I Giusti - Jorge Luis Borges

Un uomo che coltiva il suo giardino, come voleva Voltaire.
Chi è contento che sulla terra esista la musica.
Chi scopre con piacere una etimologia
Due impiegati che in un caffè del Sud giocano in silenzio agli scacchi.
Il ceramista che intuisce un colore e una forma.
Il tipografo che compone bene questa pagina che forse non gli piace.
Una donna e un uomo che leggono le terzine finali di un certo canto.
Chi accarezza un animale addormentato.
Chi giustifica o vuole giustificare un male che gli hanno fatto.
Chi è contento che sulla terra ci sia Stevenson.
Chi preferisce che abbiano ragione gli altri.
Tali persone, che si ignorano, stanno salvando il mondo.

Vieni via con me....

This is the first of a couple of lists I want to share...
they touched me I hope they can mean something to others too

Elenco di frasi di Enzo Biagi sull’Italia
(leggono Fabio Fazio e Roberto Saviano)
Gli italiani non esistono. Nessuno è riuscito neppure a catalogarli. Venire al mondo a Palermo o a Catania, è già una classifica. Qui si può morire di mafia come di cassa integrazione.
Chi sottovaluta gli italiani sbaglia. Abbiamo risorse imprevedibili. Quando un partito va male, i responsabili non si sgomentano: lo rifondano.
Gli italiani campano soprattutto per quello che non dipende da loro: il sole, la bellezza dei luoghi, la bontà dei cibi, e le opere d’arte che hanno ereditato e di cui non si curano gran che.
Ogni ottocento italiani, uno è presidente: del condominio, della Pro Loco, della squadra di calcio, di una qualche confraternita di mangioni.
Qui si condona, si esonera, si appella, si grazia. Non si previene mai, se va bene si risana. Il bilancio, il fiume inquinato, la finanza pubblica.
è sempre stato difficile avere vent’anni, e non sarà mai semplice essere italiani.
Eppure così com’è, ingiusta e anche crudele, l’Italia io la trovo insostituibile. Non è la migliore, ma è umana. Ha rispetto della vita. Chiesero alla moglie di Manzù perché le piacevano le sculture del marito. “Perché le fa lui”, disse. Mi piace l’Italia: perché mi ha fatto.

on materialism and memories

This week a strange thing happened... I broke a glass... but not just any glass, one of my little collection. http://on.fb.me/9OOPyv I have this bad habit of collecting anything, shot glasses is one of them: sometimes I keep glasses I find, sometimes I buy souvenirs...
This particular glass was taken as payback back in 2004 in Hannover. While on the CC (Congress Committee of the largest AIESEC conference) in Germany we were taken out to eat at a Beer Garden by one of our sponsors... there we had this horrible waiter who had some random weird name with an R... he was such a fairy, and to be honest quite rude to ME for some reason, who knows... I think someone had a video of him too.
Well he had recommended a digestivo at the end of the meal, and Alicia (a team-mate from NZ) and I had obliged... turns out this drink was ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE.. i can still remember the disgusted looks on our faces... I was so angered by his petty picking I decided the glass was cute and original and that I would take it on holiday to Malta!! ... and that's where it's been for the past 6 years, sitting on my desk as I come and go...

breaking it for some reason made me crack....well it made something crack
I decided I needed to clean up my room, clean up my head, and well this goes hand in hand with me wanting to clean up my life...
I decided I needed to start losing a bit of my attachment to objects, and collect my thoughts instead of things.
For the past 10 or so years I've collected all sorts of stuff not to forget my experiences, travels, stories, moments.
So what did I do? ...
Collected items I had stored between wooden boxes (bought for hte specific purpose), raws and shelves and sorted every paper or picture by year... and now I have to glue them into their respective scrapbooks....

what next? I cleaned up my cupboard, wardrobe,desk and bedside table (which was also full of clutter) now I'll have to make my way through my bookshelf.
It feels really good actually. IT feels good to get rid of things...

