A few years ago I had a serious health problem, and was lucky to I recover. It is difficult to describe the amount of gratefulness that I felt afterwards every time I was walking on the street and I could feel that everything was back to normal.

Of course, this gratefulness still exists now; however as time passed it got more difficult to feel it spontaneously as often there  seem to be too many “important” things like work and daily chores which take over our attention,

Wishing health for Christmas and on someone’s birthday is the most trivial thing. But we all have a tendency to be forgetful and think about certain things only if and when they actually happen. Health is one of these things. The interesting part is that it is also the most valuable thing.

Today I am going to remind myself that I am here, I am alive and have the great privilege to be able to see, walk and do freely everything that I want to do. And that`s a super big deal. Can you feel it too? 

The “Stay true and inspired” moment from yesterday can be found here.

I am a big supporter of keeping a diary as a way to connect to ourselves and also offload the things that bother us. Apart from everything else this blog is also a diary of my experiences, inspirations and contemplations that over time has developed into an important part of myself – an entity that has a life of its own, and at the same time is deeply rooted  in my heart. 

A lot of my previous posts have become reminders and spiritual signpost that help me to tune in with myself when needed. They comprise a very heart-felt happiness manifesto that can be accessed at any time. 

Today I was reading the reflections on Positive Psychology and came across the following message:

Something important to realize is that positive emotions are much more powerful than what we think. They do not only improve the overall quality of our lives, but enable us to be curious, creative, connected, to develop ourselves and eventually reach our fullest potential. And very importantly- they can be consciously evoked. 

This reminder came in the perfect moment – the fact that we can evoke positive emotions sometimes just slips off and it just feels more comfortable dwelling in our worries/post-holiday blues/whatever else bothers us. But not today! This is a call-out  to take care of ourselves and stay positive 🙂 I`ll start by calculating my Positivity Ratio which I can highly recommend to all of you.

Today was definitely not one of my best days- the hard drive of my lap top crashed and I spent four morbid hours not knowing whether I could restore my files. When it happened I was supremely freaked out. Afterwards I calmed down, but this totally ruined my mood and redirected my focus to this and only this.

So for a considerable amount of time I just couldn`t do anything else different than grieve over my lost everything. I started making a list of lost data and options for retrieving it from people. I even sent a few emails to my boss asking her to urgently share some files that I thought were lost.

Four hours later it was fixed. Just like that. I felt super silly.  And also exhausted. I couldn’t stop thinking- why  did I ruin my day over something that was eventually nothing?

 Sometimes we need to go through the same things over and over until we learn certain lessons. Like that it really doesn’t make sense to worry about things that are first- uncertain and second – out of our control. That`s my inspiration and lesson for today. And of course- backing up my files 😉

During my yoga class today the teacher spoke of the Flower of Life -the creation pattern that holds mystical symbols through which one can discover the most important and sacred pattern in the universe.

The “Flower of Life” can mostly be seen in a hexagonal pattern (where the center of each circle is on the circumference of six surrounding circles of the same diameter), made up of 19 complete circles and 36 partial circular arcs, enclosed by a large circle. It is considered by some to be a symbol of sacred geometry, said to contain ancient, religious value depicting the fundamental forms of space and time. Drawings of it the can be found in Phoenician, Assyrian, Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern, and medieval art and there are many analyses of its symbolism.

Hearing the story of the Flower of Life reminded me of my beautiful summer holiday in Ibiza. I was staying in the House Life- Blossoms owned by the charismatic Elke and Michael, former models who had lived and travelled around the world and who embarked on a spiritual journey that brought them to Ibiza. Their house had a wonderful artistic vibe that was greatly enhanced by Michael`s creations-paintings of the Flower of Life that were displayed in every room in the house. I had not heard of The Flower of Life before, so Michael introduced me to their symbolism and importance. Today was the second time I heard about it.

The talk about the flower of life brought me back to Ibiza and its incredible nature; the beautiful spiritual place where I stayed and the great people whom I met there. It made me think how experiences enrich us in an unforgettable way long after they are over. Experiences get imprinted in ourselves and we can access them any time by remembering.  So they can brighten up the rainy days. And remind us that there will be many more to come. 

Today I`m keeping it simple with a favorite quote by The Dalai Lama!

Being present is a present on its own – actually one of the biggest presents that we can give to the ones that we love.

But sometimes, and we have all been there – there is a friend who needs a favor, but on that day and time you need to go to work, there is another plan and the most intuitive answer would be “I can`t make it.Sorry!”.

I have been in a similar situation years ago, this time on the receiving side- I was abroad on a student trip and needed to urgently go to a hospital, but it happened that all the people around me had important plans that they could not come with me. No need to tell you how that felt.

