Saturday 25 March 2017

Quote of the day

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world. "
- Mahatma Gandhi -

Gentle means caring. Gentle means remembering. Gentle touch can create a ripple effect lingering in the world long after you finished your action. Kindness is a must, in our day, when hate try to win a never-ending war. Even if the darkness is at its peak, one candle can bring the much needed light, banishing every shadow within its reach. Be that light, a candle or a pillar, but do it like a whisper, unknown and without pressure. Be good, do good, and then just follow your way. In or out, depending of the need.

Friday 24 March 2017

Quote of the day

"You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."
- Roald Dahl -

Is this true? Our society is more than ever insisting in abnormal, impossible ideals of beauty, which often are not even true (Photoshop anyone?). Even the men, but especially the women are targeted by media and impressed with models that want to be skinny and gracious. But this is not always true. The ideal of external beauty is changing through the centuries, and couple of hundred years ago the ideal it was the voluptuous, fatty kind of woman. Small hips versus big hips. Generous bust versus small bust. There are many ideals of beauty, possible and impossible. And i will not start to talk about the male one, sculpted body, with six-packed abs (which can be obtained by everyone, given the time, training, diet and motivation). But even as we look at the entertainment industry (i know, i know, the bar lowered a bit too much), we are longing for the Uomo universalis ideal of Renaissance. What the heck, we live in a society which believe that beauty and intelligence in the same time is almost impossible. How did we get here? What changed? It is the fault of our education system, or is just the daily bombardment on advertising? In this run after our desires, we keep forgetting to take a peak inside of people, to see that pearl hiding within. Try it, today look around and talk with others, until you find something fascinating in the other person.

Happiness report 2016 (worldwide)

Something interesting to study, even if just to see if you leave in a happy country or not? Are you curious?

There it is: Happiness report 2016 (worldwide) online, or you can download it from here.

Wednesday 22 March 2017

Quote of the day

"Let go of your mind and then be mindful. Close your ears and listen!"
- Jalaluddin Rumi -

With this one we go to explore the mystical side of life. What is mindfulness? How can we let our mind go? First of all, we say 'my mind', so the mind is ours and we are not the mind. We are not the body either, we are a whole of all the things defining us. And our mind, or our way to process thoughts, to be more exact, is one of the primary stress generators in our life. Think at the moment when you are in the rush and everything is going by, as you are absorbed in some kind of tunnel vision, compared with the moment when you are just sitting on a bench, watching boats on the lake. These are two sides of the same rope, but Rumi will give us a hint, to go even further. The key is to slowly retreat from the outside world and to start to explore the inner world. We need to learn how to listen to our body, to the response which is given to different stimuli, such as emotions or thoughts. There are whole books, videos and phone apps about us. But all the informations is useless, if we do not start to practice. Because the knowledge, as inspiring as it is, is nothing without the action. Find 5 minutes, close your eyes and just listen to your breathing. Do this now. And see if you need more of it.

Tuesday 21 March 2017

Message on a wall

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can."
- John Wesley -


I like this quote. I am thinking to print it and stick it on my inside part of the bedroom door. So i can read it every morning, on my way out. so it will inspire me, and for me to inspire others in return. Because we need to remember that we are born for greatness, and we are able to do much more than we think we can. And what will seems a small deed for us, could be a majestic help for other. Never stop, never back down. Be a warrior of light, and make this to be your war-cry. Your attitude or habit, and can become a way of life. Be a light in those dark times. Embrace your destiny as a human being. As a humanitarian.

On the same page, i want you to support this person if you can. It is one of his first attempts to help others in this kind of public effort. Check on this page, supporting MacMillan.

Quote of the day

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
- Helen Keller -

Let's talk about ideas. Some ideas can be contagious. They spread around. And, if you want to help others, it is good to learn how to do that. Let's say that you want to bring food to some people in need this Easter. By yourself, you can make one, or maybe 10 bags. But talk to your friends, explain to them what is behind the idea, be inspiring, and then maybe very easy you can do 20, or 50 bags. It is still your idea, but you make it worthwhile. It is much better to reach others, in any major project you do, and ask for help. Especially is it is done for the benefit of the humanity.

Wednesday 15 March 2017

About friendship, hate, fear and unity

"I think there is just one kind of folks. Folks."
- Scout Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird -

We are not so different, we, people with a heart beating in our chest. And in order to solve this distance and racial/gender/nationality perception, i could see some wonderful initiatives around the Globe. I think all started with the Rent-a-Jew event in Germany, slowly evolving in the Human Library, in Denmark, and then all around in the world. What is that? Instead of going for a book, you can speak with another person, out of your circles. You can talk to small people, black people, even LGBT people, and you can see that the labels will not stand, once you can see all around you as individuals. Try it!


"Fear is the glue that keeps you stuck. Faith is the solvent that sets you free."
- Shannon L. Alder -

We can see globally an unprecedented promotion of hate, mostly done by the mass-media, in a relentless effort to gain more profits by promoting the sensational. But this will also divide us in black versus white, Christian versus Muslim, local versus immigrant and so on. We need to understand that fear is the reason on getting stuck in a self belief that will stop our inner growth, and that by choosing to have faith in others, we open ourselves to many beautiful and amazing experiences.


"Deep ecologists assert that there is an ontological realism, that humans are part of the natural system, the web of life, and that we can rediscover our authentic existence."
- Bill Devall -

Let's go even further with this idea of being part of the whole. United we are one humanity, but in the end humanity is only a part of our planet ecosystem. Think about that. You are part of a community, that is part of a nation, that is part of humanity, that is part of the life here on Earth. Isn't that mind-boggling?