Interview with Manu

In this blog of mine, expect some interviews of some of the happiest people I have met in my journey. They inspire me with their way of life and amazing stories and I hope they will inspire you too, somehow.

I met Manu in St Kilda botanical garden one afternoon and we exchanged our views and opinions about life, love, happiness and life after life. He’s a 65 year old portugese man, who has been living in Australia for 25 years. He only owns a super fucking awesome truck filled with wonderful memories and moves from town to town, wherever he finds happiness.

Finah: As an experienced traveler as yourself and hearing that you are living life as a non conformist, how do you define life?

Manu: Hahaha ….. Well, for me, life is all about joy, laughter, love, freedom, feeling enlightenment and having the time everyday to celebrate the beauty of the world, the beauty of ourself. It’s about surrounding yourself with good energy… It can be touching on all of your senses. Good vegan food for the tongue, good music for the ears, good beautiful surrounding for the eyes, flowers, food and anything natural for the nose, and a good woman for the touch and the feeling. This is an important one. Hahaha. Its about sharing your emotions with people you care about and even strangers. For me, I am a person who shares my love with everybody because its part of the life. I say to all my friends and even the guys, “Hey I love you man.” And we kiss the cheek. People look and think we are crazy, but no we are just celebrating life and love. So… This is all it is to life. Nothing complicated.

I used to live in Tasmania for 8 years and for some years, I was involved in an organization to help conserve the rainforest. Tasmania has reputation for its exportation in trees but now its getting too much. Why destroy the beautiful forest for money? This is something I care about and yes they pay me some money to help.. But really it’s not about the money. I do it for the sake of the trees. One day I was working in the street to raise awareness and I approached a man in a suit. He pushed me and said “Get a life! Get a job!”. I was quite shocked that he assumed I don’t have a life and a job. So I said out loud “Hey mate! This is my life. Im working right now and helping save our rainforest. What are you doing with your life?”. Heh heh.

Bless his beautiful soul. I love him.