Living In The Now

   In our day to day run away life, very often we forget to live the present. We stay stuck in a far away past or have so many thoughts and worries for an unknown future. And so rare we remember to actually live in the now. And we have a sort of wake-up call when hard things happen in our life or we realize how fragile life is. So many times we take everything for granted and ignore to appreciate the things we have the chance to have or the extraordinary people that are in our life. We stay concentrated on the negative because it’s easier in this way, we ignore to say “thank you” and “I love you” because we think we have all the time in the world, or that we deserve everything we have. Or if we say it, we don’t mean it, and sometimes we are not even aware of this difference.

   But when we will learn to reverse the balance so to say, when we will be first grateful and after that thankful for who and what we have in our life, everything will start fit into place properly. Moreover, when we will learn to say to those special people in our life everything they mean to us, as much as possible, we will feel that profound commitment and appreciation in return. No matter what kind of relationship we have in mind (a friend will feel warm, a spouse will feel love, a colleague will feel motivation, and so on). What it is truly important is to train this positive aspect of living in the now.

   I know from my own experience how hard it can be sometimes to say these extraordinary kind words or to enjoy this present moment that I am talking about. Again from my own experience, I know that, if you have the power to make a habit out of this, the emotional reward and development it’s absolutely amazing. Don’t let only the shocking moments of losing a relative, friend, or colleague to make you aware of how important it is to appreciate the beautiful present with all your amazing people in your life.

   Make a “habit” out of this idea of living in the now and practice so many good feelings. I believe the positive state of mind and soul it’s a “work” that it’s great to do every day. After all, it is not random the fact that I’ve chosen to insert in my blog’s name the expression “journey to self-discovery” :)

Free Things To Visit In London

   Once I had the chance to visit London in January this year, I’ve realized that there are many things to see and visit and they are absolutely free. Moreover, for a person like me who likes to take pictures, and also being for the first time over there, everything I saw was absolutely amazing.

   Samuel Johnson once said that “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”. And indeed, there is nothing more available than that. Visiting London made me understand more clearly why it is called a global capital. I believe diversity and many interesting things to visit and to do are a great option for developing yourself. And lots of them are free. Or almost free, meaning you need to invest your time, which ultimately means it’s priceless :)

   Coming back to the things you can explore while you are visiting (or staying in or near London), here are a few of the main attractions:

• St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras
• London Eye
• Big Ben
• Westminster Abbey
• Westminster Bridge
• Buckingham Palace and The Monument of Queen Victoria
• Hyde Park
• Tower Bridge
• So many other attractions

   So many things to visit for free in London. But what I have found as being the most empowering “ingredient” for me and my life was actually the feeling received among so many people, with different nationalities. A true intercultural and global experience.

   After passing the first initial shock by seeing me between so many people, suddenly I’ve felt the need just to psychological embrace the environment and all surroundings, with all those people coming from all over the world, and, especially with all their stories. Actually, that was one of my major achievements being there, so to say. Just started to ask myself “What beautiful moments these people have had the chance to live?” Or “What struggles every one of them had to pass through life?” Or “What are their biggest achievements and beautiful moments?”, “What are their happy life projects they are working on?”, “What are their most precious moments that they feel they could make a positive impact on other people’s life?” And so many other questions passing through my mind, making me more aware of that marvelous diversity, and grateful for everything I had the chance to live until now.

   Actually, this is what I’ve received from my visit to London (apart from so many wonderful things to see, by day or by night). A sort of reminder that we are not alone on this earth. That it is in our hands to choose whatever we want in life, obviously bound with a good action, and very soon we will see those great results. Learning to enjoy every step until that moment of achieving a certain goal we have in mind. That ultimately we are the sum of our choices, of the people in our life, of all our experiences and lessons, and mostly of our feelings. And when we are aware of the fact that staying as much as possible on the positive side of life, will bring us a great “reward” through that great state of mind and soul, that will definitely be one of the days worth to remember in our life.

   And all these applies to every human being, no matter the cultural or economic environment we are coming from, no matter the job title or the things one has, the social or financial status, and so on and so forth. Ultimately, what this beautiful visit to London learned me is the fact that it’s something so marvelous to be aware of you and those people around you, more than just their appearance. And everything wrapped in a constant feeling of gratefulness.