I`ve afterwards decided that the best way to make a difference is to learn from the experience and not to be like this and I`ve tried to stick to it even when I have plans, I am busy and seemingly nothing can be done. This is how today went – instead of following the plan that I`ve made I chose to spend time with a dear friend who needed my presence.

Being present does not discriminate between weekends and weekdays. Between having the time or not.  Being present allows us to exercise an important power that we have- the power of choosing to breaking the circle of plans and obligations and making time for what matters.

My favorite tea brand is Yogi Tea. They have a great variety of herbal teas and also came up with the brilliant idea to write small inspirational messages on each tea bag.

My message for today is “Happiness is an accomplishment”. This reminded me of a talk by the Indian new age guru Osho that I listened to a few months ago that made a big impression on me. He was reflecting upon the attention that “unhappy” people receive and how it is a lot more that what happy people get.

Think about it. If your friends ask you how you are doing and you simply answer “Great”- you are not going to be asked many further questions. But if your answer is “I`m feeling miserable”- there will surely be much more interest towards you and your situation, and the conversation will evolve around you much more than in the previous case.

According to Osho, because of our attention-seeking egos, we would be much more inclined towards unhappiness for two main reasons:

• Being unhappy would get us more attention and sympathy.
• It takes an active effort to bring yourself out of the misery and maintain a positive state of mind, which we tend to avoid.

Of course, that does not apply to everyone and generalizing is not the point. The point is for us to think it over and to understand that the only person that can make you happy is yourself. And from that perspective happiness is really an accomplishment and something in which we should take pride when we get there 🙂

It is not just artists that need creativity and inspiration, it is something that`s essential for all of us. It might come as a surprise, but it is an actual fact- creativity has been scientifically recognized as a prerequisite for a healthy mental state and flourishing life.

But very often it doesn`t come some naturally and is not there in the moments we need it. So how do we find it? This is a something that I`m reflecting upon quite often and I can share three observations:

• The first of them is a quote from a very dear friend who helped me reconnect to the artist within and who once told me “Inspiration is like a diarrhea, it doesn`t come often, but when it does- it`s unstoppable”. This is super valid for me and I`ve learned that when it comes it is best to take advantage of it while it lasts. It was one of those instances of being taken over inspiration when the Christmas tree on the picture came to life.
• The second one is that the more opened to the world around me, the more inspired I get. New information, places, new activities, new experiences and even foods enrich us and help us develop and grow.
• I am sure that all of us have their own sources of creativity and inspiration deep within and we just need to tap into them by simply engaging in activities that we enjoy and getting in their flow. The art of going for what brings you joy can be an immense enabler of creativity if we allow it to.

With that being said- I am wishing you and myself a creative and inspired week ahead!

In our pragmatic world we are often doing things because they make sense, have a good return of whatever we invested in them and are perceived well by others. But very often these exact same things don`t resonate with our hearts and we are left with a nagging feeling that something is not how it is supposed to be.

I truly believe we should go after what brings us joy, animates our souls and give us a feeling of self-fulfillment even when there is no apparent logical reason behind it.

The idea of the blog came very spontaneously one night during my stay in an Ayurvedic center in India. I had a strong feeling that I had to do something and express myself, my thoughts and also to share my pictures. It is still difficult to explain from a rational perspective why I am doing it. But what I know for sure is that the joy that I get out of it tops so many other things that I do, that I just know in my heart that it is the right thing for me.

I am sure everybody has a dormant dream, a vision, an area that they are drawn to explore. It is really not about the outcome, but about the process of enjoying and feeling alive.

It also doesn`t need to be something big. Just something that energizes you. Like going for a walk if you like nature. Or finding a baby goat and spending time with it if you are fond of baby goats. Or just cooking your favorite meal. Just go for it!

If at the start of my career someone told me that a few years afterwards I would be doing what I`m currently doing I would had never believed them. Looking back, I can say that my career development has been an interesting sequence of, at first sight, almost impossible career moves across quite unrelated departments. It is a field where I’ve tried to act following my intuition rather than thinking pragmatically, which I believe had paid off greatly.

This interesting journey has been enabled by one factor – people. It was the kind-hearted and humane people that I’ve met and with whom I`ve shared my story that gave me tips, introduced me to more people, supported me and inspired me to make it happen. Some people would say- you made it all yourself. But no man is an island. We all need support. 

I spoke to one of these people today and expressed my gratitude for yet another time. She is a very humble person who is not comfortable with too much praise. But she played a big role in changing my career direction at a critical point. And I will always be grateful.

So when someone reaches out for help – give a helping hand. It could be you that could change their life. Wouldn’t that be an amazing accomplishment?