Freedom

Source: charmedyoga.com

Less than a week ago I was one of the pasty tourists all crammed up in a bus driving along from Saigon to the Cu Chi tunnels. Our guide, Minh, was older than the usual guides and his English was a strange mix of real and invented words, making it difficult for us to understand more than 50% of what he was saying.

I didn't take too much notice to his discourse (I don't really buy all the tour guides' propaganda selling fabricated stuff to tourists who take them for valuable stories and experiences) until I found out that this guy has been in the war. Yes, he was 70 years old and the first Vietnam war veteran I have ever met. Turns out he fought alongside the Americans and spent 6 months in an underground tunnel until the war ended. He thought he was going to die there. And yet there he was, more alive than half of the people snoozing on the bus, talking about something he would probably much rather forget, because it was his job.

I tried to imagine Minh, at 25, surrounded by blood, dirt and bomb shells, holding hands with an American soldier the same age as him, both wondering from which direction was Death coming to get them. Death never came his way. It let him live so he can tell war stories to tourists half-listening, half-wondering what will they have for dinner later. I tried to imagine the jungle at Cu Chi with sweaty soldiers marching carefully not to step on traps, wondering if they ever thought the very ground they were walking on will one day rustle under flip-flops and trainers of people coming to see what the Vietnam war was all about.

'Do you think we have no freedom in Vietnam?' Minh asked. 'Let me tell you, we have as much freedom as you. We all live in a cage. Only that your cage is bigger than our cage.'

I watched him in bewilderment. He was absolutely right. We live our lives ignoring the edges of our freedom bubble. Here I was in Vietnam, set free from my cage, knowing that I'll have to return to it at curfew. It made me wonder, how free are we really? What choices could I make in my life? Could I escape my cage and run wild like the wind or could I just accept living in a cage and free myself through non-resistance. Could I really be one of these people who pack their lives in a suitcase and buy a one way ticket, with destination WORLD?

I've met a lot of people during this trip who have quit their jobs and went travelling. I've met a lot of people in search for a higher meaning to their lives. I'm one of these people, searching, never satisfied with a comfortable cage. I wonder if it's because we've never been in a war or lived through something extreme. If we did, it would probably teach us to stay put and be content with our cages, whether big or small. But there must be a reason to our search for meaning. Maybe all the wars in the world had a purpose...

I think Minh said it all smiling with all his crooked teeth: 'Smile and be happy that you're alive! That's all!'

Last coffee in Saigon

I'm sitting in an air-conditioned, modern and chilled cafe on Bui Vien Street in Ho Chi Min City. It's a small little cafe called Sozo, a brave little venture committed to help and employ disadvantaged Vietnamese people. A quiet spot away from the maddening noise of the streets and the street vendors.

It's my last day in Vietnam and I have a few hours to kill before a taxi takes me to the airport and I'll be on my way back to London. Not particularly excited about the perspective but I guess all good things eventually come to an end.

I spent the last three days alone in Saigon but I never felt lonely. Despite not making a great effort, I met lots of people, whether on the pavement at the plastic chairs and cheap beers patch or during the day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels. Sitting at a table at some bar or cafe and simply people watch is an incredibly entertaining activity I could never get bored of. My last night in Saigon ended up at 3am and I had to skip breakfast this morning. I made up for it with fluffy pastries from ABC Bakery (it looks really fancy from the outside, but it's actually pretty cheap) and I probably have enough money left to grab some cheap street food for lunch, some water and probably one last Saigon beer.

I thought I was too old for this, but I guess I'm not. I guess I am totally ready to take the world on by myself. People find it quite hard to believe when I reveal my age. I guess travelling makes you look and feel young. I want more of this feeling. I don't want to think about career, mortgage, family, children and schools. I want to sit in a cafe in a hot friendly city and enjoy a cup of latte while watching the world go by. I want to repeat these last three weeks over and over again! I want to keep moving, live in hotel rooms, try new foods, meet new people every day, understand the world around me, feed my hunger, be surprised by places and people. People like our tour guide to Cu Chi tunnels who was a war veteran and fought alongside the Americans (therefore against the Viet Cong guerilla at Cu Chi), spoke very broken English but had a great lesson to share with us: 'Not even the horrors of the war, must stop one to enjoy life and to be happy!'. Or the lady who helped me get on a cheap bus from the airport to the city centre and gave me her business card in case I needed anything.  Turns out she worked for the Government, isn't that great PR? Or the places with soul like the Crazy Kim bar in Nah Trang, dedicated to help raise awareness about pedophilia and help protect children against its threat.

