Seeing with the heart
Interview with Michela Castello
by Maria Teresa De Donato
In my life, I
have met various blind or visually impaired people all with some
characteristics in common including a great willpower and, often, a strong
sense of humor that helps them to better cope with their disability. The
latter, I noticed, is always accompanied by an extraordinary ability to do many
things all at once – today the English term 'multitasking' is being used –which
means in their case that, to counterbalance the lack or precariousness of
sight, the other senses have increased their abilities elevating them
exponentially.
The meeting – although only virtual – with Michela Castello confirmed my previous experiences with blind and/or visually impaired people and their immense potential which, in most cases, manifests itself through a deep inner life that allows them to live their existence in the fullest way, despite the presence of what can be considered in all respects 'a physical limit' and be able to see far beyond, thanks to a depth of heart and an equally developed intuition, a gift of a few, something the human eye often cannot even perceive.
It is a great joy and an honor, therefore, for me to host this young author today on my Blog and Virtual Cultural Salon.
MTDD: Hi
Michela and thank you for contacting me and for being my guest today.
MC: Hi Maria Teresa. Thanks to you for giving me this opportunity. It is a pleasure and an honor for me to talk about my book on your blog and virtual cultural salon.
MTDD: Michela, why don't you start by introducing yourself to our readers and telling us a little bit about yourself?
MC: I am 50 years old and I live in the province of Pisa. I work as a clerk. I am totally blind since birth due to glaucoma. I have never seen shapes, silhouettes, or faces, but luckily I still perceive some light from my right eye and up to about 20-25 years of age I could also distinguish strong colors well. Although I haven't seen them for years, I still remember them well and I often use them in my writings based on what I want to say or what I need at that moment because each color has an extremely specific symbolism and depending on the context in which I use it, it takes on one meaning rather than another. I also love nature, walking in the green, yoga, meditation, and astronomy. I define myself as a strong and determined woman, even if I often go through periods of discouragement. When I undertake something that I care about and in which I firmly believe I throw myself into it, however, with the same ease I get excited about it, I get tired of it and look for new stimuli. If I am disappointed by someone's behavior, I do not use half measures: I push that person away from my life and permanently cut ties. When I set myself a goal of any kind, I don't stop until I reach it and, although I often fight against rubber walls or suffer a blow and a fall after another, after licking my wounds, being a typical Aries, I get up and persevere at full speed until I get what I want.
MTDD: How
and when did your love for writing started?
MC: I've been writing since I was a little girl. In the first 30 years or so of my life, I mostly put my emotions on paper. I kept, as they say, the classic diary. Then, in the early 2000s, I wrote two short stories that were published on the website of a dear friend, a portal that unfortunately no longer exists. I only had a pretty small circle of people reading my texts. I began writing more seriously and consistently about seven years ago, encouraged by some co-workers who really liked the few short writings I had composed up to that time.
MTDD: For those who don't know you or have
not read your book yet, could you explain how the publication of Polar Star
came about and why you chose this title?
MC: It was thanks to my colleagues. They urged me to start writing again, so I began composing with greater intensity and in 2016 my collection of short stories "Polar Star" was published. “Stella Polare” is a collection of eleven short stories. My book, as I always say, was born almost by chance. About seven years ago I started composing a series of short stories, dedicated to a man whose voice I had only heard on television and who in the meantime had died. I wrote those lyrics mostly for myself, to exorcise the pain for his death and the sorrow for never having met him and shaken his hand. I was essentially realizing in fantasy what never happened in reality. At that time I began to join various Facebook groups of writing enthusiasts and to get in touch with people who share this interest with me. In 2015 I met Stefano Mecenate, the director in charge of the publishing house DreamBOOK Edizioni. From the very beginning he showed interest in my stories and suggested that I collect them in a book. I liked the idea a lot and started the process that led me to the publication of "Stella Polare" in November 2016. The title of my book is symbolic: the Polar Star is the brightest star, a guiding light. I chose this title because the voice of him (the man whom my book is dedicated to and who is the common thread that binds the various stories together) is for the protagonist a sort of spiritual guide, her "North Star" precisely, as it "illuminates" her conscience and guides her into the deepest recesses of her soul, thus allowing her to know herself better and to get in touch with the truest part of herself.
