Today I want to introduce you to one of my favorite flowers which also happens to be one of the most resilient ones – the Snowdrop.
Despite its fragile appearance this little flower has the power to penetrate snow and ice and make an appearance in early March announcing the end of the winter.
It is really amazing how nature can be our best teacher. Wouldn’t it be great if we could be a bit more like the Snowdrop- gentle and gracious, yet determined and strong?
Success is never a random thing. It is the natural consequence of vision, action and faith which are very often enveloped by a lot of uncertainty. And only the few ones who have the persistence to take all the steps will see the best results.
I will be very proud of myself when I manage to fully develop this strength – holding grudges and not forgiving others can take too much of our energy which could be put into so much better uses.
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist master who has introduced the concept of mindfulness to the Western world. He is also one of my biggest inspirations ( more about him and the wise little book ” The miracle of mindfulness can be found here). It is of no surprise the movie about him that was released last year is something that is topping my “To watch” list 😉
Today we celebrate womanity and the never-ending source of inspiration that it is.
There is no better day to share one of the most beautiful poems that I’ve read- ” Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Anglou:
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Let`s use our imagination today and remember how it feels to go on a trip and be someone’s guest. That feeling of having a relaxing experience, time well spent with people that we love and anticipation of something new. The influx of energy, the desire to explore, be active and enjoy. The gratitude and appreciation of someone’s hospitality. The feeling of respect to your host and their house. All these positive feelings!
And how about contemplating the idea of being a guest to our body? Of having it as our “guest house” for this lifetime? Wouldn`t that make you feel more respectful to it and to life as a whole?
And what if this “trip” ends tomorrow and today is the last day to enjoy it? How would you spend that day? What would we do? Whom would we see?
And how about living in this way every day going forward ? Because in the end we never know. Let`s live with no regrets. Today.
Yesterday I went to a concert and had an interesting experience. Next to me, in the crowd, there were two parents and their teenage son. I noticed that just like me he had scoliosis.
This triggered a wave of memories of my own back problems and the several years of physiotherapy and wearing orthopedic corrective (and quite painful!) measures that I had to go through and that could have been prevented if it had been discovered earlier.
It was clear to me that I had to speak to the parents and make sure they are aware their son`s problem. Upon thinking about it I felt more and more insecure. What if they would not take me seriously? Or they would get pissed off for invading their personal space? Or perhaps they had been already doing something about it and my comment would be totally unnecessary? And in the end, who needs to have such discussions at a concert? Maybe it would be better to just forget about it..
And then I saw things from a different perspective. What if someone had noticed my back problem at an early stage and informed my parents? How cool would that have been and how many unhappy and painful memories would have been avoided? This realization triggered me to speak to the parents.
It turned out they also had some doubts, but as they hadn`t had any experience with such issues before they couldn`t grasp the severity of the potential consequences. Having heard my story, they got determined to see a doctor as soon as possible.
It made me think about the importance of not only helping others when there are in need, but also mustering the courage to intervene even when you are not asked for help but you still feel the importance of it. Think about how good you would feel if someone would have told you about that unzipped bag from which your wallet got stolen. And isn`t the best way to inspire such behaviors through personal example?
Today I watched a fascinating documentary investigating dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a molecule found in all living beings on the planet. DMT is and considered to most potent psychedelic on Earth and the authors of the documentary refer to it as “The spirit molecule”.
The documentary describes Dr. Rick Strassman’s government-sanctioned, human DMT research. The effects of DMT’s effects are considered from two at first sight opposing lenses that in this case actually complement each other – science and spirituality.
I am not planning to reveal the findings presented in the documentary as I would highly recommend you to watch it yourselves.
A very important insight for me was that it implies that we are actually capable of entering a “higher” level of awareness by going” inwards”. Of course this is something that has been widely communicated from the school of spirituality. However, backing it up from a scientific perspective and furthermore showing actual evidence through a scientific research makes it much more tangible, actually imaginable and extremely empowering.
Of course, similarly to other times when I`ve been sharing metaphysical and spiritual insights with you, my advice is to take it with an open mind and always- with a pinch of salt. In the end, we are the ones who choose what to believe in. The key is to have awareness and documentaries like “The spirit molecule” greatly contribute to this.
Lets all be like candles and spread the happiness!
Today we Bulgarians celebrate the anniversary of our independence from the Ottoman empire which we were a part of for 500 years (from 1396 to 1898). This happened many many years ago, but the lesson is supremely valid and inspirational- perseverance, courage and sticking to our own unique values are key in overcoming hard times. Enjoy this great Bulgarian song and always have the courage to stay true to yourselves!