Weekly inspirations Week 1: Different yet the same

   We tell children people are different. Some are young, others are old, some are short and others tall, so on and so forth, but many times we forget an essential part: we all have the same needs.

   If our needs are met, we are happy. That's what I want to talk about today. No matter who we are, how poor or how rich, how young or how old, you have to admit we all want to be happy. This is what unites us and this is also the reason for most of our problems... because we think all people reach happiness exactly the same. Do they though?
   Human relationships involve work. A lot of it. The thing is that we feel hurt so easily that we abandon ship asap without taking some time to understand that sometimes people see the same problem from a different perspective. 

   How about acknowledging that happiness can mean something else for different people, start accepting that and allow the people around us be happy on their own terms? Why does a friend or a family member have to achieve happiness following our path? I know we love them and maybe we think we have the magical key for happiness... but that key works for our lock. How about letting them find their own key?
   Let's set peple free of our expectations and rules especially because we love them. They will reach happiness in their own way and they will love us even more for it. How beautiful does that sound? :) Happiness all around!

365 days project 2. Day 60. Happiness through others

   Do you remember the last time you were happy... because of something that happened to someone else? Being happy because they were happy? I experience this every day at work.

   These are just a few examples:

- When the kids are getting enthusiastic because I want to play with them 

'Hey, kids, can I play with lego too?'

'Yeees!' they all say happily. 

'Let me show you how to build a house' one of them says.

'I'm going to show you how to build a garage for the policeman.' a differrent boy adds.

'That sounds really exciting' I say.

The other children in the class watch us curiously.

'Do you want to play too?' I ask them. 'Why don't we build the highest tower ever made out of lego? Do you want to help me?'

And soon all the kids are around the table each helping me build the tower.

-When they are thrilled because I am telling them a story and afterwards I give them a coloring sheet about the story. 

'Did you bring us something to color today, Dana?'

'Yes I did.'

'Oh yeaaaaah!!! Can't wait!' 

-When they all come towards me and hug me in the biggest, tightest group hug ever every time they see me once a week 

   They're all sweethearts and even though they have their bad days when they don't seem to want to obey or follow rules I still love them to bits and their happiness becomes my happiness daily! 

365 days project 2. Day 53. Random messages

   In yesterday's post I pledged that books can bring happiness but today the Universe chose to show me another way to reach it: random messages received from people surrounding you. They're like receiving flowers even if it's not your birthday or a special occasion: unexpected and definitely welcome!

  The day was really, really dark and gloomy and I barely dragged myself out of the bed in the morning. One of those days when all you want is to stay in bed and sleep till the day is over. I won't bore you with details. You probably had the same type of day. But when a friend sends you a very nice message and hugs to help make the day better, the whole perspective changes. 

   It's so interesting how small gestures like that lift our spirit so easily! We all want to be important and when someone thinks about us, a little light bulb lights up and sheds light on an otherwise dark day... 

   So we love receiving random messages that make us feel important. Let's pay it forward and make someone's day happy too! :) Spread the love!

365 days project 2. Day 52. Happiness is just a book away

   I always loved reading. When I was a little girl I would read all the fairytales I would find in our library and my grandparents' library, any book, no matter how old and wrinkled, if it had illustrations or not (though I loved to look at the pictures). I loved being my favorite characters' fellow and go through a multitude of adventures together, but what I loved the most about fairytales were the happy endings. I always enjoyed that part because no matter what happened everything was ok in the end and the good prevailed. 

   Books have always been my friends, my comfort, my heaven. They have taught me lessons of true, deep, amazing friendships, eternal love and wisdom conquered through a series of surpassed challenges. Not all the books have a happy end just like not all life stories do but for me books themselves are my happy ending... of a day. No matter how stressful or hard the day was, books always make me smile and bring back that inner peace.
   See? Hapiness is just a book away... at least in my case :)

Lessons from a flower

Dear diary,

   A new school year began yesterday and on this very first day all teachers receive flowers. I received some too and they made me feel appreciated. But what I loved the most was that my daily quote matched the occasion: "A flower in front of me, I want to hear what it says". So I started thinking: what do flowers teach us? Hmmm...

1. Be delicate: don't be afraid to be gentle and graceful, it's actually beautiful in a woman.

2. Be feminine: wear dresses: pretty, light and airy fabrics that enhance your femininity, stop wearing those jeans Every.Single.Day. There are so many ways to wear a dress, look up inspirations!

3. Be elegant: This goes hand in hand with the other two ones, but it's also about the attitude. A rose is elegant on its own, it doesn't necessarily need to be put around other flowers to be elegant. Make your attitude stand out for you. In a good way.

