The privilege of choice

   

   The title of my today’s article is an expression recently heard on a BBC radio show. Among other useful and interesting daily things to do, for almost two weeks I restarted to listen to this radio. And definitely, there are some great things to learn over there.

   Coming back to this title, this is something that got my attention, probably because, generally speaking, we don’t see this privilege. Or at least we are not aware of it. We are more tempted to see that when we have to make some choices or take some decisions, everybody else has the power in our life. Society putting a stamp on our decisions because we give that permission. But how about if we could see and implement the situation the other way around? How about taking ownership in our life? We hear so often this term of “ownership” from different employers. But the term could very well be used for all areas of our life and after all, we can’t have one without another. This idea of “ownership” I am very grateful for taking it from one of my former managers.

   And this is not just a simple word. Indeed, when we were children, we depended on from lots of points of view on our parents or other grown-ups. But coming to a certain age when we could consider us mature people, we become more interdependent. Obviously, this involves a lot of work, time, and patience. And also please be aware of the fact that I said “interdependent”, and not “independent”. Stephen Covey in “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” explains the difference between “interdependent” and “independent” remarkably well.

   Coming back to “the privilege of choice”, I would say it’s an extraordinary feeling that, implemented in our life as much as possible, will help us see a huge positive impact in everything we do and experience. And of course, this privilege can properly acknowledge just through experience and that ownership I was talking about earlier. But the reward it’s absolutely amazing: a constant self-confidence growing, a mature attitude and a positive state of mind that will be seen in all areas defining us. And yes, I know it’s simple to say and harder to put it into practice.

   But I believe this kind of privilege comes for those who work deep enough with themselves, and those who find the power to raise after every fall, in order to find a marvelous reward.

My best magic 32

   This is the name of one of my recent photographic albums received as my lovely birthday present from this year. Awesome and extraordinary present I have to admit :) Moreover because for me photography it’s not only a hobby but also a great life support and anchor. A combination of magic light, love, glitter, and gold for my soul.

   In general, when we celebrate our birthdays I saw that we involuntarily have a sort of analysis (paralysis? ;) ) feeling. Now I am speaking from my point of view, but also by seen so many other people in those celebrating moments. And now it’s the time when we put ourselves some questions. What we have achieved until now? What are our goals? What do we do with our day to day life? And so on.

   But suddenly I’ve stopped. I’ve just stopped putting any questions and just enjoy the ride. It took me a while to understand so many things, but now I got to that moment when everything starts to get into place. And it’s pretty awesome to realize that all your work it’s starting to take a shape.

   So for me, starting with this year it’s all about enjoying the ride. It’s about living into the present (accepting my past, through a great present for a wonderful future). It’s about being grateful for every wonderful life experience and for every lesson received. It’s about those extraordinary people in my life that helped me to become the person I am today. It’s about those moments that take my breath away and realizing that time it’s not measured in hours or minutes, but rather in this kind of moments. It’s about enjoying my favorite coffee with a mountain flavor. It’s about taking and receiving breathtaking pictures that make your soul alive as a sort of rebirth. It’s about learning new interesting things, taking actions according to my (soul) goals and writing new chapters of my life book every day.

   Knowing, understanding and taking action for myself, in all areas of my life, it’s my most important project. And exactly like one of the most important and dear people in my life once said to me, if I want something, I am the one in charge to make things happen. Because only by making me the “Project Manager” of my life I can love, develop, help, learn, work, listen, be positive, make a difference, laugh, be a good friend and colleague, be motivated,…in a word, “live”.

   My grateful inspiration for my best wow 32? Life it’s a game for two, whatever those two may mean: moments, emotions, pictures, people, roads, feelings, time, hearts, seasons, love… So let’s enjoy those magic positive moments because they are the ones that are the true gift of life.

Traveling - an endless journey to self discovery

      

That special love

       
     Traveling it’s about discovering you and learning so many things about you. Or at least this is the main idea that I felt at the beginning of this year when I had the chance to visit some dear friends in the UK. Apart from the fact that I had the opportunity to see great architectural attractions, for me the most important achievement seen through this trip, was to discover things about me that I would have never thought about.
   
     One thing it’s for sure: stepping outside your comfort zone definitely makes you stronger and stronger. And through this experience, I truly felt this idea of “your life really starts when you step outside your comfort zone”. I suppose for those people who already made a habit out of traveling or even moving in another country, everything I say in this article will be very common. But I hope it will be useful this reminder of the benefits of traveling, as I saw them in this short almost a week trip for those who just think about traveling for the moment and they need an impulse to take action.

• Knowing new people, different nationalities, with different life habits and gestures, with different ideas and language – going to the UK made me realize big time that feeling of diversity.
• The new places you have the chance to explore – from my photographic point of view, this is another extraordinary moment to live. Suddenly I started to see new colors, new lights, and angles, different buildings, or reflections.
• Learning the history of the place – it’s a sort of special history lesson; the difference between learning it on the field as to say, and the lesson received in school is the fact that the place you visit or choose to live in it marks you in a more profound way.
• It gives you a boost of confidence – and it’s definitely different from the one received just by staying in your own safe environment.
• You learn to become more organized – starting from booking your plane tickets and ending (or not ;) ) with the luggage you want to have with you, every info it’s useful for your development. And not to speak about the actual moment when you have to pass through different filters, check-ins and so on, all new and exciting.
• It makes you wonder if you would like to try to take other decisions for your life and to explore and travel more – if until that trip I have never really thought about making this kind of change in my life, now I feel like I want to make this kind of step because I am more aware of both professional and personal benefits.
• People who care for you and love you will always be there – before this trip I had the fix idea that making this kind of change in my life will make me lose my family or friends; actually, in this kind of moments you discover who really is there by your side and will always be there for you, no matter the distance.
• You become more creative in and after every trip – it’s almost impossible not to feel so many ideas like sparkles coming into your mind and the feeling it’s absolutely amazing.

     After this first journey, I started to see more and more that life (and traveling) after all it’s an endless journey of self discovery.

     How do you see your long lasting traveling life journey? :)

That photographic airplane window