Spring in my heart and in my kitchen…

Reassured

Today I walked into my old working environment and I was truly taken by the way my colleagues greeted me… with broad smiles, open arms and tears in some eyes. I’ve been truly missing these beautiful minds… people of similar values and various persuasions, people of similar dreams and common interests and ambitions, people who saw me at my highest and my lowest and have been always a pleasure to work with.

It’s been a while since I’ve emptied my desk, became a mum and opened myself to lonely pursuits. I am on my own now in my professional and creative life and these routes of one are not always easy… there’s no one to banter with… there’s no one to bounce ideas against… no one who can fill knowledge voids, dispel doubts and no one but myself to debate with – how boring and unsatisfying it is at times… to be just on your own at your piece of paper. And so I travelled today down memory lane and we shared and exchanged as many feelings and experiences as the time allowed us to, we shared laughs and we shared suffering and I felt that we all missed each others’ company…

I’ve never been quick to call someone a friend. I believe it takes time and a few overcome-together challenges to create true friendship… but today when I was going back home and staring at the changing landscape behind the train window, I felt this warming and reassuring feeling that…

… I had friends…

… loving, intelligent and courageous friends.

Childhood memories – nostalgic landscapes

There’s too much noise in life but there’s never enough good music. Welcome back after my holiday break, my dear friends. Here’s something for you to relax to. A very dear piece of music to me… Maestro… Ennio Morricone and his Cinema Paradiso. Makes me think of childhood. Does it do the same to you? Below are a few photographs from Poland, my home-country. This is the landscape that I grew up in… it is embedded in me…. and it is part of me… regardless of where I go… irrespective where I travel to… I am of this earth…

Postcards from Poland

I’m visiting my family in Poland at the moment so I’ll be taking a short break from blogging. I hope to be back to writing in May. Above are a few shots from my lovely village in Poland. Speak to you soon. Alicja x

Cyprus: Bread-Sharing After The Mass in The Maronite Church

Two baskets filled with large and generous pieces of sesame bread sit at the front of the church. Soon, when Sunday Mass finishes they will be shared among those who attended the service. This is a beautiful custom shared in Cyprus that I was able to witness and photograph in the Maronite Church. The bread is bought by the people who asked for special prayers to be said for their loved-ones or departed relatives. Bread is a symbol of life and community. It represents spiritual and physical nourishment.