A true story about the honesty of people

Its' a long time since my last post. I hope this one will find someone despite of it.

It's a beautiful reminder about how honest people can be, and how much they can touch one's heart just by doing the right thing.

I was in Paris, France for an extended weekend. The trip that had started out swell took an ugly turn on Monday when somebody stole my handbag. Those bastards! I never saw the person who did it, but he/she sure had had the training since I never did notice anything else than that someone touched my jacket.

Anyway, one hour at the police station followed, as well as closing all my credit cards. In the bag (that used to belong to my grandmother) was my passport, drivers license, telephone, credit cards, keys - everything! Even my good luck charm!

I must admit I was a bit down the rest of the day and the following morning when it was time to leave for the airport.

Yesterday I got home and I filed a complaint at the insurance company.

Today I got to work - and found an e-mail from a kind and honest man, telling me he had found my bag and that probably everything was there but the money (10 euros!!).

He had been all around Paris to do what he could to save the situation: he had talked to the police, been to the embassy to find it closed, been to my hotel to find out I had left (I had an address to the hotel in my bag) and been to the embassy again to leave the bag there. Now they will send it to me within a few days.

Is this a miracle or what?

The honesty and good-will of this man strikes me! We have mailed a few times after that and I do feel he is the warmest of people.

I wish him all the best and lots of love.

He gave me the best gift one can give: belief in humanity.

Anxiety of knowing too much

Two days ago I enden my Facebook account. Yes, I know. How could I? Every self-respecting person should be there, share their joys and sorrows an take part of those of their extended group of friends. Right?
No. I object! I couldn't stand it. It became too much, I had to get out before I knew it had overtaken me. So I did.

What a relief! I no longer need to feel I have to like my friends' status updates. I no longer need to know, what half of the people I know had for breakfast, what their kids said last night, how much they wait for their vacations to begin, how amazing their weekend was. I was taken down by information overload. I had encountered the anxiety of knowing too much.

And what about the couple, who live their life via their mobile phones, instead of spending that time together, focusing on the moments they could share instead of sharing space with each other, but their minds with people online? When has it gone too far? Is it when they notice that they really don't need the person next to them anymore, the affirmation of their spouse, because they get more clicks liking their updates from people they went to school with 30 years ago, from the guy who is working at the gym they go to, from their co-worker's sister that they met once, a few years ago.

For me, watching people spending their time, living their life online instead of sharing it with their families, friends, became too much. I could no longer take it. They check in to their accounts and out of their lives. And that is how we are supposed to communicate! That is supposed to improve our social life!

I object. I declare this house a Facebook-free zone, where everybody entering has to check in to life and check out from craving affirmation from people they hardly know.

Losing (finding) oneself

I always knew it was possible to lose oneself in a relationship, work, family life. I just never thought it would happen to me.

It feels strange to notice that I don’t recognize myself anymore. I don’t recognize my thoughts, my feelings, my reactions. I’ve lost my creativity. I feel like a mere shadow of what I was before. It makes me sad. And I'm telling you; It is even more strange to feel sad when everything around you should make you happy!

And all there is to it is a new type of life taking over, changing habits, a change of people I surround myself with. Love. Family life.

So how do I find myself again? How do I get back to being me?

If I only knew. I guess I will try to take back some of what I lost. Change some of the habits back to what they were. Try to remember what it really was that made me who I am.

I guess being one’s true self is important. Because when self stops being, what is left is a shell in all its emptiness.

Catching the moment

Catching moments is easy. It is definitely something that improves the quality of life. One just needs to tune in. I caught a few moments during this week.

Rabbits playing in the field beneath my house.
Watching my love sleep at five in the morning.
Waking up to the sun rising 'cos I forgot to close the curtains the night before.
Watching a rabbit enjoy the sun this morning, just outside my window. He sat there, with his eyes closed, letting the sun warm every hair on his body. Enjoying life, I guess.

Go ahead. Go catch those moments. They are just waiting for you to notice them.

Returning to the surface

I admit. It has been a long time since my last post. I have been living some amazing months. Although amazing, it somehow has worn me out. I have been feeling tired and for some reason, it has felt like coming from within, rather than from the outside. Why I haven't reached for the surface, I don't know. Then I stumbled over a book that made me push upwards: Robin Sharma's The Monk who sold his Ferrari. I hardly had begun to read it before I noticed that it was all in my own hands. Why had I forgotten all about that? It's amazing how fast one can slip. Stray. I get up again. I decide to do my best and not slip again. I decide to return to my posts, to reflect over life and why it is important to live as well as we can.

I claim this house

Traces of somebody else
in my home.
Is she still here?
Am I sleeping
in her bed?
Drinking
from her glass?
Was that perfume you gave me
Hers?

It is strange
how somebody so vividly can
Stay.
Go.
Go away.
I claim this house.
I claim my home.

Poem of the day

Yes, I saw them sail.
Ships that came into the harbour and left again.
Becoming smaller and smaller
as they reached for the sinking sun.
In some ways, they left me feeling empty.
In others, I felt filled with hope.
As I saw them lift their anchors
I felt free.
I wished it could have been me.

The key to interaction

Many things we can overcome with love, with compassion, with understanding. Often we need to push our own ego aside to make things work. When did people get so big egos anyway? Sometimes, I admit, the ego helps us on the way. It pushes us forward when we need to go the extra mile for something we really want. It helps us achieve things. That is alright, that is great. But when it comes to people, the ego should be put aside. That's when we should add a big portion of love, compassion and understanding and mix them well. That is, I believe, the key to interaction.