5 Things I Light

I used to have this regular post on my blog – about 5 things I like. It comes especially handy when I don’t know what to write about. I go through my latest photos and choose the images I like. And this time I noticed that those five were actually united by one theme – it was all about light. Hence 5 things I light.

Ok, they are not actually five. As you may know, I am not fabulous with numbers. Last time I wanted to share 10 Most Amazing Tips for Blogging, they turned out to be not 10 but 16. And not amazing but mediocre. And not tips but “bad advice” :)) So well, you have to take this with a pinch of salt, as we say it in Norwegian.

And the first thing I like would be something that rimes with it. A bike. I could not hold myself back from this primitive poetry :)) Because the poetry is what makes this life worth living, even such a basic one 🙂

somewhere in Gava

Happiness Under My Feet

Some time ago I got inspired by the photos on a site for free photo borrowing (a blogging friend of mine, Life is now, shared some links in her post). Well, what I mean by “inspired” is that I saw them and understood that I stand a long long way from them. But I want to be there too.

Still, I am glad that I have learnt the difference between envy and inspiration. They seem to have the same root – a feeling like “I want that too”. The difference is that envy adds “but I can’t”, while inspiration says “I can. I just have to work on it”. There is a great book which helped me realize this, “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron.
So, been inspired by those photos, I decided to give myself a challenge. One photo a day. That must be easy. Of course, it will start with some days with no photos, and some days with plenty. But somewhere it must start.

And I thought of sharing some. Not to see the progress, but just so. To share. Today, as I was going through the recent images, picking some to share, I saw this pic of a book page with a quote: “The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his own feet”. And I realized that a challenge of collecting images of my immediate world is in the vein with the philosophy of growing happiness under my own feet. Start noticing the simple beauty around you – and there is a feeling of gratitude and happiness in the heart.

Wishing you all a nice spot where you can plant and grow your own happiness! 🙂

autumn vibes

Postcards from Rome: Fading Beauty

On our short trip to Rome we managed to catch several days of rain. I considered us really unlucky on that trip – but as I think again, maybe we were lucky? Because we could get the views that are quite seldom for this city. And catch some beauty just before it faded away. It was everywhere: in the dark stormy skies with seldom rays of sun, in the reflections on the wet pavement, in the sudden rainbow which disappeared as fast as it popped, in the raindrops on the cafe tables that got carried away just in a minute after I took that shot. Isn’t it amazing that even such a tourist misfortune as rain can teach us a lesson of looking closely and spotting beauty – because it can be gone so fast?

dark and light and a sudden rainbow

The Perks of Being Norwegian

I love flying from Oslo. And not in the meaning of leaving Oslo for some exciting or sunny destination (though I love that too). I mean, I love how smooth the process is. From when I step out of my front door till the moment I am in the air.

I take a tram or a bus to the central station. The ticket for it I buy in the app. I know the timetable of the trains so I know if I can make it – otherwise I take an airport express (which costs twice as much). The ticket for the train I buy in the same app (for airport express I just swipe the card, no paper ticket needed). While sitting on the train I can check in with my flight. I still often prefer to check in at the machine at the airport. Norwegian has also an easy bag drop in Oslo airport where you can scan your bag yourself and off it goes. The whole check-in process takes no more than 5 minutes. I still remember flying to Norway from Ukraine. Passport controls, eternal lines for check-in. And good if there were lines. Crowds. Like someone said: “When you are in the big airport like Amsterdam and looking for a check-in window to Kiev it is easy to find. All other destinations stand in line. Ukrainians stand in a crowd”. True true.

 

A Visit to Santa’s Town

Today I want to share my last year’s memories from our trip to Drøbak. It is a town where Santa Claus (julenisse) has his official address in Norway. The town has the post office of Santa Claus that takes itself of all letters addressed to him. As the year is closing by, I wish I could send a thank-you note to Santa Claus (with a wish list attached), but right now my energy is just enough to share those images and memories. Trying to keep up my humor in December turned out to be more difficult than I imagined. As we entered the darkest week of the year, I found myself lying flat with the flu and fever, and I can’t remember the last time I felt so bad. Though the previous week was full of positive events, I always find it so difficult to think positive in the time of sickness.

the Santa Claus’ post office

5 Things of Blossoming April

We are half done with the spring – and I just realized that I haven’t shared my 5 things for ages. Isn’t it great to have such a feature when you have desire to post but don’t have idea or the will to work hard on something sophisticated? Today I am kind of foggy, so this is an perfect excuse to skip my usual long texts (I love writing the long texts, maybe you noticed 😉 And I hope, there are people who care to read them to their end :)).

A funny story about my fogginess today. I had an appointment with my Mexican friend today and I got up a bit earlier than usually and battled the cold wind outside, almost running to the place with music in my ears. Only to discover that he was not there. And as I thought if this is Latino style and was close to calling him, I scrolled through our texting – and found out that appointment is tomorrow. I just had to laugh and eat my brunch alone there 🙂 Hope, that tomorrow he will be there (otherwise the regular customers at Evita cafe will consider me a crazy lady).

Back to our main show – 5 things which make me smile this April. It looks like the main motive is blooming and blossoming 🙂

1. I am a lover of botanical gardens. And how lucky I am that I can walk to the one – especially in the spring when the signs of new life appear almost every day! Even when it didn’t look like spring in the city, in the garden the first bush of rhododendron was already in bloom.  It means that the winter is officially over (even if it still feels like it) and the nature is waking up from its dream.

that first rhododendron bush

What is success for you?

“This is my mind, and I want it to work for me, not against me”, my friend said. “Let other people say to me negative things, I can ignore them. But why should I say those negative things to myself?”

We have our thinking habits, and my habit is to focus on the negative. To see my past as a disadvantage, to look into future and catastrophize, and interpret the present events in a negative light. But all the habits are an object of change, if you want. It takes time and effort, but it is possible to change the thinking patterns just as it is possible to change lifestyle habits like eating and exercising. This is a period of my life that can be named “change”. I have always been interested in self-development and growth, but it seems like right now this process is even more intense than usually. There are many tools and ideas that inspire me to change and I hope to share some of them here on the blog. And today I want to share some thoughts about success.

It is OK to be on pause

Last summer I joined a yoga retreat. Which has been my dream for the couple of years. At last, here I was, in a tiny village in the heart of Croatian island of Hvar. On the first night of retreat, after a dinner and a welcome circle, we were doing the guided meditation. Lying on the stone floor of the terrace, under the stars blinking through the terrace roof, listening to the sounds of the village, so unusual for us, city people. A dog barking in the distance, someone playing football, mosquito buzzing. Listening to the voice of Russelle, our yoga teacher. Guiding our breath and our focus. “Pay attention to this pause between breaths. Something has ended, new hasn’t started yet. It is called Standba”( not sure about the spelling, to me it sounded like “stand by”. Which makes a good sense).

This is when the light bulb went on in my head. THIS IS THE PERIOD IN MY LIFE THAT I AM GOING THROUGH NOW! Something has ended. New hasn’t started yet. Nothing is happening. So don’t rush it.

the beach  on Hvar island, the location of our retreat