Let’s start the weekend with a wish to be kind to ourselves and not to judge ourselves too hard for the “mistakes” that we’ve made!

Today a story that I’ve read years ago came to my mind during a team meeting where we were discussing the heavy work load in the team. The story goes like this:
“Once upon a time there was a very strong wood-cutter. He asked for a job from a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was very good and so were the work conditions and for that reason the wood-cutter was determined to do his very best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area in the forest where he was to work.

The first day the wood-cutter cut down 18 trees. His boss was extremely impressed and said, “Well done. Keep it up. You are our best wood-cutter yet.” Motivated by his boss’s words, the wood-cutter tried even harder the next day, but he only cut down 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder but only cut down 10 trees.

Day after day the woodcutter cut down fewer and fewer trees. His boss came to him and told him that if he did not chop down more trees each day he would lose his job. The wood-cutter needed the job, so he tried harder and harder. He worked during his lunch breaks and tea breaks, but still he could not cut down enough trees. “I must be losing my strength” the wood-cutter thought to himself. He worked over-time, but still it was not enough.

Eventually his boss came to him and told him he was fired. The wood-cutter was really upset, but he knew that he had worked as hard as he could and just did not have enough time to chop more trees. He sadly handed his axe back.

The boss took one look at the axe and asked, “When was the last time you sharpened your axe?”

“Sharpen my axe?” the wood-cutter replied. “I have never sharpened my axe. I have been too busy trying to cut down enough trees.”
Perhaps you are thinking ” What a brainless guy! How could he not sharpen his axe!” But very often we are doing the exact same thing by immersing ourselves in endless to-do lists and jumping from one task to another without sharpening our axes by taking a break, doing something that we like or simply enjoying the silence. These are acts of self care that have a unwinding effect and help us refresh ourselves. The work related benefit of this is is proved focus, creativity and productivity. To put it simple words- working less hours and properly sharpening our axes could make us more productive compared to a situation of non- stop working. The next step is to experience this on your own. And spread the word when it starts working for you 🙂

Today I came across this great quote in “My grandfather’s blessings”:

“Meaning is a form of strength. It has the power to transform experience, to open the most difficult of work to the dimensions of joy and even gratitude. Meaning is the language of the soul. Few works service can endure unless they are sustained by a lived sense of their meaning and purpose.”

This post comes with a wish for all of us to live lifes full of meaning that inspire us to get up in the morning and fuel our days 🙂

Gandhi`s life and wisdom inspire me to be strong and live from the heart. Today comes with a quote from him and a wish to be physically and mentally strong. For more inspiration from Ghandi have a look here

Spending time in the biggest flower garden in the world – Keukenhof is always a major source of inspiration. And sometimes a picture can speak much louder than words – so that`s how I am going to leave it for today.

For those of you who are in the Netherlands and have never visited I can only recommend it!  For info, tips and pictures have a look at my post here 🙂

Today during my yoga class the teacher shared a wonderful parable by  dr. Wayne Dyer called “A conversation in the womb”:

” In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery? “The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”

“Nonsense” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”

The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”

The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”

The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”

The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover if there is life, then why has no one has ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”

“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”

The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”

The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.”

Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”

To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and you really listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.””

Seeing things from a different perspective can be super insightful.  Maybe we are just like the babies in the story- some of us have faith and believe that there is something bigger and divine that protects us and there is life after “delivery” (in our case “death”) even when there is no concrete proof. And some others will always need hard-written facts to believe. Which one is right or wrong is difficult to say. In the baby story it is pretty clear 🙂 In reality it is much less straightforward and we won`t really find out until it is over. I choose to be a believer. Others might not. And that is perfectly fine.  As long as we respect each other and the perspectives we bring.

The quote is from the this lovely parable is from the book Your Sacred Self Dr.  Wayne Dyer. You can find more about it here.

While reading the “Happiness Hypothesis” today I stumbled upon a quote by Aristotle:

“Whatever we learn to do, we learn by actually doing it; men come to be builders, for instance, by building, and harp players by playing the harp. In the same way, by doing just acts we come to be just; by doing self-controlled acts, we come to be self-controlled; and by doing brave acts, we become brave.”

It sounds very logical that we learn skills by practicing them, but somehow in our minds that doesn’t transcend to developing qualities in ourselves. Very often when we react in a way that is not the best we say”that’s how I am”, ” can’t change” but that is completely not true. We are alive and a part of this is our bodies changing constantly. Our thoughts as well. That means that our behavours, attitudes and qualities can change. And just how empowering is that!

So next time when you are not happy with yourself, instead of feelings bad and hopeless- remember that you can always improve and become a better version of you. And give it a try 🙂

For more insights from the ‘Happiness Hypothesis” – have a look here 🙂

Did you know that you have an inner tutor whom you could consult for anything? Someone who can wake you up in the morning, remind you not to forget something and very importantly- guide you in difficult times.

This inner tutor is always with you- it is your intuition. 

The challenge is to get to talk to this tutor. For that you need piece and quiet as its voice is very subtle and soft. Spending time alone is the way to get there.

And all of us know how rewarding this connection is-  the insight you got under the shower, the great plan that revealed itself during that walk in the park.. Being aware of this is very important, as it will help us nourish these moments and get the best out of them. So.. go for it and connect to your inner tutor.

The 21 day meditation challenges by Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra have always been very uplifting and inspirational for me. That is why when the newest challenge called “The power of Hope” started I got super excited to give a try and to share it with you 🙂 

For me hope is something that I personally need to reinforce in my life as sometimes I have the tendency to forget about its power. And it truly has powers. We all know that hope is a precious commodity to use in difficult situation. But Hope is even more than that – it also has also the power to help us deal with uncertainty. The truth is that change is the only constant in life and we have two ways to respond to it. We can be fearful and try to control everything around us or we can embrace uncertainty for its creative potential and live with faith and hope. Hope is therefore not just a wish-fulfillment but an intention to accept things as they are- without fear or judgment. 

More about the 21 day Meditation challenge can be found here.

Easter is one of the biggest and most magical Christian holidays which I always associate with traditions, rituals and spending time with your closest people.

It’s Ortodox Easter today and I am very happy to celebrate it with my family – something that I haven`t done for many many years.

For me such holidays are really about sharing and caring, eating good food and showing appreciation to the people who are there for you.

Something else that Easter represents to me is to have faith that life unfolds in divine order and we are being taken care of.  A beautiful story that depicts this and that I want to share with you today is called ” Footsteps in the sand”: 

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. 
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You’d walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you.”

Happy Easter!