MTDD: I had the pleasure of reading and
reviewing your book which is, in fact, a very beautiful collection of fantasy
stories that I recommend to readers of all ages. In addition to a narrative
that I would define indeed 'poetic', it is a book full of Love. Love not
necessarily erotic but rather intended in the broadest sense of the term. A
great love for life, for nature, for human beings and for all that is visible
and invisible. Love, in my opinion, is the only driving force capable of really
changing the world, starting with ourselves.
What does Love
mean to you and what does it imply for you?
MC: In my opinion, love for oneself
is the basis of everything. Very often it is mistaken for selfishness, but this
is not the case: if we do not love ourselves first, it is difficult for us to
be able to experience that feeling for others and for everything around us.
Generally we tend to associate love with the bond between man and woman, but in
reality that feeling has many facets. Love exists in many forms, just think of
that of a mother for her children. Not to mention the love that creation pours
unconditionally on all creatures without making any distinction. The Universe
loves us and manifests it in many ways, but too often we are unable to perceive
it and decode its signals and messages. I will seem silly and banal, but you
cannot imagine how much love the sun gives us with its light, its heat, its
splendor, and its energy. He (I am referring to the Sun, I often love to
personify objects and elements) bestows pure and infinite love to all creatures
without ever asking for anything in return. For me it is a joy to see its
wonderful light and I am grateful to the Universe because it still allows me to
perceive it.
MTDD: Another aspect that really caught my attention while reading this publication of yours, and I
completely agree with, is your great and profound spirituality, your immense inner richness.
What is spirituality for Michela Castello and why is it so important?
MC: Spirituality is too often confused with religion, but in my opinion it should
not. I believe that being spiritual does not necessarily imply believing or
professing a particular religion. I met many believers, who later proved to be
anything but spiritual. Many profess to be masters or gurus, but often they
turn out to be empty, superficial, and ego-dominated people, even going so far
as to plagiarize others, offend them and disrespect them. This is not
spirituality. A truly spiritual person must be consistent with what they say,
setting a good example for others. In my opinion, a true teacher must walk
alongside the student, respecting their choices and path without judging them
and, above all, must teach them that all answers are already within themselves
and provide them with the tools so they can find these answers independently. On
the contrary, many masters or so-called teachers believe they are the
possessors of absolute truth; they make students totally depend on them and do
not understand that what is good for one person is not necessarily right for
another. Everyone has their own times and evolves more or less quickly
depending on their ability to understand the various teachings and make them
their own. As for me, I believe in something Superior, which, however, I do not
identify in a particular person or religion, but in a universal energy. I
received a Catholic education, but I never felt in tune with that religion and
I totally disagree on many of its points. I never liked the Church as an
institution: I consider it too anchored to ideas that are now obsolete and full
of preconceptions. In my opinion, the Catholic Church should review its
positions on many things and keep up with the times. In my life I also realized that
the various religions, instead of uniting people and applying the true
universal principles of love and brotherhood among peoples, have pitted men
against each other and have been the cause of hatred and wars that caused
millions of deaths in every country. I found the answers to many of my
questions thanks to Eastern philosophies and the long practice of yoga and
meditation and the most important lessons I learned from simple and humble
people. I think there is no road or answer that is right for everyone because
everyone has their own path to take and their own wealth of experiences and
what may be right for me may not be right for others.
MTDD: In Polar Star, as I also highlighted in my review, you often allude to the need for Awareness,
for what you define as "a kind of deep bond ... perhaps dating back to the dawn of time." (Castello, 2016, p.11). At times, paradoxically, among the sighted
we find many people who in reality 'do not see at all' as they lack awareness.
People who are unable to see 'beyond appearances', 'beyond the curtain' and,
therefore, are not even able to grasp the true and, at times, more hidden,
deeper meaning of the reality that surrounds them.
What are your thoughts on this?
