I recently saw some of Banksi`s works in the Moco museum in Amsterdam and the one that caught my attention, imagination and triggered many thoughts was “The Tiger”. I was always a fan of Banski, but this piece of art truly made me understand why they call him “The king of street art”.

The symbolism of the tiger is two-fold. Firstly, it depicts our animalistic nature. And secondly, it shows how materialism (the bar-code) is like a cage to our free- sprit (the tiger). This work is therefore a tribute to us breaking free from shopping in all its forms and the rat race that this life can be.

It is a strikingly simple yet supremely powerful reminder of the blinding power of all the comforts and cushions that we surround ourselves with to the extent where they limit our outlook, growth until we find ourselves entrapped into our constant cravings.  Nevertheless, we are capable of breaking free by empowering the beautiful animal that our spirit is.

Isn`t that a super inspiring idea? 🙂

Giving can be life-changing for both the giver and the receiver. It therefore a never-ending source of inspiration for me.

That is why when a friend of mine sent me the story below from the wonderful book Chicken soup for the soul, I knew I had to share it in the blog. 🙂 Enjoy!

Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me.

There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn’t have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him as if to say, “You’re my knight in shining armor.” He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy. The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, “I’d like to buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus.” The ticket lady stated the price.
The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man’s lip began to quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, “How much did you say?” The ticket lady again stated the price. The man didn’t have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus?

Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.”The man understood what was going on. He wasn’t begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; “Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family.”

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with. Although we didn’t get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.

I am a firm believer that doing what brings you joy is one of the elements of a fulfilling life.

One of those things for me is spending time outside and just walking around. Ideally, it would be nature (the less human involvement, the better 😉 ), but a beautiful city walk is something that works perfectly fine as well!

Funny enough, it is always difficult to make myself go out- there are always plenty of things to be done and never enough time, so often need to “push” myself.. But it always pays off.  Especially today. There are few sights that are more energizing and inspiring than the canals in Amsterdam surrounded by early spring green! It is a good day.

The day started as a typical working day with no major signs of inspiration on the way. But as usual, it came just in time in the form of beautiful blossomed trees in Westerpark!

Earlier I`ve shared more about the Bulgarian tradition celebrated on the 1st of March ( you can read more about it here ). Well, the time has come to take off my Martenitsas according to the tradition. And there she is, surrounded by blossoms, a hand made evidence of our Bulgarian culture, identity and a never-ending reminder of the power of tradition! What bigger inspiration than that do we need? 🙂

Another day and another favorite quote!

We are all different and unique. In the same way,  each one of us has a talent and a unique way to express themselves and make a difference! Sometimes we tend to dwell too much on the things we have to do and not on the things that we want to do and feel like doing. But doing what we like gives the energy to do all the other things, makes us see the good in life and to enjoy it to the fullest. Not all of us have a profession that is also their hobby. But all of us can make active steps towards investing in their hobby and talents and getting the best of it. the return from it might not necessarily be financial but much more valuable- improved way of living and feeling of connection with yourself. So how about giving it a try? 🙂

Today I came across an article in Esquire magazine on the importance of being gracious:

“When wandering the world, forget your business cards. Don’t look for more contacts. Instead, observe. Say hello to the people you see every day, but don’t make a fetish out of it. Stay interested in others. Be generous in your attentions but not showy. Don’t wink, snap your fingers, high-five, or shout, though laugh with those who do. It bears repeating: Look around. Remember names. Remember where people were born.”

Graciousness was brought up in a business context as an alternative to pushy and show-offish networking techniques.

It made me ask myself -Do we really live in a world where we need to remind ourselves to laugh with those who do it and remember names? Would we really not do this unless we read an article that highlights the benefits of adopting such a behavior?

I believe that it is in our nature to be light and gracious, to smile and laugh and to genuinely care about others. We do forget about it sometimes and we don`t do it for larger periods of time we “unlearn”. It is not difficult to forget especially in periods when we are surrounded by negativity. 

But it a matter of practice to remind ourselves and become gracious again. Because it is who we are.  

Today hasn`t been the best day for me – frustrations were coming one after another and slowly building up to reach a tipping point in the late afternoon.

But sometimes not everything goes in the wrong direction and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Luckily I saw the light during an insightful discussion with my meditation teacher who shared a great story with me:

” Two Prime ministers were sitting in a room discussing affairs of state.  Suddenly a man bursts in, apoplectic with fury, shouting and stamping and baning his fist on the desk.  The resident prime minister admonishes him: “Peter,” he says, “kindly remember Rule Number 6,” whereupon Peter is instantly restored to complete calm, apologizes, and withdraws.  The politicians return to their conversation, only to be interrupted yet again twenty minutes later by an hysterical woman gesticulating wildly, her hair flying.  Again the intruder is greeted with the words: “Marie, please remember Rule Number 6.”  Complete calm descends once more, and she too withdraws with a bow and an apology.  When the scene is repeated for a third time, the visiting prime minister addresses his colleague:  “My dear friend, I’ve seen many things in my life, but never anything as remarkable as this.  Would you be willing to share with me the secret of this Rule Number 6?”  “Very simple,” replies the resident prime minister.  “Rule Number 6 is ‘Don’t take yourself so damn seriously.’”  “Ah,” says his visitor, “that is a fine rule.”  After a moment of pondering, he inquires, “And what, may I ask, are the other rules?” … “There aren’t any.”

I did some research and found out that this story was written by Benjamin Zander, who is also the author of the “Art of possibility” book.

Focused on our To – Do lists and daily frustrations we often forget to take it easy and also not to take things (including ourselves!) too seriously.  Just breathing and relaxing, or even seeing ourselves in a comical light (as a funny cartoon character for instance), can make us less uptight and stressed out and more opened  and centered.

Let`s all try to practice Role Number 6 this week and be lighter and more playful!

Yesterday was the International Happiness Day and it is the perfect opportunity  to greet you with a card from the “Happiness is” series :). More about this cool concept here.