Without the slightest doubt, these three weeks in Vietnam have been the best holiday I have ever had! I made new friendships, I laughed so much every day my belly hurt, I did something new everyday (beware, it's addictive), I have been in the company of others as well as on my own for a few days and realised that when you're happy and relaxed being on your own is actually quite satisfying, I took great pictures, I've seen beautiful places, I tried foods without discrimination, I went on the back of a motorbike, I climbed rocks, I have been so content and happy and grateful for the aliveness of everything around me like never before.

So yes, I may not be over the moon about going back to a cold London , but I feel inspired and I feel brave! And I know good things are on their way!

Three weeks in Vietnam

Three weeks in Vietnam are certainly not enough. But they're a good start.

They're a good start to make you fall hopelessly in love with this country. They're enough to make you question what is that you're really looking for in life. They're enough to empty your head of anything to do with targets, deadlines, clients and  worthless worries. Enough to open yourself up to a whole new world.

I have travelled to wonderful places before and it is not unusual for me to return to London with a bitter sweet feeling, with the feeling that I am missing out of so much of what the world has to offer, but every time I somehow manage to regain my love for London and stick to my comfortable life which I have fought so hard for. This time though... I don't know... I feel ready to take some chances. Maybe it's midlife crisis, maybe it hits all of us sooner or later when we are fast approaching an age we thought was still far away, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that there are no more surprises for me in London, nothing I particularly look forward to and this trip to Vietnam has been a continuous source of awe and wonder. From the genuine kindness of the Viets, to the fluffiest pillows I ever slept on, from the nicest street food I can't even pronounce the names of, to the quietness of the temples hidden behind the hustle and bustle of the city streets, from the harmonious cohabitation of old and new, the modern and the ancient coming together seamlessly and wonderfully, to the beaches and the palm trees, the rice fields and the diversity of Vietnam, everything has been laid down on my path to make me wonder and stare in a total state of grace.

It takes a couple of weeks to tune into Vietnam, into the Asian lifestyle but despite the apparent craziness, there is order in chaos. There are random gourmet restaurants which don't advertise and serve Michelin stars - worthy food, there are rooftop terraces and improvised diners on the pavement where an old grandma cooks from dawn till evening some sort of signature dish where Viets get together and eat on the go, there are the lost travellers and the savvy ones, there are the street crossings which serve no purpose but to confuse newcomers, there is the freshly brewed beer which tastes like nothing but it's dead cheap, there are the coffee places which support charities to keep children off the streets, there are the travel agents which take you out to dinner to make friends and thank you for your business, there are the people telling you to be careful with your belongings with no strings attached, there are the ladies that work for the Government who help you get on a cheap bus from the airport and hand you their business cards in case you need anything, there are the hoards of Aussies, Germans and French and the random friendships you start, there are the cold nights in Hanoi and the hot ones in Saigon, there is always happy hour and a well preserved Ho Chi Mi which everyone worships, there are the bicycle rides and lampoons in Hoian, there is life in Vietnam. A lot of life. Life which has sprung from rivers of blood and centuries of unjust occupation, life which flows stronger than ever and is contagious. It makes you want to live more!!

So three weeks in Vietnam are certainly not enough. It leaves you wanting to come back for more...

 

 

 

 

 

The thing with travelling

The thing with travelling is it opens up new worlds. The thing with travelling is that it reminds you that life has layers and each new places looks different every day.

The thing with travelling is that it makes you hungry. Hungry for the unknown, hungry for the dawn of each day and hungry to learn everything there is to be learnt about the place you're in.

The thing with travelling is that it makes you courageous. It makes you try new things and talk to new people. It makes you wear clothes you wouldn't normally wear, it makes you climb rocks and ride motor bikes.

The thing with travelling is that it makes you humble. It makes you realise there is so much more to the world that meets the eye. It reminds you that there is so much more to see and do than one's rectangular universe.

