For a moment life stood still and everything looked prettier. It snowed in Brussels. After endless grey days some sprinkled with invisible rain (the one you feel, but you cannot see) pouring out of anywhere, it finally snowed. Nature was generous. The big, white fluffy snowflakes falling out of the sky were a delight. Glued... Continue Reading →
2020 was a challenging year, to say the least. A year that has already written pages into the history books. For some, 2020 will be remembered as the year of a generation. It was unpredictable, unforgiving, cruel, and difficult to navigate through it. Looking at the overall 2020 context, it may be hard or even... Continue Reading →
Food is one of our basic needs. To survive we need to eat. As a species we evolved once we managed to diversify our meals and the sources of our calories’ intake. (Dear vegetarians and vegans I do respect all the personal choices out there, but please remember that meat and animal fats did play... Continue Reading →
(Happy birthday to me) There are two kinds of people in the world: those who fear their birthdays, deliberate diminish the importance of the moment and complain that they are getting older, and the ones who celebrate the special day and are joyful on their anniversary. I belong to the latter group. Why? For all... Continue Reading →
My favourite podcast is The Moth. Its principle is simple: people sharing personal stories in front of a live audience. Setting aside the idea behind it, there is a complex preparation process with many persons involved in delivering the stories in the form that reaches the audience. Why do I love it so much? For... Continue Reading →
It is autumn in the Northern hemisphere. You can breathe the crispy air and notice nature’s changing colours. The transition from the lively green to the earthy amber leaves is almost magical. In this ongoing certain uncertainty we all have been living in the past half-year, nature gives us a healing escape. Even though we... Continue Reading →
My connection with the books goes back a long way. It started long before I learned how to read. I was born during communism in a country well accustomed with the dictatorship. People had little means for distractions and hobby was a non-existing word in the common vocabulary. At least on the surface. At second... Continue Reading →
Most of the year 2020 is gone. Where it went? I do not know. I guess it vanished into the place where all memories go, and time exists only in the past tense. The problem with 2020 is that forced us to make memories of a year that so far feels like it never happened.... Continue Reading →
In times of hardship we react. We adapt. The survival instinct will dictate the course of our actions. The direction might be questionable sometimes. One of my biggest concerns linked to the whole pandemic situation is that these peculiar circumstances will affect in a negative manner the way we interact. I would not want to... Continue Reading →
A few months ago, I bought a notebook. What made that notebook more special that other notebooks I had to choose from? What was written on the cover: “Life is simple. Sometimes not easy”. Felt like discovering the words of contradiction best describing our reality. Yes, life is simple. The governing principles are natural and... Continue Reading →
Make a wish! In stories these are powerful, magical words. Door openers towards possibilities and fulfilled dreams. In fiction and in reality these words are the equivalent of hope! Hope for the better and synonym of saving resolutions. If you could have one wish come true, what would you choose? With the mention that wishing... Continue Reading →
Half of humanity is in lockdown. What is happening in the world right now could easily be part of a utopian story written in front of our eyes. We are the main characters and the villain is a virus. Half of world population is in confinement not having an exact idea when it would be... Continue Reading →
Weeks ago I started to write a post about jobs. The main line was around my disapproval towards the easiness people put on identifying themselves with their jobs. I was pointing out how our society determines if you are a successful person or a failure based on your pay slip and on your job title.... Continue Reading →
We make plans and heavily rely on them To give to our lives some sort of direction, To give us the feeling that we are in some sort of control. And in spite of the preparation, We constantly fail at being prepared. We make plans because we are afraid not to be overwhelmed By what... Continue Reading →
Love in time of cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was the first big, well-known book I have read in French. Setting aside the language comprehension efforts (my French wasn’t yet polished😉), the topic itself tortured me and the ending has left me completely puzzled. Looking at what is going on in the world right now,... Continue Reading →
Two weeks ago, I had a girls’ night out. Do not imagine a wild one. We are well behaved ladies. It was a spontaneous decision to enjoy a Saturday evening which transformed in quality time spent in good company and brought a walk down the memory lane. Why I wanted to mention this in the... Continue Reading →
