[500 Days] 18 February

18 February. 

Ill. Sick. No voice. Lying in bed.

Listening to the cars outside and looking at the grey sky.

Has anyone ever liked February?

Even the internet is taking a day off today.

I am no writer but sometimes stories come to me in such hurry, such urgency. They beg to be written down before they vanish from human consciousness forever.

It was on Monday. A photo of a golden girl reminded me of the cobblestones in Bratislava and all those beginnings and endings that were hiding under a far greater story. A story made up by humans who did not really dare to let go of the familiar and the old. What is it with us humans anyway? We hold on to what we know while we long for something better. Everything has its place, so it must be. Pretenses and illusions, we turn to false hopes and hear what we want to hear. 

Sometimes we just need to breathe. And do.

This coffee tastes rather horrible, by the way.

Remember to breathe.

And to do.

[valokuvatorstai #355: toivo]

Hope.

Speaking of it, writing about it.

What would life be without hope?

Without that certainty that everything will be alright in the end?

The world as it is today scares me.

There are wars, suffering and great levels of indifference.

And ignorance.

And yet.

A tiny knot inside me refuses to give up hope.

Hope is all there is.

I have no religion to turn to,

No heaven or promise of the afterlife can justify

The suffering we cause others.

All I have is that tiny knot.

Of hope.

Planning For the Week Ahead

 

Edamame, mixed beans, baby spinach, garlic and feta cheese. And going to the gym. That is the plan for the lunch breaks next week. 

Attempting Sports

It It should be fun, though. There's no time more suitable for challenges than February - probably the most boring month of the year.

To be quite honest, I do think that any form of encouragement is positive and acceptable  when it comes to making people move. It should be fun, though. The other day I bought a women's mag - their idea of working out and being healthy included following the latest trends from Hollywood (such as soulful indoor cycling - wtf?) and eating an almond or two whenever the sugar rush kicks in. What's wrong with running in the fresh air without having someone shouting like crazy about your greatness? Why do we need to feed ourselves with reinforcing statements of our own greatness? We are humans, we aren't great all the time, and we don't need to be. 

And oh, almonds are tasty, but ice-cream is always better. 

What Was...

Text.

Oh, all the words spoken and unspoken. All those words written to be remembered.

If you can imagine it...

It was early morning, the clock had just struck seven. The sleep was still in my eyes, but a thought was vaguely - yet clearly - entering my mind. You're silly, I told myself. 

The thought was there, a seed had been planted. The very same day two girls at the marketing department mentioned that I should contact their manager about an internal transfer. 

The seed had been planted in someone else's mind too. It was all too clear, an opportunity I had to embrace.

There are times that opportunities approach us in such a manner that they cannot be considered anything but defining moments.