But the thing with travelling is... that you have to keep moving. Stay too long in one place and you stop being a passenger. Stay too long in one place and it becomes home.

Source: scenicreflections.com

Dreaming of a far away place

I've been dreaming for a while to move somewhere to Asia for a few months and write. There have been doubts about the feasibility of such  plan but the more I stay in Vietnam the more I long for a life in an exotic land.

Guess I'm a bit bored with my life... I desperately long for a change... To live in a place where time is not an issue. In a land where you don't get old. In a land where you can eat fresh fruit off the tree. In a land where you need no moisturizer, no high heels, no designer bags, nothing but an old crumpled T-shirt and  a pair of Havaianas. In a land where West meet East every day of the week. In a land where people don't hold on to the past and where smiling is just a way of living.

Ok, maybe I'm idealizing the life in the far East a little bit, but I long for an adventure. I embarked on the biggest adventure of my life almost ten years ago when I moved to London. Ten years is a long time. It feels like a completed cycle. I grew a lot in ten years in London. But the world is waiting... I may answer its call one day soon...

But in the meantime, I'm having a cold Vietnamese beer in a bar listening to Bossa Nova music, not worrying about tomorrow...

The Vietnam effect

I'm certainly not an Asian virgin. I traveled to Thailand and India before, but Vietnam has exceeded all my expectations. It is a lot more developed than I imagined and a lot more cultural. Despite the crazy traffic, Ho Chi Min City is comparable in architecture to any European city.
It's probably something you can apply to all the South Eastern Asian people, but the Vietnamese people really are admirable. Thinking that this country has been torn by war a mere tens of years ago, it's impossible not to be impressed by the smiles on people's faces and by their genuinely good nature. As a tourist, you will find yourself a lot less hassled by merchants. They will accept when you say no and will let you be. The locals are friendly and generous. Unlike other places I've been to, they go out to the same places frequented by foreign travelers and they have a great time. They will be happy to share their food and drink with you without discrimination.
Being in Vietnam makes me feel I could spend a lot of time here and living in a continuous present, enjoying the great food, the good weather and the beautiful beach, not feeling I am missing out on any of the Western commodities.
I didn't come here with some sort of existential problem. I didn't come here to be inspired. I didn't come here looking for a solution to my life. I came here just to be. And that's what I've been doing. But despite not looking for something in particular, I was reminded that the world is a bigger place, with lots of wonders just waiting to be discovered.

From Vietnam with love

I've been in Vietnam for about 6 days now and I feel its amnesiac effect. I wish I can say  have reached great levels of spiritual enlightenment and made wonderful plans for 2013, but in all honesty all I've done so far is trying not to get ran over by the constant flow of motorbikes pouring down the streets from everywhere, making sure my food is coriander free (quite a challenge when in a country like Vietnam which generously uses all sorts of strong and fragrant green leaves in all the dishes) and getting drunk every day. The drinking part is not because I feel in any way connected to all the young backpackers roaming around (if I get too friendly, I could be accused of pedophilia, as most of them are barely out of high-school) but because I am alive, I'm on holidays and the drinks are cheap!

I don't cease to be amazed by the convenience of everything in Vietnam.  Literally every single cafe or bar provides free wi fi and you never feel too far away from 'civilisation'... I post stuff on Facebook as if I have never left London and somehow, despite being far away, I don't really feel I'm part of an adventure. All I do, is joining the tourist trail and knowing that I'll always be all right no matter what. A few year ago, this would have been enough, but now... I wonder... There isn't so much left to discover unless you try really hard and venture really far. Maybe even risk being eaten by a local tribe. Get bitten by a snake. I don' know. Something extreme... I feel safe in Vietnam and this is a wonderful thing, but I can't stop wondering what is it really that I'm looking for...

This year has been a bit a roller coaster and maybe it's taken its toll on me. Maybe I was expecting to experience some kind of revelations whilst in the far east... Maybe I'm longing for something else, closer to home. Or maybe, I'm just feeling exactly like I'm supposed to be feeling at the end of a really challenging year: spent! Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow in the dawn of a new year on the beach of Nah Trang feeling blissful and charged. Maybe 2013 will start with a massive hangover which I'll be sorting out at the Crazy Kim bar. Or maybe... I don't know. And it's ok not to know. I'm alive. That's all that matters. And the world we live in is full of wonders...