4. Wear perfume: Sooo important! If there are flowers like lilies or freesias that I would keep smelling, there are also perfumes that are just as yummy and wearing them makes such a difference. I remember scents in the bus, on the street, scents that stayed with me. Perfumes help you be remembered.

5. Be confident and just bloom without comparing yourself to others. There are so many beautiful flowers out there, but they never feel weird about not being beautiful enough. Diversity is good, love yourself just the way you are, with your flaws and your imperfections. You're human, nobody's perfect.

6. Be joyful: Find a reason to be happy every day. There are many small blessings around you that could just make your day if you are willing. I love the warm sun in the morning or an addictive song recommended when I least expect.

7. Wear happy colors: Less blacks, greys and browns, more viridian, turquoise, aubergine, burgundy, salmon, peach, pink blush! So many color combinations, just look around you on the street and be inspired! 

8. Bring happiness to people around you: Remember how happy you are when you receive flowers, make people just as happy and then you can say it was a day worth living! Many times just sending a random hug message, checking up on a friend or listening and showing compassion helps so much!

9. Never let go, find resources to go on, bloom every year no matter what! Even if there are days when you wished you stayed in bed, even if the dark autumn days are approaching, find a purpose (going somewhere in vacation, Christmas decorations, etc) and stick to it, it will make you happy when the skies are grey.

10. Know what you want and what you need: If you need love, health, peace of mind or happiness, ask for it and the Universe will give it to you. Just don't forget to be Specific and also remember the famous saying: "Be careful what you wish for, because it might come true". So think hard before you ask. 

   I want to remember these small lessons, especially when I feel sad or worried. Flowers don't worry, they just bloom :)


P.S. Happy colors and polka dots make me sooo happy:

Happy happy, joy joy,

D.

  

Perfectly imperfect

Dear diary,

   Everything that happened around me lately helped me realize how imperfect we all are, how afraid we are to not meet expectations, worried about an uncertain grown up future, angry knowing we don't own everything we want, sad thinking everybody judges us. We're truly our own biggest enemies. We are the ones who stop ourselves from reaching daily happiness by allowing all the negative emotions make room in our mind. We're living in a constant fear, we love and grow dependent of the ones we love, forgetting that we have to love ourselves first in order to have a basic happy life. 

   Today I didn't wear any makeup while going to work and I still smiled. I inhaled the fresh air, watched the birds chirping, the sun rays reaching me through fresh green trees, colorful people walking to work and I smiled again saying "You know what? I'm beautiful just the way I am. And today I love myself." It was such an important start of a good day. I focused on watching happy people pass me by, I imagined their happy little lives and I told myself again the mantra of a wise friend I adopted last night: "I'm not happy all the day, but I'm happy every day." And so I shall. I will accept that I am perfect in my imperfection and I will allow myself to have good days and bad days, cooking experiments gone wild and tears now and then. Because it's all natural. But I will focus on the negative side less and less... and when the world seems too hard to bear, I'll call a friend and bear it together. Cos two is always better than one.

Sunny and proud,

D.

Live it up

   I know, I said it before. Various times. But it came back to me so I guess it's a never ending lesson we have to learn again and again our whole life: Live it up. Take all the opportunities that show up on your way, be it an awesome light on a lazy Sunday, a donating books event in your city or the opportunity to help a kid do his homework. 

   Don't be lazy! That tv show will always be there, but some chances don't show up twice:) (Remember the color fight?:D) You just have to surpass your fear of being judged. You feel glamorous and want to take some selfies? Do it! You feel like walking in the nature but all your friends are busy? Take your camera and go enjoy yourself. You want to start a project but you're afraid you'll never have enough time? Believe me, you CAN do anything you want to do. Just do it:) You'll see how happy that thing will make you feel. 
   If I learned something in my life it's that we have to conquer our fears and focus on being happy. Because in the end, that's what keeps us going, right?:) But there's this trick:

   So do whatever makes you happy and do this exercise an awesome teacher gave us: write down every day 3 things that made you happy. Do it for a week. See how your life changes when you acknowledge there ARE things that make you happy every day. So why are you sad then?:) Start being happy and take all the opportunities that make you want to shout "I love life"! Say YES more often! Live it up!:)

The 3 magical days

   "Every miracle lasts only three days", they say. Some days are longer, others are shorter. But somehow miracles end and then you're all by yourself asking if that was just a dream or if it was reality. 

   You already knew that life is a never ending journey across calm seas and harsh mountains. You know the theory. But since you've been traveling on a calm sea for years, it was always hard for you to imagine that sometime you'd have to climb the Everest. And that's simply because you were used to living a comfortable life. All nice and cozy. 

