Friday, July 26, 2013

Herd Mentality

Cheers All,

So this week I've been a little underwhelmed by us, humans that is.
The whole world just stopped when Kate (yes, that's her name) had a baby to Prince William.
People were crying, screaming, gushing, sighing, jumping, going out of their minds. And why?
Really I kept asking myself why all this excitement? Many women have babies every single day. We are 7 billion and counting.. Why all this drama around this particular baby?

At some point, I even felt betrayed for all other women and babies in the world. Seriously WTF?

Then, I was thinking (as usual:), this basically shows how shallow our society really is. How can we be so taken by one woman who married one guy and had his baby, when half of the world is fighting for life? When some people lost their homes for good (Syria), some fighting for their right to live all their lives (Israel), some having no rights to decide even their own destiny (India, Arab world), some still being controlled and manipulated (Russia, China), some being fed food that kills them (USA, Argentina), some paying out-of-pocket hard-earned money for the ridiculously overpriced World Cup stadium and getting nothing in return (Brazil), some dying from malnourishment (Africa), etc..
I could go on for hours, and list every single country in the world that has a pressing issue(s) that deserves our undivided attention, if not action. Not to mention what we do to our Mother Earth.

I know I tend to go way deep in my thinking. But seriously, is it how far we evolved as a human race, that the whole world had to stop just because some woman (who no one knew about a couple years ago) had a baby?
Or is it just the US that peed in its pants from joy? Well, according to other many, many sources, Canada and Europe have lost it too...

Just in time, the Economist (my main source) released a fascinating article last week on Herd Mentality. As I was reading it, it all became to make more sense. So the article (the research conducted by scientists) proves once and for all that most people are conformist. As a human race, evolved into a society, we've embraced herd mentality more than any other quality. It proved that we go to a restaurant that has the most people in it (not necessarily the one that serves better quality food), we hire a person with more experience (as opposed to the one without but more talented). I went further still: we do what others do (not what our souls desire), we buy things that are in vogue (versus what speaks to us most), we desire people that are popular (not the ones who light our souls). Again I could go on for hours.

So my deepest intention for the people of this world: Think for yourself, make your own decisions, react to your own passions, be yourself. Stop following everyone else. And especially in the world we live in now (when media and broadcasting get more and more useless and plain dumb), select wisely what you're watching and believing. Choose your own sources, think your own thoughts. Set example for others to do the same.

Maybe then will we finally be able to accept our differences and let everyone strive in this world.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Sandy, Finale

If you recall, Sandy (the super storm that hit NY area back in November 2012) and I came close, almost dangerously close. It's all described in my posts about Sandy (read under the label Sandy).

Although I wrote a lot about this experience it was never quiet finalized. I just couldn't bring myself to give it a final word, to let this dream go. It became symbolic.
Going back there, seeing the damage Sandy caused, packing my things in a cold dark apartment, crying my heart out, seeing how my visions about this place and my life by the beach were passing me by, like big white birds in the sky. I am not going to lie, I was devastated.

So as soon as I settled back in the city, I tried not to think much about it. I focused on the positive. How lucky I was to find a place I loved, the place that made me and Josephine feel like home. We (especially my J) were happy. But a ghost of a shattered dream would haunt me now and then. I knew I didn't let it go completely.

The truth is I didn't want to let it go. Dreams are like big loves to me, they are grand, they are deeply rooted. That's just the way I am.

Needless to say, I moved on with my life and almost never shared with anyone (almost anyone:) about my internal struggle of letting it go.

Living close to Columbia University (the first place I stayed at when coming to NYC in 2001) I certainly sensed a deja vu moment. After 12 years of living in the city, I was back to where it all began. The circle was complete. Though I was different, I was home now. This sense of belonging helped me let most of the Sandy experience go. Going to Long Beach this weekend, however, helped me let it go completely. For the first time, I didn't feel sorrow, I was able to see it once again as a cool place I go to on the weekends to get some sun and see the ocean.

I learned many lessons from Sandy, and shared them with you in other posts. So here is my last one: Sometimes dreams don't come true. But life goes on, and we will always be where we need to be even if we don't see it yet.

The most important moment was when I realized and accepted that it wasn't my time yet to part with New York. We had more things we needed to do, great things. And New York had never been so clear and open with me as this time. It took me back with open arms, and gave the best gift yet.


Monday, July 1, 2013

Quotes

Happy rainy Monday, my New Yorkers.

I was visited by my beloved quote muse this morning. Always a pleasant surprise. Here's what she whispered in my ear or should I say, to my soul:)

1) How can we believe we know someone, when it takes a lifetime to learn about ourselves.

2) First we need to understand ourselves to be able to understand the other.

3) It's accepting uncertainty and ever-changing nature that will help us go through life peacefully.

4) There is no such a thing as right or wrong. Everything is just an attempt to find ourselves.

5) Love starts with oneself, and the more we become the person we love the more possible it is to truly love another.

6) The biggest problem of all relationships is Ego. And that's what we need to tame first to have a happy one.

7) Ego is one of few things (if not the only) that make us richer when we lose it.

Love to all, and as always wishing you find love within first.