So now, after this post I'm getting rid of the glass ( I wanted to throw it away only after having actually written this thought down...) This whole thing got me back into the thoughts of my previous post... on what is actually mine, and more importantly which of these things and objects is actually necessary and significant. While throwing away stuff I realised I couldn't remember EVERY single story behind each object...so off they went, and now I'm going to capture as much as possible and get rid of the clutter. Pictures are the best way I guess... most of the objects are un-necessary anyways, so a picture should be more than enough :)

The little Hannover glass made its last toast a long time ago... I think the day I drank from it was the first and last itme I used it!
...and I dedicate a virtual toast to my team from IC in Germany.... that's a memory that doesn't fade whether I have glasses, papers or any other object...

Is everything borrowed?

I heard this song for the first time on the train as I travelled between the Netherlands and Germany over a week ago... I love putting my earphones on and drowning out the noise, staring out of the window at the world and landscape go by, I find it a great means for reflection...

The song apparently is about the repercussions of the financial crisis...but mainly I like the fact that it's a note aganst materialism...
I often wonder what the real value of things and objects is to me, what can I live without? What Can I absolutely not live without? What is really "mine" apart from my memories, thoughts and feelings?

Don't really want to add much except the lyrics of the Chorus of this song... worth a listen, and worth a ponder...

"I came to this world with nothing
and I leave with nothing but love
everything else is just borrowed"

New look

Today I tried to give my blog a facelift... looks a bit brighter and is a bit more personalised... I'm still unsure on whether I like it 100%, there is always room for improvement in everything..

As you can see the theme is The Lotus Flower... why? Well I've been doing some research on images and symbols that I can utilise because I identify with them and after a good deal of reading I have come to the conclusion that I identify with the Lotus.

Reasons

- In the Hindu book the Bhagavad Gita, the text speaks of the need to strive to be like the lotus blossom, "pure of heart so that the muck of earthly matters do not cling to us". Apparently the soul lives in the lotus flower that dwells in each person's heart

- The ultimate lotus flower meaning in the Hindu belief system is that the lotus flower symbol represents awakening to the spiritual reality of life. I'm starting to consider this year as a new birth, or at least a new awakening, and a new found desire for challenge and change

In ancient Egypt the lotus was also a symbol of rebirth, of the sun

Lotuses in Hinduism symbolize prosperity, beauty, fertility, eternity and eternal youth things to strive for

my favourite quote form this information "Lotus tattoos are meant to represent life, new beginnings and the possibility of people growing to change into something beautiful."

In China the Lotus also has a beautiful meaning - Chinese poets use lotus flowers to inspire people to continue striving through difficulties and to show their best part to the outside world, no matter how bad the circumstances may be - a great mantra to keep up.

Something fantastic about the lotus is that the seed starts its life at the bottom of the pond, or what other water form it is in, it then rises to the surface and blossoms....it brings beauty and light from the murky darkness at the bottom of the pond :)

Another symbolic characteristic of the lotus flower leads from the observation that the plant's stalk is easy to bend in two, but is very hard to break because of its many strong sinuous fibres... I guess I identify with that....

btw... above is the picture i'm planning to use... :)

taking a trip with myself

I have made a promise to myself... to sit in silence and think once a day...

the result of this thought process might produce .. a post?.. a thought to develop? a problem to overcome? a tear? a smile? whatever the case I do realise that I need it... I need to be with me, to love me a bit better, to love me a bit more

I started reading Song of Myself - by Walt Whitman... what a read...

take a look

http://www.poetry-online.org/whitman_song_of_myself.htm

(it's too long to post, and definitely requires more than one read)

it brought a smile to my face this evening... I was getting ready to go out, getting dressed and as always worrying whether I look like a person worth looking at... which is just a disguise for the question "do I like myself?"

The silly thing is the answer is YES and I honestly don't understand why I foten get lost in a meandering maze of not liking myself... it's odd I guess... but I think it's also an natural or personal way of keeping my feet on the ground... THING IS I don't want them to stay on the ground...

I think I'll try defying gravity ...says this amazing song! ... I'm through accepting limits cos people say they're so.... is how it continues... truth is it hasn't been just others placing limits... I have too! This year I've stopped myself from doing what my heart so yearns for, it's been a healthy break at the end of the day. I've broken form student life and jumped into work life, BUT with the university ball and chain still there as I haven't finished my thesis.