   Your third magical day is now coming to a close and you can feel it. The wind is starting to blow. The sea is slowly becoming agitated and you're borrowing its state. You're starting to tremble in your summery dress and you close your eyes. Black and white gloomy images come into your mind. You will have to continue your journey up until the peak you'll be terrified about. You know you'll want to come back to the amazingly calm sea and clear water, but you also know you won't be able to. Cos the doors behind you will keep closing and you can only go forward. And then you'll want to stop and just lay down for a while and weep. Weep because you miss these carefree summery days, these times when you were just a girl. 

   When you open your eyes you realize you've aged. You're a grown up woman now. That's what autumn does every year. It takes away the innocence and gives back the same sorrows you had last year. She'll keep doing that till you get at peace with your destiny and you accept it. Ups and downs. Happiness and sadness. Sea and mountain. 

   You look away in the distance and you see the waves coming towards you. But you hold on tight and decide to live every day as it comes and enjoy every bit of happiness that's left until the great sorrow. You know the next 3 days will be mundane, cruel, ironic, anything but magical, but you remember you've been through this before and you prevailed. So you take a deep breath and shout to the waves: "Come what may, I'm ready!"

Day 362. Guilty pleasures

  We all had our guilty pleasures and we keep having them no matter how much we try to avoid it. We just can't help it. Be it a mainstream song with crappy lyrics and a catchy rhythm, a cheesy movie with good looking actors or a teenagerish book with nothing profound and life changing in its content. We think they're the opposite of everyday us and yet, they somehow make place into our life and we wake up liking them. Even though we'd never go for those if we had to pick.

   The interesting part is that if we're asked what we think about them, we strongly deny liking them. Maybe we do it because we want to keep the image we built over time, or maybe because these are rear events that happen here and there and don't really define us as a person. But why do we feel guilty every time we like something like that? Why all that dreadful feeling that only brings in bad energy? 

   I once saw a video of a man saying that we shouldn't accept such a term as "guilty pleasures" in our life. Because in the end, believe it or not, that's exactly who we are. And those tiny pieces are hidden deep inside us. Sure, we're not proud of them, but acceptance is the beginning of happiness. Nobody says that you have to put a status on Facebook with something like "Hey dudes, I'm a Metalist but I love Twilight." Nobody says you have to tell anybody about it. Maybe you wanna share it with your buddies and make fun of it, or maybe you wanna keep it for yourself but whatever you choose to do, learn to never feel guilty about liking something! Because deep there you know that thingie makes you feel good. Then why associate feeling good with guilt?:) Wouldn't it be easier to just accept it as part of your life and move on amused?:) Life's awesome. Keep it that way!

Day 359. Goodbye summer

   The last day of summer feels just like the last page of that wonderful book you don't want to end. It's the last spoon of your favorite cake, the last drop of coffee with your best friend, the last minute of a breathtaking sunset. 

   This day has so much emotion in it that you don't know what to do with it. It's like you're holding a jar full of bits of happiness, melancholy, longing, ecstasy, sadness and eagerness altogether. It's what you felt these past 3 months. It was the time when you were able to fulfill your dreams, the time you were looking forward to, the most time spent dating... yourself:) And now it's coming to an end just like any other beautiful thing. The good part about it though is that you stored all the memories you made. Now you can go back to them whenever you'll feel blue during those long, rainy autumn days. 

   So open the lid and take out happiness. Hold onto it. Because knowing you were happy during summer will give you enough energy to be happy during autumn as well. And remember. Autumn can be an awesome season. So don't spend time feeling melancholic for the past summer, invest it in making new memories that would make you just as happy as summer did. Smile:) An awesome, golden autumn is just around the corner:)

Day 346. That special feeling

   From time to time you get that special feeling of being in love with the world. It's that unexplainable thing that makes you be high on happiness, that feeling of "I wouldn't change anything about how my life looks right now." You forget about anything that needs to be solved, anything that's not perfect and you just wear that dumb smile on your face and you feel like you'd hug everybody. 

   That feeling usually comes on a perfect summer evening. You just lay down in the sunset light, close your eyes and realize you finished solving the puzzle, that every piece is now put in its right place and you're proud to have figured things out. You open your eyes and you're still smiling. Because you're looking forward to solving the next puzzle life has prepared for you. And because you know that if you were able to finish all the ones you were given until now, you're trained enough to finish the ones to come too. And that gives you strength and peace. The peace of knowing you're in control. What better feeling do you need?:)

Day 341. Forever happy

   Today I went out with an old friend to catch up. It's always awesome to see that some friends never fade away even if you don't talk to each other in a long while:) 

   The conclusions we both came to are that sometimes you can be mediocre in a place, but a star in another; that unfortunately nobody is irreplaceable but that shouldn't make you hopeless. Instead you should look harder until you find a suitable option for you. And whenever that moment happens you ought to stick to it real hard and not let anyone take it from you. Fight for it and never let it go because that's what makes you happy. 