MC: The expression "a kind of deep bond ... perhaps dating back to the dawn of time", which I use in the story "The Light of the Moon", actually is meant to indicate something else. When Melissa meets Him, she feels as she has always known him and that their soul bond is very ancient. As for the distinction between sighted and blind people in dealing with the reality that surrounds them, I assure you that many people in my condition (unfortunately they are the majority) are no less narrow-minded and dull than the so-called able-bodied people. Each of us is the result of the context in which he/she grows up, of the education and stimuli he/she receives and the environment that surrounds him/her. Hence, it is up to everyone to put into practice what they have learned and to extricate themselves in a society that is unfortunately still too closed and unprepared for certain problems. Many blind people are not only physically but also mentally blinded and behave like kindergarten children because their disability has made them bad, arrogant, selfish, angry, and resentful towards the world and humanity. On the other hand, it is also true that even sighted people very often, indeed almost always, do not see beyond appearances and still tend to label us and pigeonhole us within certain contexts. This has always been a source of great bitterness and frustration for me. For years I have been trying in every way to break down certain barriers, above all mental and cultural, by talking to others about my condition and how I relate to everyday life, but many clichés are hard to die. To answer your question, let's say that it is partly true that many sighted people, perhaps out of ignorance or because they are caught up in a hectic and tyrannical everyday life that has made us all slaves to the race for well-being and material possession, have neither the time nor the desire to look around, pause and listen to themselves and what surrounds them. This has produced an increasingly bigoted, selfish, cynical, and callous society. Like it or not, I have always had to rely only on myself: in addition to being totally blind from birth, I was soon orphaned of both my parents, so I had to learn to rely only on my strength. My mother left me a few days before my 15th birthday, my father died 2 years and 7 days after her. So I had to roll my sleeves up and make some sacrifices that weighed heavily on me and that still affect my existence. When life continually tests you, sending you painful experiences, you have two options: to react and fortify yourself, or to succumb. I "chose to take the first path", the one in my humble opinion more difficult and fraught with obstacles. I can assure you that it has been really hard to get to the point where I am now and through many dark times, during which I still struggle to find and understand the meaning of life. I do not hide the fact that I often still feel a lot of anger towards those who, despite having all the credentials (health, well-being, etc.) to fully live their existence, drown in a glass of water. I met people who, while not having to make even a third of the efforts I must to get anything done, always feel sacrificed and it takes little or nothing to make them freak out. Many are frail, unprepared to face life's adversities, and feel stressed for no reason. There are people with a very high degree of education, but totally empty inside, who in the face of the least possible inconvenience panic and just give up. In the past, whenever I would run into someone who looks at others from top to bottom, I used to suffer a lot, I took it personal and felt mortified for not having the same level of preparation and education as they had. Then, over time, I realized that it is certainly not a degree with high grades and a prestigious job that ennobles a person, even if I note with increasing bitterness that not being a "doctor" in something precludes many possibilities. Unfortunately, we live in a world where meritocracy often does not count, where mediocre and up-and-coming people are able to achieve great results. I will be eternally grateful to my parents, who were very humble people (my mother reached just fifth grade, and my father even only second grade) and to my uncles, for teaching me the true values of life, to appreciate the simple things and what is really important in a world that is now increasingly adrift and poor in terms of feelings. One summer morning many years ago, my mother had just died a few months earlier, in a moment of anger, my father said a phrase that has stuck with me: "The higher his education, the more ignorant a man becomes", where for " ignorant” he meant the Tuscan meaning of the term, that is, narrow-minded, arrogant, rude, selfish and insensitive. Back then I did not fully understand the meaning of his words and considered that statement to be excessive, but over the years I bitterly realized that, even if with that angry utterance he painted all with the same brush, he was not wrong either. In my life I have found much more sensitivity, humanity, understanding and open-mindedness in humble people with a low level of education and very little sincerity in people who despite having a much higher education, they are full of fearful falsehood and hypocrisy. This, of course, is according to my humble experience.
MTDD: Thank
you, Michela, for being my guest. How can the readers who wish to contact you
and/or buy your book do so?
MC: Anyone interested in buying my
book can do so through www.dreambookedizioni.it
website or by writing to their e-mail address dreambookedizioni@gmail.com.
I also have a profile on Facebook
(Michela Sole Castello) and a small Youtube channel that has my name and
surname.
Thanks again to you, Maria Teresa,
for hosting me on your blog.