Today, I pledge to live my life. To inhabit my life fully. To stop expecting. To pray for those who are no longer with us. To try not to question why they're gone without a warning, there are no answers to life and death...

To an 'alive' 2013 everyone! 

Ready, aim, fire!

Source: feminema.wordpress.com

I've been spending a lot of time making plans for 2013. Despite having been kept busy by my ridiculous social life and significant workload in December, I made time to make plans. Not some airy fairy 'I want to exercise more', 'lose weight', 'stop smoking', 'find a boyfriend' kind of plans. I covered my room up in notes, questions, calendars and, soon, it will all make enough sense for me to feed it into a Gant chart at some point.

If 2012 was the year of change and challenges (a lot of the people I know share the same impressions), 2013 is the year of action. And when you go into action, you go into it fully, no time wasted, no resources spared. After years of planning, of brewing feelings and ideas, I can now aim and fire. I know exactly what my target is. And I know exactly what kind of weapon I am.

2013 will find me in a pretty good physical shape but I only plan on getting better. It will find me surrounded by friends of quality and people who can inspire me. It will find me in a great home, in a city that I adore. It will find me buoyant with creativity and looking for a studio space where I can work. It will find me wanting to learn about documentaries and film making. It will find me wanting to help others through storytelling. It will find me looking beyond the here and now, into the big picture. It will find me hungry for knowledge. It will find me in charge. It will find me with my guns charged and ready to fire!

The twenty somethings

'We're not getting old, everyone else is getting younger!' said a friend a few years ago and it is still very much true.

If this is not true then I don't know why everywhere I turn I see young, brights twenty somethings ruling the world. One is the head of the marketing department, another one owns his own company, another one is a tech whiz, another one has published books, and another is a talented designer selling frocks by the thousands. I may not be getting old but I feel just a little bit outdated already.

I'm taken aback by the speed of enlargement of the gap between generations. I am only 33 (in less than two weeks) and yet I feel like a zillion years behind all these twenty somethings. I mean,  I used to play with dolls, I grew up with two hours of TV broadcasting a day and electricity cuts, I didn't know what the Internet was until I went to University, I worked my ass doing Silver Service at Christmas parties and waitressing during my first years in London, I came to the UK almost 10 years ago with nothing but a pair of grease stained ripped pair of jeans and a cheap red back-pack full of dreams, so yeah, I guess I am old school. I have an old iPhone which I can't be asked to upgrade. I don't understand the purpose of tablets (I'm a writer, I need keyboards!), I hate  e-readers (although, in all fairness, they are more planet friendly than paper books), I'm overwhelmed by the quantity (and sometimes lack of quality) of the information available in the media (be it traditional or digital), I'm overwhelmed by this century. But it's the  twenty somethings most natural universe and they're all over it.

And they're cool, and you just want to hang out with them (rejoicing in the fact that you're young enough at heart to join their fabulous group) and you feel like twenty something again too! But I'm not twenty something. I am thirty something and I congratulate myself for making it so far, because frankly I do not want to be twenty something again. The twenties don't come with a manual. They come with lust for life but no freaking compass. They come with ideas but no desperation for meaning. They come with lots of ego and anything but peace. Or so they say.

So I am not jealous of the twenty somethings. I love their hunger and creativity, it's inspiring.

But like Carrie said: 'And then I realized something, twenty-something girls are just fabulous, until you see one with the man who broke your heart.'

 

The year of change

 

 

 

 

2012 has been an incredible year for me... If I were to use one word to define this year then that word would be CHANGE.

 

I have changed in so many ways. I guess a lot of the change has happened naturally as part of the growing up process (I am beyond doubt now a fully grown-up person and ain't nothing I can do about it! - sigh!)  but there has been another kind of change which I willed upon myself. Never before I have been so determined to transform myself. In fact TRANSFORM and BECOME are also good words to illustrate the CHANGE I am talking about. I have diligently worked on myself to BECOME the person I wanted to be. And that's what this year has been all about. About the person I am now.

