May we grow

I have started this year strong and vibrant, with a head full of ideas and projects to implement. This would probably not happen if it wasn’t for my visit to Poland and the kind heart of my mum who has really helped me to reset my brain and energy levels. She did pretty much all the cooking and that was such a blessing. She gave me time and thus granted a lot of mental space that I happily filled with dreams and ideas for this new year.

I have got a friend in Poland who I love visiting. She’s a very beautiful and a very independent woman who has this fabulous ability to make things happen. Like a magical fairy with some secret golden powder that she scatters around, invisible to ordinary mortals, she creates beautiful things around her. Wherever she goes, wherever she’s present, she carries that charm with her. When you talk to her, it’s just a matter of seconds before you start noticing a change within yourself. You feel that you are surrounded with positive energy that gives you the confidence to do things yourself.

I hope that this new year will give you all this magical powder to work with. May you see growth and beauty in all areas of your life and in all your pursuits. I hope this year we will blossom together.

Happy New Year Friends!

Peace is Needed for Renewal, Peace is Needed for Change

As much as I see situations when I would agree with the title of this post, I wouldn’t say that this is what I experience when I am in the process of creating something. I am often troubled and pressured by a guard in my head telling me that I am too slow, too quick, or that I really should be doing something else, and of course that there is a better, simpler, easier or a more sophisticated way of doing whatever I am doing. This internal judge can speak quite loudly, boldly discrediting or shaming whatever project I am working on. The voice is especially powerful at the end of the year when I am trying to catch up on some often self- or socially-imposed agreements.

This voice is a fairly competent time thief. Because really whatever I am doing I love doing and whatever project I dive into answers a craving of my heart and soul in some way, or answers some needs that the season and family life creates.

Life is too short to take yourself too seriously (yes Rachel, you’ve told me that). Too short to focus only on one piece of a jigsaw puzzle. One piece never builds a view. It never gives you a sense of completeness. Life is made of many pieces, many wonderful pieces that complete and complement one another.

I wish we were more forgiving towards ourselves. Less judgmental. More understanding. We are all trying as much as we can in the areas we find ourselves in. There is no need for additional pressures (external or internal) on top of those that are already present.

It doesn’t matter if we are quick or slow. If we do things in this manner or another way. If we make occasional mistakes. If we don’t do things as well as someone else. The important thing is that we have the willingness to do things, that we have the willingness to renew, change or just carry on. The willingness is often enough to move us forward and it is this willingness that I am today grateful for. The need to persevere.

Thankful Tuesday series was started by Life With The Crew. Pop over to her blog to read about her adventures.

Thankful Tuesday: Places and destinations

“I reread the Odyssey… which I had first read in school and remembered as a story of a homecoming. But it is not a story of a homecoming. How could the Greeks who knew that one never enters the same river twice, believe in homecoming? Odysseus does not return home to stay, but to set off again.” Bernhard Schlink, The Reader

Last week we just ate clementines. Well, we did other things too but it felt as if it was all that we did. When you have the flu, you want to eat citrus fruits all the time, don’t you? It is really lovely to see that no food is dismissed when its eating is preceded by having an opportunity to peel it, and garlic is no exception (at least not in my toddler’s case).

As our noses were running and temperatures went high, we had to say no to a few events and cancel one too. I must admit I have grown so fond of our little communities recently that I have found it quite painful to stay at home.

There are times however that we find it difficult to appreciate our back and forth travelling. Journeys to work, shops, schools and nurseries. But as much as we love home, as much as we find it easier to return than to set off, there is no doubt that we also meet ourselves in other places. These days even if my journeys are only to the nearest park, I am grateful for having them. For having opportunities to set off. To be in motion. In a physical or metaphorical sense.

They say that small children learn an awful lot while discussing with their mothers all the things that happen on the other side of the window. Quickly, they are drawn outside… they find their favourite places… just as adults do.

Today I am grateful for those places and our destinations that pull us out of bed every morning and make us meet ourselves and meet each other. We belong to the world that’s greater than our home. We must set off.

Thankful Tuesday series was started by Life With The Crew. Pop over to her blog to read about her adventures.

Thankful Tuesday

Do you remember the times when friends or neighbours would call on you with a parcel of nutritious food when you or other members of your family were unwell? Well… these times are not over. A friend of mine with her two-year-old has just turned up on my doorstep with some warm and homemade lunch knowing that I’ve been coughing and sneezing for the last few days. Experiencing kindness feels wonderful. It’s uplifting. It’s inspiring.

When things like that happen, all of a sudden, you see that there are other ones that you can be grateful for. So I thought I will take an example from Katie at Life With The Crew who is running a series of Thankful Tuesdays and I’ll share with you my highlights. I am grateful for:

– my friend who made me feel that I’m looked after
– all homemade remedies for coughs and colds, including the foul ginger, garlic, milk and honey drink;
– a quiet afternoon without a headache (but with a cup of coffee and a novel);
– music that’s always able to cheer up the chores;
– my son’s early morning dance and giggles that disarm even the most tired of parents;
– clothes that just need some ironing and not replacement;
– my hard-working husband whose dedication to work and his family permits our growth;
– life led with passion;
– and for all of you who take the time to read this. Thank you!

What are you grateful for today?

Pop over to Life With The Crew to be inspired!

Observing the city, imagining people

I’ve always had a lot of respect for History and Education and that is why I like visiting Oxford so much. An opportunity came last week for us to go there and so we did. I must admit when I am in Oxford I breathe deeper, my senses are sharper and I walk around the city all happy.

I imagine these brilliant minds committed to their subjects, devouring their books, excited about learning and discoveries, often terribly frustrated about their lack of progress. I imagine great debates and seas of questioning, heavy timetables and a rush to complete the next book chapter or lab work. I imagine all this and I like my thoughts. My soul approves of this daydreaming.

Last week I was walking around the city again, and again I looked up at the buildings and I sighed in awe and admiration. My toddler shouted in contentment too… at a few very attractively deep and murky puddles that he saw on the university ground. ‘Right. Reality check,’ I thought to myself.

Look up and down (and sideways too).

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