This morning I had a great beginning of the weekend with a story by  Socrates’s  called ” The three Sieves”. It is a super wise short narrative about the information that we are often sharing in our daily conversations with others. In our desire to participate and be heard we are very eager to say a lot of things, but does it all add value? Can you imagine living in a world where we only say and hear things that are true, good and necessary? Wouldn’t`t that be just great? If that resonates with you, and you would like to make a change, the best place to start is yourself 🙂

One day, the old wise Socrates walks down the streets, when all of the sudden a man runs up to him “Socrates I have to tell you something about your friend who…”

“Hold up” Socrates interrupts him “About the story you’re about to tell me, did you put it trough the three sieves?”

“Three sieves?” The man asks “What three sieves?”

“Let’s try it” Socrates says.

“The first sieve is the one of truth, did you examine what you were about to tell me if it is true?” Socrates asks.

“Well no, I just overheard it” The man says.

“Ah, well then you have used the second sieve, the sieve of good?” Socrates asks “Is it something good what you’re about to tell me?”

“Ehm no, on the contrary” the man answers.

“Hmmm” The wise man says “Let’s use the third sieve then, is it necessary to tell me what you’re so exited about?”

“No not necessary” the man says.

“Well” Socrates says with a smile “If the story you’re about to tell me isn’t true, good or necessary, just forget it and don’t bother me with it.”

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!