 

I am a person who makes choices. I am a person who makes things happen. I am a person who understands. I am a person who forgives. I am a person who has something to say. I am a person who won't blame. I am a person who will keep on walking. I am a person who doesn't complain. I am a person who IS and DOES. I am a person who seeks and finds. I am a person who is inspired and inspires.

 

But above all, I am a person who chooses to be happy. Because happiness is not something that comes in a nice wrapping. Happiness is something you earn because you want it bad enough and you work on it every single day. I am that person who won't give up even when the day looks cloudy and grey. There's always sun beneath the clouds. I am the person who sees the sun.

I had a list of plans for 2012 back in January. Some came to fruition (such as keeping up with my exercising regime and completing my first half-marathon, being a better professional, exposing myself to culture more often, taking a language course,  finalising my styling course and website, giving more love to the world, taking a tango taster, taking writing more seriously etc.) while others haven't (I did not complete one single piece of writing, I did not go to Argentina and the USA this year, albeit I am going to Vietnam, so not a bad trade off, I did not just give love and expecting none in return, I kind of wanted to get some too, I did not go surfing and did not do any climbing, but I tried flying trapeze, guess that counts too!), but with so many plans I'd be surprised if I had achieved everything on my list in a meek year's time.

 

But there should always be a level of flexibility when it comes to specific tasks. After all, CHANGE is a matter of attitude.

 

Thank you 2012!

 

My week in words

Source: http://eunichick.tumblr.com/

It may be the imminence of my trip to Vietnam or my forgotten gypsy soul knocking at the doors of my rational incarnation of self which works in an office, delivers projects to clients on time and leads a respectful and uneventful civilised life, that made me stumble upon references to travelling this week.

I haven't travelled in a long time and I feel the world is calling out for me. I feel like Ulysses imprisoned by Circe and smothered with love by the too familiar. My soul wants to drink the 'poison' of strange worlds. So I kept pinning things like that on my Pinterest Inspiration wall the whole week:

Source: 25.media.tumblr.com via Iulia on Pinterest

Source: thefreshexchangeblog.com via Iulia on Pinterest

Source: londons365.tumblr.com via Iulia on Pinterest

Source: justbesplendid.tumblr.com via Iulia on Pinterest

Source: quote22.com via Iulia on Pinterest

Source: allthingsstylish.tumblr.com via Iulia on Pinterest

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Iulia on Pinterest

Source: music-lyrics-words.blogspot.com via Iulia on Pinterest

Source: cdnimg.visualizeus.com via Iulia on Pinterest

Source: captivating-quotes.tumblr.com via Iulia on Pinterest

Or in the words of David Mitchell in 'Cloud Atlas' (the only book I've been managing to steal reads from this week during my daily commute)...

“...there ain't no journey what don't change you some.”

“Travel far enough, you meet yourself.”   

I'm ready now...

Just get on with it!

Source: stevensonfinancialmarketing.wordpress.com

Life keeps serving me lessons these days. They sort of come by hand fulls lately, which is pretty amazing. I'm like: 'Wow, another week, another lesson? I can hardly keep up with it anymore.' It feels like I've been stuck in an evolutionary-less pit all these past years and I've suddenly been rescued out of it, so all the lessons I was supposed to learn until now started to come at me at once. Like I've won the jackpot and the coins are all cascading noisily from life's fruit machine, like I've just been to the Life Vegas and finally landed a winning hand.

Honestly, I don't know what was about 2012, but it's opened a new portal in my life, things are happening to me with the speed of light. They say every cell in our body gets renewed every 7 years, I think I've just about renewed every atom of my soul in the last 7 days. And I can't wait to see what happens next, I'm taking myself on a new adventure every day and I'm loving every minute.

I notice how I'm letting go of patterns of behaviour and compare the results with the past and I must say I'm pretty pleased. It's quite nice to challenge yourself and see a different outcome, it's like playing, it's fun!