If I could turn this thought into a picture it would look like this

a cliff

a big metal ball on the edge...

the ball has a chain,

and half way hanging down the cliff... ME!

Upside down... hangimg there.... for too long (hence the confusion and boggled brain)

ready to fly... but still tied down

SO NOW..I'm turning up, climbing back up the chain towards that ball, and I'm going to unchain myself so that this time I can take the plunge properly

now let's see if this evening turns out well or not :)

reading about the Baha'i Faith

So I'm back, back on the rock physically, but my mind is somewhere else...

At the moment one thing I know for sure is my sometimes most irritating quality to deal with is pecking at my brain again.... CURIOSITY is alive and kicking...

I've spent this evening reading external opinions and descriptions on Baha'i faith..but my favourite passage is an internal view...

just to share something small which I'd realised am inspired by, I feel serene as I read this extract.. it is a small summary of the teachings of the Baha'i faith according to Shoghi Effendi..

"The independent search after truth, unfettered by superstition or tradition; the oneness of the entire human race, the pivotal principle and fundamental doctrine of the Faith; the basic unity of all religions; the condemnation of all forms of prejudice, whether religious, racial, class or national; the harmony which must exist between religion and science; the equality of men and women, the two wings on which the bird of humankind is able to soar; the introduction of compulsory education; the adoption of a universal auxiliary language; the abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty; the institution of a world tribunal for the adjudication of disputes between nations; the exaltation of work, performed in the spirit of service, to the rank of worship; the glorification of justice as the ruling principle in human society, and of religion as a bulwark for the protection of all peoples and nations; and the establishment of a permanent and universal peace as the supreme goal of all mankind—these stand out as the essential elements [which Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed].^["

A new path, a new page in this blog

It's odd to think that when I originally opened this blog I summarised it into "Words, thoughts, meaning" as a couple of months down the line form my last post I find myself wanting to share my search for meaning as I actively do so. My last conversation tonight revolved around how classical music and its appreciation heightens your senses (well mine at least!), but yesterday and today my senses, thought process have been heightened... I feel alert, but at peace, open yet detached, involved and enthusiastic. That is why at 1:11 am I'm eager to put these words out there...regardless of who reads

Right now I am in Groesbeck, at the dePoort Conference centre attending EBBF's annual conference. This year the theme is "Making it Meaningful".. I joined this ride a couple of months back as the Communications Associate for EBBF, a virtual internship position which I hope to maximise further in the next couple of months, because it is what has become the food for a seed I started to plant in May this year.

For the past 10 years of my life all I've been trying to do is understand my place in the world, figure out what purpose i was born to serve. In May I decided to leave my previous job as I didn't feel like it contributed constructively to me and my future. I reached this decision even as a result of a new found source of meaning... EBBF....

I was touched by it and the people in this extraordinary organisation last yea at an AIESEC-EBBF conference, which drove me to start soul-searching and rediscovering my spirituality (which I incidentally put on hold that same year I started searching for meaning ten years back. Paradox? Admittedly, Yes!)

This stage in my life is, as someone told me today, "a great period of change.. a change I need to embrace, and understand" because I finally feel like I can start defining my future, where I am going to go and who I want to be.

I know what I am now, who I am, and some of the things I am capable. It's time to figure out what my calling is, what my dream is, and follow it with all my heart and might.

It's strange how a couple of conversations can reassure you, and what power they can have on consolidating your determination... I guess it's what I could consider the real essence of inspiration.

Yesterday not long after I'd arrived I spoke to a fantastic woman who gave me a metaphorical slap in the face, making me snap out of my "it doesn't matter what I do as long as it's useful" mode.

NO, what I do does matter, as what I do shapes who I am and is a manifestation of it. And now I am going to admit to myself what it is I truly want to do. I'm going to detach from all that is superfluous and stopping me from following my dreams, because this is how I will be happy, and how I will combine my thirst for meaning, purpose and love.

It's strange to say things with such determination when I only recently felt so lost and frustrated as I couldn't make a choice on what direction to pick.

NOW? I'm still unsure, but determined to sit down, really soul-search, and decide where I am going to go.

