This week it’s his birthday. He’s taller now, but do not let that fool you – the kid lives on, inside. I wish more people could see him, and the great kindness and sensitivity that often gets hidden away from others. Read that, birthday Scorpio? You’re a remarkable human being, and it is wonderful […]
Archives for 2011
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“The Nightingale” is a story by Hans Christian Andersen, one of my favorite fairy tales when I was a kid. It’s about a Chinese emperor who discovers the true value of authenticity, and the short-lived illusory satisfaction of mechanical lifeless substitutes. He basically gives away the affection of a real nightingale, in favor of a bejeweled […]
Cinderella’s Calluses
“The prince knew at once, looking at her hands, she was no stranger to any household chore.” Every story about a poor but hardworking girl who ends up marrying a prince, getting a great fortune, or both, has this line. At least in Romanian. Little girls imagine those hands are translucent, and the prince […]
Disposable Drafts
The drafts of yesterday may have considerable emotional weight, yet sometimes they are the most important factor of setback in a present situation. When the only reason you carry on with a plan is that you started it, when you hate every minute you spend on a project, especially one that doesn’t fulfill you […]
Every Single Day Is Worth Celebrating
It doesn’t have to be Christmas, or your birthday, or your anniversary, or NYE. It doesn’t have to be a national holiday, or an international event. There doesn’t have to be anyone around, and it doesn’t have to be sunny outside. You don’t have to write cards, drive miles, say words you don’t feel. Just […]
More Than Perfect
Nothing can root you in mediocrity quite like perfectionism. Sure, it sounds like a great quality, closely related to excellence and capability, but give it some thought, and it might start to look different. Reaching for perfection makes you feel good – you’re going for the ultimate best, you feel competent, special, you’re up […]
Choose to Be Kind
The perspective of having your feelings or pride hurt is unnerving. It is also the main obstacle to kindness. More people would be kinder more often, had they at least a promise, if not a guarantee, that they would be safe once their heart is open. To some, emotional walls or coldness may seem […]
Spring Cleaning
When you lose something, it’s very hard to remember that for every little thing lost there is a new one on its way. Losing is not easy. It hurts and sometimes leaves scars. In psychology it is even said that the fear of losing something motivates people much more than the benefits of earning a […]
See
What if we tried to see what really is on the other side of our discriminatory glasses? What if we tempered our aversions and irritations, and accepted that what we see is only in part objective, that the images we percieve are filtered through numerous preconceptions, and only a few of these preconceptions were formed […]
Rule Yourself
Have you ever thought about the social rules we’ve been passed on? We usually integrate them in our thinking, in our life, without questioning. They are supposed to make us get along better, or, at least, that is the explanation at hand. However, when you start thinking about these rules, analyzing them, they appear in […]