The lesson I've learnt last week is very simple. It's about just getting on with things! Without complaining. I used to be one of those people who got annoyed when things got a bit messy, mainly out of habit. I hate mess, it really messes with my head. And when things are messy, I sulk, I get annoyed with the mess maker (whether is a project at work or a sock lying around in the kitchen) and place a mental blame on the person who upset the status quo. I almost felt the same when I was handed a project at work without much a do and with very tight deadlines and full responsibility. But rather than allowing my traditional reaction to the situation to take its course, I decided l could either get annoyed and not resolve anything or just get on with it. And I did just get on with it. And it felt good! It opened up a whole new world of possibilities and made me realise that placing blame doesn't really do anything but feed your ego who always wants to be right. However, doing instead of sulking and complaining is liberating and shuts the ego up! So I learnt the lesson of just getting on with things. And stop wanting to be right. Being right means somebody else has to be wrong. And that doesn't help anyone. Especially myself.

So I'm really amazed by how things unfold in front of my eyes, because these days I challenge almost everything about myself. Every reaction gets scrutinised and, whenever possible and not too late (hey, I never said I was perfect!), I try a different attitude. And it's amazing. Just getting on with it, you know. It's good for you!

My week in words

source: theydonttellyou.wordpress.com

This week's been a really busy week so my words this week are a bit scattered. Projects at work with very tight deadlines, flat viewings (still looking for a flatmate and it takes the life out of me!), friends in town, Vietnam trip planning, you name it! I'm drained! And the more tired I am am, the more I am getting excited about those 3 weeks in Vietnam.

But back to words. I've been reading randomly from various books. I am doing speed researching for my 'love'/'dating' book and there have been lots of things going through my head which I noted down and thought I'd share as well. Some are really good, like some sort of ancient wisdom has taken the form of words in my head, so I am happy to share. Some don't really make sense now but I'm sure they will later. But I also read some inspirational things or things that resonated with me lately, which have now gathered below...


6-word fiction

'We kissed. She melted. Mop please!' -  James Patrick Kelly



 The Happiness Project - Interview with Rebekah Sanderlin.

Is there a happiness mantra or motto that you’ve found very helpful? (e.g., I remind myself to “Be Gretchen.”) Or a happiness quotation that has struck you as particularly insightful? Or a particular book that has stayed with you?

“Keep advancing the ball.”

'When I was a senior in high school, only one girl tried out for my school’s golf team. The school was going to have to forfeit the season. The golf coach was my Ecology teacher and he told me that he would teach me how to play if I would just agree to be on the team, so I signed up. (My grades were bad and I hoped he’d slide me a few points.) I was horrible at golf. The first few times I tried to hit a ball off of a tee I missed the ball completely. Then, once I started hitting the ball, it would only go 10 or 20 feet at a time. I hacked the fairways to pieces. My coach was patient, though, and he just kept saying, “It doesn’t matter how far it goes, as long as you’re advancing the ball.” That has become my mantra. I don’t have to be great at everything, I just have to continually make forward progress.'



Secret of Adulthood@gretchenrubin

'Things often get messier before they get tidier.'

'Make sure the things you do to make yourself feel better don't make you feel worse.'



Wetlands by Charlotte Roche
(Note: this is a wonderfully sickening book which will either make you empty the contents of your stomach with every turn of the page or make you wonder whether hygiene and social manners aren't actually just a little bit overrated)

“You go to the bathroom at a restaurant or train station and as you pull the stall door closed behind you, you’re misted from above. The first time it happened I was really horrified. I thought someone had flicked water on me from another stall. But then I looked up and saw a dispenser attached above the top of the door. It’s actually designed to spray innocent bathroom users with sickening sweet disinfected as soon as they close the door. On your hair, your clothes, on your face. If that doesn’t constitute rape by hygiene fanatics I don’t know what does.”

“I’m my own garbage disposal. Bodily secretion recycler,”

“It’s like a sport. In any room I have to be the most uninhibited of all those present.”


And the list goes on. Read it if you can. It will make you laugh!

And a few words that formed into my head, may mean something to you or not, they definitely make some kind of existential sense to me :)

'Living is an act of creation.'

'The main advantage of going to the cinema alone is that you don't have to worry about the fact that the person you're with might not like the film you've chosen.'

'My ego is reducing me to nothing.'