   We realized that parents will always think they know better but that they often get lost in a conventional way of seeing life, a protective way, but not one that's up to nowadays reality. 

   In the end what matters in life is going for what you want and defending your right to be happy. Because real happiness is worth fighting for and nobody can take it away from you if you don't let them:)

Day 328. Fairytales

   Friends are like books. They open our eyes to a world were no matter what happens, the ending is always happy. They help us find ourselves and they're always so entertaining to be around. We daydream with them and when we're down they bring us up and sometimes we're down together because we feel exactly what they feel and sharing the pain is always easier when there's two. They are the stories that we don't want to end. 

   We meet some of them when we're kids and our friendship goes on forever even if we change in time. Others are first our classmates, the only ones we'll keep in touch with even after school ends, the ones we'll invite to our wedding and the same ones we'll walk our babies with. And then there are the friends who step in our world later, when we least expect. The kind of friends who remind us that being ourselves is awesome because they are just like us. The kind of friends you don't see every day but when you do meet time stops for you and happiness is all around. The friends that remind us that

   I wuv you, Laura! You showed me that being lovey dovey and overly hugging is Ok. You reminded me that love can save the day so that's why I keep spreading it ^^ Thank You, cupcake! <3 I'm so glad I met you!

Day 327. Another day to remember

   This is the day. The day when all studying ends and we try to convince other people that we know what psychology is about. We let them come into our world and hope they will like it enough to give us a high mark and let us enjoy the next year of our life in a good workplace. 

   That's what teachers do. They take an exam each year and hope for the best. They get ready for it for months, so that's how friends and family forget how they look like. They all can't wait for it to be over. And one day, today, the loop ends. Anxiety is coming to the surface and worrying thoughts swim across the mind. Teachers don't know what lays ahead of them, they just hope for the best. And then something happens. Something that changes their day.

 

   I wasn't nervous this morning. Not because I studied hard and I was confident or because I received the opportunity to work in the same kindergarten next year... but because of her. The wise music teacher. One of the examination supervisors. One that knew psychology better than we did and that had to lose it all to reach wisdom and be able to teach others how to cool down and laugh their stress away before a big exam. One that gave us a life lesson. 

   We had to wait for a whole hour before the exam and in that time she took our minds off of it. We were no longer in a foreign class, in a foreign school, waiting for the exam subjects to be delivered to us. We were attending an awesome course about happiness. She told us that the key to happiness isn't getting attached to the people around us. Happiness is loving and setting them free. Free to be themselves, not the ones we expect them to be. And, among others, she reminded me that when we want something, we should believe in getting it and ask for it with all our heart. And it shall be given to us because of our faith:) 

   So when the subjects came in, I bet all of us asked to have an easy exam and get a high mark:) It's funny how we needed to meet this woman to psychologically prepare us for an exam on psychology:)  And it's awesome that we did. Cos in the end when the subjects came in we were all confident that we could be the best version of ourselves right there, on that paper, and I donno about the others, but I enjoyed that exam. Some interesting ideas popped in my mind, some that might pleasantly impress the teacher reading my paper, the same ones that made me smile during the exam because that teacher changed my life and I needed her there. I needed her to tell me that attachment is not love and that love is setting people free from our expectations:) I was already in that battle with myself lately and her verbalizing it meant I took the right decision.

   Everything does happen for a reason:)

Day 308. Priceless

   You know what they say: you can buy a lot of things but there are some that money just can't buy. You will never be able to buy happiness, love, peace, class, lost time and so on. Yeah, you can buy things to get you there for a second, a minute, a day or maybe a week, but when you wake up the next day, will you still be happy? Think again:)  

   Today my boyfriend and I celebrated his birthday. Happy, happy, joy, joy:) Of course, he received a nice gift, something he loved and needed, but at the end of the day he told me: "you know, the fact that you love me and you're here with me is the best gift there is":) So, can you buy that? Real, everlasting happiness?:) I'm really proud of him and of the special thing we share. Anything I could buy wouldn't make me happier:) This is priceless:)

P.S. Happy birthdaaaay, honey<3 Love you lots!

  

Day 280. How to make us happy

   Happiness is easily achievable when you're a child or an artist. 