“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”(George Santayana) What do you do on a quiet Sunday evening? You chill on your comfortable couch, watch TV and enjoy a cup of tea. This is what I was doing yesterday evening. Until I’ve heard a chant. Or something that sounded like a... Continue Reading →
When I was a kid, year 2000 felt like a mysterious far away date. A SCI FI moment into the future, almost intangible and unimaginable. I was 17 when this enigmatic and feared year arrived. And to many, brought great relieve – the world didn’t come to an end, like some predicted. Not only the... Continue Reading →
A Post Christmas Card December came slowly and left in a rush. December brought along Christmas, the long-anticipated blast Which loves making a grand entrance and masters the art of amazingly fast walkout. And now this Christmas is already a memory, and a part of the recent past. Each Christmas is the same and completely... Continue Reading →
We are moments in time Defined by infinite energy And limited by life. We are divine creations, Breathing as long as a blink of an eye, Feeling tormenting emotions Questioning the reasons of our limiting existence. We are universal children, Having Earth as a playground Moulding ourselves in shapes that eternally hurt us Not knowing... Continue Reading →
I had in mind, for quit some time now, the idea of writing about acceptance and about the power of saying NO. Couldn’t motivate myself enough to sit down and write. What caused the change of heart? A vacation. I booked an all-inclusive week in a five starts hotel. I was looking forward to my... Continue Reading →
How would you describe your relationship with the airports? I see mine like a mystery story coupled up with Alice in wonderland. Airports are places where time and space disappear. Airports are portals between worlds, bridges between what was and what will be. Secret doors towards the unknown. Airports are the starting point of so... Continue Reading →
Ode to the brave ones, To the courageous ones, The ones who jumped from the highest cliffs Right into the deepest abyss. Ode to the ones who were not afraid to take the fall, Knowing that salvation lies in front of them, That their rescue is in the plunge. Ode to the ones who grew... Continue Reading →
I wanted to write about jobs, passion, finding your calling and the idea of making a successful career out of these ingredients. And I did start, completely forgetting about the importance of making a successful living, independent of the accomplishment of a well marketed idea, preached all over the media. I poured the words, one... Continue Reading →
What do you do with the dreams that don’t come true? Hide them away, put them in stores, And never question where they might have gone? What do you do with the infinite worlds wrapped inside you? The worlds you keep for yourself, The ones that we all know must not be shared. What do... Continue Reading →
How willing are you to become vulnerable, to let your guard down, to give up all your safety nets and step into unknown territories? This is how Change begins. With a decision to expose yourself and with a decision to embrace whatever life, and the new circumstances, will bring you. Change! Only six letters for... Continue Reading →
One of my oldest, closest, and dearest friends revealed to me that I played an important part in her attitude towards school, learning and education. She told me that one of the most striking memories she keeps until today from her first day of school involves me, and the way I tried to comfort her.... Continue Reading →
Be happy! Create your own destiny! Look on the bright side! Stay focused! All is possible! You must believe! Keep going! Be positive! Eat healthy! Get enough sleep! Exercise! Do what you love! Follow your heart! Settle down! Start a family! Have children! Take care of yourself and of your family! Let go of the... Continue Reading →
“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it!”. Those were the words of Salvador Dali. I wish I knew them (and their meaning) in my childhood or in my adolescence years. I come from a culture where image is everything and where perfection is the norm. In all you do. Perfection is displayed in... Continue Reading →
We label. Far too easy. We attach tags to people’s foreheads. We glue classification stamps on the standard images we have predefined. We put people, just like us, in boxes. And we go even further, we classify and catalogue not only human beings, but situations as well. And please, do not get offended! We ALL... Continue Reading →
The beginning of a new year is the moment when we decide to take up resolutions, to write down the goals for the year ahead and make the mandatory to do lists. I did this kind of exercises for a few consecutive years. I have written elaborate lists with enthusiasm and conviction. Than I stopped.... Continue Reading →
I do believe in Santa Claus and I do believe in happy ending stories. Why? Because they are symbols and reminders. Symbols and reminders of the good in the world. Symbols and reminders of the magic that never ceases to exist. The-old-white-bearded-cheerful-guy delivering gifts down the chimney and the unimaginable twists in stories remind me... Continue Reading →