'My idea of heaven is being buried in books'

'Do something different every day, buy something from the supermarket you never bought before, talk to someone at work you never spoke to before, go inside a shop you wouldn't normally go and look around, smile to a stranger on the street and see what happens'


And lots of other weird ideas but I will finish here for now with the words of my beloved author  Milan Kundera:

 'Experimental thought seeks not to persuade but to inspire.'

Have a great week-end. Stay inspired.

The people in my life

Soiurce: photobucket.com

Sometimes we take them for granted. The people who have been there for us when we were crumbling into pieces on the floor. The people that have listened to us when we needed to tell someone how we felt. The people who have encouraged us to carry on fighting because they've seen the good in us we were too blind to see. The people who have shared our happiness and our tears. The people whose shoulder we could lean and cry on when everything around us seemed to fall apart. The people who have forgiven us when we wronged them. The people who came back to us after we drifted apart. The people who brought new energy into our life and made us see things differently. The people we grew up with with and evolved with. The people who left us but were never too far away. The people we don't see everyday who think about us. The people who made us fall in love with ourselves. Yes, we sometimes take them for granted.

The same way we take our parents for granted. Our material possessions. The colour of our passports. The food we have on the table. The clothes we wear. The weather, the sky, the rain, the thunder, the birds, the trees, the leaves, the people that pass us by on the street...

I had food with friends this week-end, I had coffee with friends this week-end, I had silence with friends this week-end, I had talks with friends this week-end and I shared laughs with friends this week-end. And as I was savouring these wonderful moments, I got to thinking about how I should be grateful for the people in my life. Because the people in my life are my angels. They're the ones who believed in me when I didn't. They're my lifeline. They're my support group. They're the reason I am a better person!

Today I am thankful for the people in my life. The lifelong friends and the new friends, the ones who came into my life like tornadoes and shaken it all up, the ones that came in discreetly and live in it quietly, the ones who came and went, like passengers, leaving traces of their souls behind, the ones who were lost and now are found. Today I am thankful for all the people in my life.

My week in words

source:www.raintoday.com

This week has been about life as a journey and about connections.

The words that came floating my way (not so much from books, as from random places like ads on the tube, blogs, films etc) all seem to gravitate towards the journey of discovery, the discovery of oneself, the acceptance of who we are (even if that means admitting we are stupid!) and allowing this to be the basis of our character building along the way. The words that came my way this week were also about relationships and how best to use them to turn thoughts and ideas into reality.This week, there were also a lot of words about smiling!

Here are a few that I'd like to share.


Eckhart Tolle talk at Google (from You Tube)

'People complain when something has gone wrong. No, it's just life. It helps you evolve. It's like character building in a good movie.'


'Beyond Hills', film by Cristian Mungiu

'He who goes on a journey is not the same he who returns.'


Baird T Spalding, 'Life And Teaching Of The Masters Of The Far East' (vol 1)

'It is impossible to go and stay at the same time'

'Love makes the ideal become real'

 

Toby Beta - 'Master of Stupidity' (A funny little book I stumbled upon on Goodreads.com)

 'First rule of stupidity : Admit honestly that you're stupid enough to learn lessons of your own life.

Second rule of stupidity: Don't take anybody's bullshit about being smart and wise. Just try to be less in stupidity, step by step, gradually.

Third rule of stupidity: You will never learn anything good and pure by pretending to be a smart one. List down all your ignorance and stupidity, then make them as a start.'

"The mind becomes much more beautiful, when man could see his own weaknesses." 

"People with dimple have a divine role in this universe: smile!"

"A well-trained mind responded to symptoms. An ordinary mind reacted after it happened."

"Charisma is the fragrance of soul."

"Rookies tend to show off."

"Strong words resonate."

"Youngsters want to change world. Elders want to enjoy their works. The entrepreneur sells anything needed by both to win their desires."

"Not all good things come from good people."



Nike Training Facebook Page

 

'If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you'

 

Kabbalah Ad on the tube

'Relationships aren't about finding the right person, they're about being the right person'.

 

 

John DeVore,  thefrisky.com

 

'It's remarkable how love can sometimes rot and decompose into cruelty.'
 

 
My own words (as I was smiling to myself on the tube platform and noticed people smiling back at me):

'Smile to yourself, and smile upon the whole world.'



Keep smiling and stay inspired!