   As a child all you need is a bit of attention from a grown up or from fellow children. It's not even important to give them a gift, they're thrilled if you show them you want to spend time with them doing what they like, if you ask for their opinion and you make them feel important. Oh, and they love being taken photos:) They all crowd around you and say "Pick me, pick me":) 

   As an artist, all you need to be happy is good light for your photos, an amazing scenery or a wild model. Or just a plain sunny day. 

   More than ever, I feel that this sunny day is feeding me all my happy thoughts. I don't even have to try to be happy. It all comes naturally when it's sunny outside:) It's like the birds are chirping more, the colors are brighter and I can see all the shades of green I couldn't see during the 20 days of rain. I wish it would just last forever. No matter the season. A forever sunny weather. It may even rain or snow or the wind might blow, but I want the puffy clouds and the sun. I need it so much! 

   If you want to make me happy, give me a warm hug and a sunny day. Best present ever!:)

Day 270. Giving and receiving

   Sometimes things turn out to be better than we expect and we receive much more than we think we deserve. And all that because karma works her deal all the way. What you give is what you shall receive:)

   Today I read a quote saying "We are not blessed so we can have, we are blessed so we can give." And I love giving! So I organized some cute, unexpected ways to surprise a friend on her birthday:) What I loved most was seeing her sincere reactions of happiness while she was expecting this to be just another regular birthday:) It's interesting to think that I was the one surprised at some point in the past and now, by doing this, I paid it forward. It surely feels good to be able to do it.

   In the end, there's more happiness in giving than receiving:) At least in my case. Making people happy is one of my purposes in life. Today, mission accomplished:)

Day 254. A day to remember

   Today was yet another awesome day from the book of my life. It now feels so nice to know I turned the page to a lot of happiness that was ready for me today:)

   My family and I went to see the annual air show in my city (I forgot, this is yet another tradition we have). We even have our own special spot with a terrific view where we always stay and watch the show. You'd say there's nothing special anymore if we go see it every year. Yeah, you might be a bit right, some things do stay the same (like my dad being like a little child in the Christmas morning while watching the air show) but every year something different happens. 

   Today I've seen poppies for the first time this year (my favourite flowers!) and I had plenty of flowery material for some awesome shots, the air show was more amazing than the previous year (they even drew a heart!) and some of the planes flew right above our heads! I felt fear and an awesome adrenaline rush in the same time because I thought they would hit us (they came that close!) And then, when passing us by they saluted us with the plane because they saw us waving! That was amazing! 

   Somewhere in between mom took some cute photos of me and after I got home and spent the rest of the day editing today's photos I even invented a new version of "River of dreams" song based on my experience today:) That was fun!

"In the middle of May

We go watching an air show

On the hill we choose to stay

Until the time we have to go.

We must be looking for something

Something awesome to shoot

The wheat field is amazing

So mom shot me cute."

   And it's my dad's birthday today and we had strawberries and ice cream and it's the final of Eurovision song contest tonight. I'm soooo ecstatic! 

   This is surely a day to remember! ... And that's why I love traditions. Because every year something changes:) 

Day 221. The path

   I had a bittersweet day today. I found out things that were both good and bad for me. 

   I got upset with people, myself, life. Then I took another breath and it was like I was talking to God who was telling me: "Do you trust Me, Dana?" and I said: "I do." "Then, give up on your anger and sadness and just enjoy the good things you found out today. I'm going to take care of you, don't worry." So I listened to that inner talk and I enjoyed the sunny day while laying on the bench with my eyes closed. 

   Today, more than ever, I had reasons to believe that everything happens for a reason and that there's a path written for every one of us before we were even born. When we come to this world, we walk on it without knowing that all our future decisions are already known and somehow through all the great uncertainty of this world, the big puzzle keeps being solved. And people end up being happy. If that's what they seek. I certainly seek happiness. And happiness I shall have. 

"Everything will be okay in the end.

If it's not okay, it's not the end."

Day 216. When the time is right

   Today was one of those days when you're easily deceived by the weather. In the morning I enjoyed the best sunrise in months only to feel raindrops on my face hours after that. Of course I didn't bear an umbrella with me. Murphy was right again.

   While I was waiting for the bus under a roof, I looked up and I saw trees blooming everywhere. Not just little leaves, but flower buds altogether. I was amazed by the fact that trees, unlike apartment plants, can grow by themselves and they just know when to do it. They might be a little late, but in the end they follow the process closely. They are little phoenix birds that remind us we have to go on and leave behind the things that drag us down and just search for happiness in every little thing. We don't even have to expect it to happen. It's enough if we look around. That's when we realize it's already happening:)