For those who celebrate Christmas, this period of the year means family time and joyful reunions, Santa Claus and gifts, plus delicious home-made meals, sweet reminders of how childhood used to taste. For me, this time of year became a bitter-sweet pill and a reminder of how life is linked to death, of how we... Continue Reading →
I’m in my mid-thirties and I still use the “going to the toilet” excuse as a five-minutes- emergency-escape (and for a few extra seconds of deep breaths) from what I call the imposed social gatherings and events. For those of you questioning, yes! I am an introvert. And there is no way out of my... Continue Reading →
What do you see when you open your eyes? Is it the dream you had in your mind, Or is a pale reproduction of something never asked in advance? Do you look at the world with fear in your gaze Or you dare to cling to the vanished dream? A long list of questions sometimes... Continue Reading →
In the rush of the day, in the dark of the night, My dear soul, you did your best! So please, do not forget how brave you are! Do not forget how far you've got! In times of the grief, and in times of the sad, Do not forget how brave you are! Do... Continue Reading →
I am broken, and I do not want to be fixed, As my brokenness is my bliss. I am broken, and I do not need to be fixed, As my brokenness is the fountain from where I drink my strength. I am broken, and I do not want to be fixed, As fixing... Continue Reading →
I wanted to write about success. I started this post so many times, and each time I dropped the words in unfinished sentences. It wasn’t clear to me how to structure the text or how to go around this topic. Difficult? Yes. Challenging? Definitely. Media channels paint “success” in shiny colours and write the... Continue Reading →
The winds of change, where do they blow? Towards you, or away from you? Do you welcome them with open arms? Or you just run? Thinking you can get away untouched, Hoping to trick them, Like a disobedient child, assuming you will get away uncaught. We pray, invoke and call for them in our heavy,... Continue Reading →
We are all linked, and we are all tangled, In webs of human stories, In webs of human souls. We are all linked, and we are all tangled, In invisible webs of human thoughts, In mortal webs of hopes and shared desires, In webs of sorrows, next to much stronger webs of love. ... Continue Reading →
When we buy electronic appliances, we receive instruction manuals. To ease the use. To helps us make the best use of our new gadgets. When we try a new recipe, we look for ingredients and further we carefully follow the guidance that comes with that recipe. And at the end, we gladly enjoy a new... Continue Reading →
I fight my demons, on my own. A fight that I would like to win, A fight that is not about the strongest must win. Is a fight about my life and my quest for peace, A quest for meaning and a quest for understanding, A quest for a deeper self-discovery, And a quest for... Continue Reading →
Where does the pain go after we cry it out from our souls? Does it really go away or is just us keeping it not wanting to let it go, Not being ready to move on? Where does the pain go after the wounds it caused became a mark? Do we let it go away... Continue Reading →
We all experience those days – days when doing nothing is the best option. Those days when you start doing 50 different things, but you end up finishing none. Those days when everything you do seems a burden and everything you start lacks creative energy and meaning. Those days when you want to do more,... Continue Reading →
Dear MOON, How many stories have you heard?! And how many wishes have you fulfilled? How many tears have you dried out?! And how many nights of sorrows have you counted in?! Do you recall how many broken promises have you seen? And how many broken hearts have you... Continue Reading →
Since early childhood, we are taught (or society pushes us) to identify ourselves by age, by gender or by our nationality. Later in life, we add to the list of identifiers our race, our job, our studies, our marital status and sometimes (to make it worst) our weight or our height. Do we really have... Continue Reading →
Life requires flexibility, asks us to stretch, to bend, to jump and to bounce. After all the gymnastics life asks us to perform, you may feel exhausted, but the results worth the pain. The less you try to fight it, the less painful is. You know your way (or at least you think you know... Continue Reading →
Do we really know our own value?! I'm not asking about our weight in gold 🙂 nor about the amount in our bank account. I am talking about that particular moment when we ask ourselves if we deserve better, if we can do better, if we can be better. The answer should always be yes. We... Continue Reading →
Here starts everything - with a dream, and with courage to dream. Took me a long time and a long way to give myself permission to dream. Last April I finally made it to Madeira. The island felt like heaven on earth. I have to confess: it took me two years to get there; but even this started... Continue Reading →
This is the excerpt for your very first post.
