David Pereirinha

Resident

Hi there, my name is David and I’m from Lisbon, Portugal! Even though I lived many years in Lisbon, I’ve been travelling and working outside Portugal for the last 6/7 years, especially in France.

I started going out of the country to explore new ways of living and explore other cultures and economies, trying to fill a supposed sense of emptiness, one which never seemed to be filled at the places I was at.

In 2020 I did a men’s retreat at the Awakened Life Project and that brought me in contact with something I never felt before, especially among men. I was finally seeing the emptiness filling up, and the funny thing is that I was not even looking to find anything. I guess it was the first time in my life that I experienced true surrender to what Life brings, and considering the results, I wanted it to continue, which is why I came to Avidanja afterwards. I started as a volunteer, working and putting my skills into work. But above all, I came with the interest to continue to explore what it means to be truly free. As it was quite challenging to be there, still attached to my old and not so happy life, I had to let go of being there to go to France one last time. While I was there, I realized something had changed. The way I see relations and their demand is on a totally new level, a level that can really be supported in Avidanja. Here, love is really taken into consideration. There is no avoidance or rejection and when there is, we go through it together. The care for and dedication towards one another is pure and that informs constantly the end of separation from the life I knew.

So, after a while it became clear I wanted to come back and now I am a committed resident in Avidanja. Besides being a handy man, I’m also an artist, creating music, drawings or sculptures, and putting creativity in everything I do.
For me it’s an honour to give and receive so much to and from this community!