segunda-feira, 7 de setembro de 2009

The history of love

Oh, I love Lisbon. Again :-) I love that the weather is warm, it is not windy (just a little bit to let me breathe properly) and it is humid. Yes, I like all of these. Today it is one of those days when I feel that I am stepping on huge, fluffy, light pink clouds or that I am a huge giant walking in a tiny city trying not to step on the small ants. I went in my quest for street art - http://www.museuefemero.com/ - in São Bento I just discovered a few graffiti, then went to buy my very inexpensive tomatoes and oranges and ended up in Jardim da Estrela. It is useless to say that I enjoyed the place more then ever. If yesterday it was crowded and it seemed that all Lisbon was there, because of some jazz event and a lovely craft fair http://crafts-design-no-jardim-da-estrela.blogspot.com/ , today it was quiet. I didn't even walked the whole park-I chose a bench not too far away from the main entrance, looked at the green parrots chasing each other, flying above the trees and making lots of noise and read my dear book-which is now this lovely book by Nicole Krauss http://www.mostlyfiction.com/contemp/krauss.htm - I love it and I cannot stop myself from smiling, laughing and talking to the characters. A lady, very hippy dress, nice hat, she was from a North European country, stopped just in front of me to talk to her little 6 months old child that she had in the stroller. Next to her was her 4-5 years old girl. The girl kissed the little baby, he smiled with all his face and his big blue eyes and looked at her mother. I smiled at him and sent him some "virtual" kisses. His mother felt a little bit embarrassed from stopping just in front of me, but I liked my baby dialogue. I took the book, the characters and myself and went home.

domingo, 6 de setembro de 2009

My happiness recipe

A friend of mine told me that his son asked him "if we drill a hole from one Pole to the other so that we get to have a tunnel through the axis of the Earth, what happens? Do we get from one Pole to the other, de we fall?". The answer was "no"-we bounce back and forth until we get to the center and we stay there. We stay at our center.

So I tried myself to find my center and write my recipe for happiness, write it down and from time to time read it and get it well into my head so that I don't forget her.

1. Learn to stay still. As JP once told me, take a rain coat, cover yourself and let it rain. The bad things will go away.

2. Let it go. Don't get attached to things or people too much. Love them but don't get dependent. Be yourself.

3. Be silent. Empty your mind from bad thoughts and let the Sun shine in you. No matter what some say, love exists and it is there to stay. Don't listen to people who don't believe.

4. Be attentive and awake. Notice, observe, but don't get obsessed with seeing "signs".

5. Thank nature for all it offers you, open your soul and be grateful. Nature is perfect. Learn to be like her.

6. Don't complain. That doesn't help you or anybody else. You will not become more special from complaining, nor solve your problems.

7. Allow yourself the luxury to escape from what you don't like and be present and happy. Look at the magic around you.

8. Follow your dreams and be ready to give up on things that don't make you evolve.

9. Always love with all your heart, be amazed, don't take things too seriously, smile at yourself.