A couple of things I do know are, that I am a person who has had exceptional chances in life, great gifts bestowed upon me (by whatever superior essence or power one chooses to believe in)... it might be by God, it might be the world's energy, I don't know and don't pretend to know. As cocky as it may sound, what I do know is that I need to put this all to service of something greater, to do something significant because I know I can do it and I will.

So far this blog's contained lots of rubbish... till today...(well hopefully some stuff was insightful)....but I mean to use it better and really try and communicate at least part of what I have within and want to share.

I guess, I should say thank you to a lot of people (I wonder if they'll ever read this) but

Tammara, Daniel thankyou for letting me be here to enjoy this, to learn from you and others, who I will thank for the time spent in sharing their thoughts, experience and advice.... for that in particular Francoise, Paul, Oscar, you have made me think differently, trust me.... off to sleep to the sound of Nicola Isuard (look him up!)

Day 2 at my first experience of the EBBF Annual Conference. This year the theme is Making it Meaningful.
First mpressions?

Amazing!
Inspiring
I'm surrounded by successful people
I'm amid visionaries
Conversations are meaningful, andaimed at giving direction

I'm tired but happy
I'm humbled by the calibre of the people around me

I'm lost for words

I'm lost but looking for direction

and I've definitely come to the right place...

Here is the link of the conference so you can see what I'm experiencing

http://www.makingitmeaningful.org/

have a look

I'll be back tomorrow..but I'm tweeting and facebooking...

hope to upload photos and videos during tomorrow....

Detox

Following my shocking visit to the doctor last week, where to my dismay I discovered that I have IBS (for those of you that aren't aware it's an unpleasant thing called Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Now considering I'm a first class foodie, and may I add alcoholie especially winie freak it did come as a shock and a blow.

I'm wondering how much my life is going to have to change now...

I guess it could also be seen as a blessing in disguise, I now might actually lose those long hated 15 extra kilos... so to take all of this "di petto" as the italians say i.e. head on, I decided to go on a detox diet for a week.

It's day 2 and since yesterday it's been strictly fruit, vegetables, water and herbal teas...

Honestly I actually feel so much better for the first time in a while detox does feel like you're cleaning yourself out, my stomach doesn't grumble anymore either :D

now it's time to detox my brain... cos there seems to be something wrong there evidently

I haven't really put my finger on it since I'm still quite well and positive..

I guess I'll figure it out sooner or later

In the meantime I got news of an interview for a weekend winter job, let's see how that goes...

fingers crossed

missing Rome...

Containing Thoughts

It's been 2 and a half weeks where officially my main task is now my Masters Thesis... what has this brought ? 4-5 hours a day of reading, reading, reading

about violence, conflict, death, repression, discrimination, hatred, nationalist interests, exclusion, expelling, isolation.... and the more I read the more I wonder

How is man capable of becoming so inhumane,

what drives people to the point where they can hurt, take advantage, abuse, others.

Experience?

Conviction?

Human Nature?

Is it written in our genetic code?

...Is it really?

Can we be predisposed to ill-treat others who really and truly are just our reflection through a different lense?

I wonder what it is that characterises people's frame of mind,

how for some of us all we see is people, person a,b,c,d,e .... irrespective of shape, size, colour, language....

I wonder what other people's thoughts say to them,

where do they come from?

How does a mind discern so greatly?

Discern, label, discriminate..

Maybe these are confused and jumbled thoughts, but I have them every day... now more than ever

I guess it's the result of reading over and over what unconceivable actions some humans can carry out, it just drives me to ask how are mine and those people's brains so different?

Could I be driven to that someday?

Is it animalesque behaviour that lies in all of us? If so what is it buried under? What sparks it?

I wonder if in an extreme case, in a fight for survival anyone can be driven to harm someone else...

It's just I'm not really reading about everybody's survival here...

So is it solely down to values?

I guess that's a long convoluted debate then....

Maybe someone will pick it up with me sometime soon

Back to the reports now..

speck

Revamped Blog

I was inspired by a dear friend who started blogging recently, while I keep attempting to keep up a blog... shall I try again? Try get some followers on board?

Well why not!

Searching for a good photo app for my account and then off we go!

In the meantime albasadventures got a makeover!