Thanks to Apple App Store newsletter, I found out about and immediately volunteered with Be My Eyes – an app connecting blind and visually impaired people with sighted volunteers. I myself have a bad eyesight and was at a point in my life several times where I could become visually impaired. It feels good to be finally doing something, no matter how small, for this cause. And I had my first call already! Here is a video from a creator of an idea for this app, very inspirational.
I can’t believe that I have been wearing size 5 shoes for so long while being size 4,5. Once we moved to a place where I had to walk a considerable distance across the country side, I have become aware of the poor fit – my feet hurt, it felt uncomfortable and walking became a problem. I also realised that all these years I lived knowing that I wore shoes in the wrong size and yet tolerated it. Why was I ok with it? Why would I not buy shoes in the right size? Continue reading
Original thread here. Have a nice weekend!
On Quora there are plenty of Q&A along the lines of ‘looking back, what would you advise your 20 year old?’ I think I finally have the answer and it’s not ‘eat less sugar and floss daily’ (though this advice would have saved me tens of thousands of pounds in dental costs which I could have invested in passive fund and retired by now). My advice to my 20 year old self is not to look for yourself in other people. Not to run around looking for love as desperately as I did. The lack, the gap can only be filled by finding yourself, by discovering who you are and by falling in love with yourself.
There are 5 tips to finding yourself that worked for me: Continue reading
Susan Cain is a bestselling author and co-founder of Quiet Revolution. I mentioned her before on the blog as a person who is making introversion ‘normal’. In one of her recent posts she shared Jack Gilbert’s poem below ‘for those of you who have loved and lost: your love was still magnificent’.
The poem is not just beautiful but also perspective shifting. That break up, unrequited love or lost friendship that you are reminiscing about – stop beating yourself up. You loved. You did the best you could, you ripped your heart out and you showed your vulnerable, naked self to the world. It does not matter what happened next – ‘anything worth doing is worth doing badly’. Let’s keep repeating this mantra until our memories are reframed from pain, loss and darkness to love, light and achievement.
I watched ‘The Last Shaman’ on Netflix last night and I loved this quote. Stop looking for love elsewhere (in material riches, in other people) – find it in yourself first.
I have been thinking about this post for a while. As we start 2018, evaluate what we achieved and formulate our goals, I thought I’d talk about my recent findings around happiness at work.
At the start of 2017 I wrote: I start 2017 with a firm belief that less is more and freedom is everything. I want time, for my family, creativity, spiritual growth and development, I want quality of life. Be it The Minimalists blog and documentary (on Netflix), Mister Mustache’s musings on radical saving, Uber Frugal Challenge from Mrs Frugalwoods, my friends who inspire me with their focused saving or Alain de Botton’s video below, I came to realise that less is more and an alternative to stressful and forced career and income growth may be much more appealing minimalist living and spend reduction, or ‘voluntary poverty’ as de Botton defines it. Minimalist living reduces noise and brings priorities into focus. It is freedom that comes with this lifestyle that I am after.
It is the end of 2017 and I am happy with my progress – my spending habits have been transformed, I hit the previously unimaginable save rate of 15% of my income (30% next?), I am moving to a more flexible job, which will free up time and headspace for my projects. I will earn less but I will also spend less and have more freedom. It is an experiment. Here is to a simpler, minimalist 2018!
This is the best manifesto I’ve read in the last couple of months. FOMO, feeling inadequate, pushing yourself to achieve what you think you should be achieving, comparing yourself to others, beating yourself up about not measuring up to your beliefs of others’ expectations (and the absurdity of it!), getting up before dawn to show up at your writing desk or exercise mat (lol, I do it) and feeling this enormous pressure to be more, to do more – we all do it. Should we not just take a step back and chill? Jamie Veron is on to something here – To Anyone Who Thinks They’re Falling Behind. Be less spermy and more eggy, as Lissa Rankin puts it, my dear life nomads 🙂
You don’t need more motivation or inspiration to create the life you want. You need less shame around the idea that you’re not doing your best. You need to stop listening to people who are in vastly different life circumstances and life stages than you tell you that you’re just not doing or being enough. You need to let timing do what it needs to do. You need to see lessons where you see barriers. You need to understand that what’s right now becomes inspiration later. You need to see that wherever you are now is what becomes your identity later.
I post on Quora (you can find my answers here). The question in the title attracted my attention because this is something I am trying to figure out (my take on it is here). But it’s Rosalyn’s answer (right) that blew my mind away.
She made 3 points about dealing with negative people (NP) which instantly resonated:
And just like that a seismic mind shift took place and I felt a bit lighter (aka liberated). Can I deal calmly with my brother when I see him next? I don’t know. But I am definitely going to work on this whole self love thing.
I occasionally like to catch up on the latest music by using lists like Grammy nominees. This week I listened to Khalid, an American singer and songwriter. It is what he said on Twitter that got me the most. This is really good advice, because as H.D.Thoreau puts it, ‘what a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate’. Practice self care and self love this weekend, dear nomads, think big and most importantly act!
I am making more time to write and it’s amazing. I wanted to share my new poem today. At the moment I am inspired by Frank O’Hara. Hope you make time for creativity, positive experiences and people you love this weekend. Have fun!
I am gorging on
Bocadillo de tortilla
What an undiscovered gem!
Adding an occasional olive
(Have you seen olive prices lately?)
Washing it down with oloroso
Fine but not Jimenez
And it was Jimenez I was after…
In retrospect
It is rather fitting
For this autumn
Why sweeten the bitterness?
I don’t care what Brits think
About jerez
They are wrong.
It is pure bottled
Spanish sun.
Which is always with me
In my heart.
I finally got the book, the first translated edition (UK readers, you can get one here). And it is amazing. Nothing like what I expected! It is not about death at all. It is about enlightenment, how to achieve it and how to live according to Buddhist principles. I read only a couple of pages and already had a few profound insights, like the quote below. It is not an easy read – lots of references and ‘Buddhist jargon’, but it is an enlightening one and many pages read like a song (well, they are designed like prayers). I now read a couple of pages of this book instead of meditating. Namaste, nomads, have a nice weekend!
I wanted to read this book forever but despite my interest in death and dying, I was a bit conscious of the subject. Then I watched this documentary (link to part 2 is on the right side of the video when you click through). They show a dead body and a full ritual that Tibetans go through before burial. Isn’t it fascinating how they do it? I’d love to have a ritual like this before or when I die… I got the book and it’s not about death, if anything, it’s more about living and how to live well. I will tell you more next week…
I found this podcast to be eye opening in many ways and recommend it to anyone grappling with the ‘why’s’ of relationships. Esther provides new perspectives, shares her techniques and asks some tough questions. You can find it on iTunes (free) or Audible (paid or limited free if you enrol into their trial).
Step into iconic relationship therapist Esther Perel’s office and listen as 10 anonymous couples in search of insight bare the raw, intimate, and profound details of their story. From infidelity, to sexlessness, to loss, it’s a space for people to be heard and understood. It’s also a place for us to listen and feel empowered in our own relationships. So…where should we begin?
Nomad of the Universe 