our relationships, the love we feel for our partners, parents, children, siblings, and friends.
The Power of Love goes much beyond that. It is the force that awakens us every morning; it is in nature, and it is the energy that keeps in perfect balance solar systems and galaxies.
As human beings, we have tremendous power, so we need to learn how to use it. We can create, but also we can destroy life. We can be emphatic, understanding, or judge and criticize others.
I have the deepest certainty that if each person in the world starts to work for their inner peace, a more harmonious world is possible.
The Power of Love is the power that creates life and also can destroy it. It is around and within us. That is why we have so many responsibilities to work with us, to learn how to manage that power within and create inner peace and harmony within us. From there, it will take us on a harmonious journey with others and a ripple effect around the world.
My purpose is to share my vision about the Power of Love with the world, spreading the message of love, compassion, and understanding, helping to build a more harmonious and concorded world through my internationally published books in English and Spanish, conferences, retreats, and magazine articles.
As part of my work and literature and art lover, I am the Founder of the Carolinas International Book Fair, an annually celebrated book festival at Greenville, SC, where authors, writers, organizations, artists, and book lovers have the opportunity to meet, share and exchange through showcases, book signing, art activities, and workshops.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Perseverance, looking for the best version of myself: working for coherence and understanding within me. Bravery, working and learning to trust in myself, and never giving up following the calling of my heart. Serving others with empathy.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Society is being challenged in so many different ways. We all face challenges in life, the thing here is how we choose to overcome them. We can not change the circumstances; we can just work within ourselves, trying to find some love and inner peace even in small things like the smile of some stranger, the kiss from our children, the sun on our skin. …. In my life, even with all the challenges and hard experiences, I knew that I always had the opportunity to find my best version through acceptance, empathy, and solidarity, not just for others but for myself.
Many times, we need to ask for help from a family, friend, or even a specialist. That is the human nature of vulnerability and strength at the same time.
Following my heart was my biggest challenge and blessing at the same time, learning to trust myself and my inner wisdom. The thing is, I never gave up trying to understand. Understanding the inner Power of love gave me the strength that I could never imagine I could have.
If you believe that a better world is possible, and you would like to contribute to it, or if you feel I can help you in some way, through my book, or if you would like to be part of some of my retreats or conferences I would love to know about you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gabrielapatania.com
- Instagram: @gabriela-patania
- Facebook: Fanpage @Gabriela Patania
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
