People of the World

During the past two years I had the chance to meet people from many corners of the world, corners such as France, Germany, Poland, England, Scotland, Spain, South Africa, Costa Rica, Mexico, India, Sweden, Peru, Colombia and so on.

The foreigners with whom I had a chance to share some ideas helped me open my mind (in different levels of breadth and depth) - I learned of perspectives I would have never conceived on my own, I acknowledged the existence of belief systems strikingly similar and different from mine, I had an insight into cultures I only knew through textbooks...

In sum, these citizens of the world allowed me to "experience" their realities. With many of them I had brief encounters; with others I bonded for life. I have much to thank, for they all were windows that allowed me to see further beyond and within myself.

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7. I am grateful for being joyful.

8. I am grateful for being determined.

9. I am grateful for being quite a thinker.

What if...

...I wrote a book? Would you read it?

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4. I'm grateful for having good friends.
5. I'm gratful for being surrounded by people who smile constantly.
6. I am (modestly) gratful for my easy-to-brush hair.

Endless Task

I know I had promised to post my what-I’m-grateful-for list, but as I read it over and over again, I noticed how something just did not feel right. After some unfruitful attempts to uncover the reason why I felt so uncomfortable with that list, the light bulb suddenly went on – I felt guilt for having limited everything there is to be thankful for to one and a half pages.

If I aspired to be fair, I would have to write from now into eternity. The task is, with no exaggeration, endless. Knowing that, I dare not put a final period on a list that demands continuous updating. Still, I insist on sharing my thoughts of gratefulness with the universe.

In a moment of online inspiration, the light bulb went on again – it occurred to me that with every post I write, I can share at least three grateful thoughts. This way, I will stop taking good things for granted (on a REGULAR basis) and will never put an end to 'The List.'

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1. I'm grateful for the coziness of rainy days.

2. I'm grateful for the sandwich I just ate.

3. I'm greatful for friends who actually read what I write here.

A Choice

Today, a decision was made: I feel both relief and slight panic. The former I attribute to the fact that I’m no longer haunted by the urgency of making a difficult decision, whereas the latter probably took place thanks to the prospect of post-Au-Pair-life cluelessness.

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Still, I'm happy; I’m proud of the path I have chosen to follow. It is certainly not the one I had envisioned for myself, but I trust it to be the right one.

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I don't mean to sound contradictory. It is just that, as the popular saying goes, "things [always] happen for a [good] reason." I can grasp this despite the fact that I not always comprehend the mystic rationale behind it.

Green Fest!

I should have posted this yesterday, but you know, yesterday was yesterday and so on...

Anyway! I just wanted to share this picture from the Green Festival.

"At the Green Festivals, we're celebrating what's working in our communities, for people, for businesses and for the environment. Here, green means safe, healthy communities and strong, local economies. Green is the color of hope, of social and economic justice, of ecological balance."

http://www.greenfestivals.org/

There are a few things I learned that day and I will share three of them wih you, dearest reader:

1. Incredibly beautiful things can be made out of Sri Lanka elephants' poop.

2. Going organic is healthy, politically corret and REALLY costly.

3. Green people looked interesting and authentic. (I have to find out where they hang out!)

Lunes

Last Friday I made an informal commitment (but a commitment nevertheless) to stop worrying about what is and what is not going to happen in the prospective years of my life. I had no problem sticking to this don’t-worry-be-happy mantra during the weekend, but that is no accomplishment – it is fairly easy to do that on Saturdays and Sundays.

Today, however, is a Monday and not just any Monday: It is the first day of a week that will not go by without two important questions receiving their final answers.

I guess I just put my commitment on hold.

No time!

No time for sharing highly philosophical thoughts today. It's 12:25 AM and I am yet to start writing a huge analysis paper about insurgent and counter-insurgent forces in Iraq. I confess I am oddly enthused by this whole world-conflicts thing, but it is at times like tonight - nine hours before my paper is due - that I find myself wishing I was taking a therapeutic sculpture class rather than a mind-stretching one.

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If you've just read the above paragraph, ignore it. As much as I complain, I know that being intellectually challenged is one of those things I appreciate as much as one may (truly) appreciate winter or coffee with no sugar.

A List

After a long below-freezing-temperature winter, it was extremely pleasant to feel the sun’s warmth on my skin again. Today’s perfect combination of sunshine and breeze triggered such a powerful feeling of joy that I decided to take a break from worrying about the future. Isn’t life simply phenomenal – or at least more enjoyable – when one actually lives the present and takes the time to be genuinely thankful for things that are often taken for granted?

This question leads to another question: what are YOU thankful for?

If you happen to be reading this, give this question some serious thought and make a list with everything that makes you feel blessed, happy, lucky, you name it. I have already come up with my list and intend to share it with the universe some time soon.

Inaugural Post

It is with the purpose of improving my writing skills – and perhaps seeing what goes on inside my head with more clarity – that I will start posting some of my thoughts on this online diary. I cannot guarantee I will do it on a daily basis, but I promised myself to make the effort; after all, what day goes by without at least one thought (hopefully a significant one) bumping into our brains?

Anyway, if for some strange reason you decide you want to have a free insight into what I think I think, what I think I want and who I think I am, you are more than welcome to spare your time here. But consider yourself warned: grammar errors might appear.