All that {little} things that m a t t e r . . .

All that little things that  m a t t e r ...

and make the  v a s t n e s s  of our lives.

Even though there are some common basics,

that little things that matter are individual to everyone.

Today I'll share with you through this collage created with images found on Pinterest,

some of the little things that matter to me.

Please kindly accept and respect the use of these images as my paintbrushes,

with which I express myself creating my own "work of art" suiting current moods,

while emphasizing the kind of life I'm creating for myself.

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A place to call  H o m e ,

in all the  b e a u t y   and  h e a l t h  that it can aspire,

                           

L o v e ,   l o v e   &   l o v e  again,

true  k i n d n e s s ,

 f l i g h t s   above the clouds to take you to other places,

e x p a n d i n g   your  v i s i o n ,

happiness in being  c r e a t i v e   and seeing the  m a g i c   &   p o e t r y  that simple things like baking

cakes withhold,

f a i t h   that no matter what happens to us,

it is cause it is  e x a c t l y  what we  c a n   handle.

"Cause when it is all finished, you will discover it was never random"

R e s p o n s i b i l i t y  for ourselves & the lives we create.

P e r s i s t a n c e   in creating the future we know from the  d e p t h s  of our  e x i s t  e n c e s

that we want, while being open to L i f e ' s   yet  u n d i s c o v e r e d  ways.

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{in my  l i v i n g   r o o m  a couple of days ago, before a meeting with this lovely lady} 

What am I trying to  d o   h e r e , on my online place, this  b l o g, while posting?

I do hope to  i n s p i r e  you, m o t i v a t e  you, s o o t h  you or  p l e a s e  you along the way,

E n c o u r a g e  you to live your life from the d e p t h   o  f   y o u r   o w n   e x i s t e n c e,

identifying both your strengths & your weaknesses

e m b r a c i n g  them both, in order for the first ones to p r e v a i l ,

to be put in good use,

while the latter ones to become  less and less evident.

But most of all,

I'd like to go on on a  j o u r n e y   w i t h   y o u ,

where we learn above all to  l o v e   o u r s e l v e s,

exactly as we are, at   t h i s  c u r r e n t   m o m e n t .

It is the only f o u n d a t i o n   my heart & mind know of,

the only b a s i s  life has shown me so far,

that  J o y  can be present in  o u r   l i v e s ,

for us to enjoy while s h a r i n g  it with others.

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I'd like that  h e r e , there is  S p a c e  created for  a w a r e n e s s.

Space to understand, to accept, to heal, to grow,

to create and live lives to a  f u l l   e x t e n d ,

avoiding superficiality.

All things materially nice, are simply means of being grounded and making life a little sweeter.

For me these are not the end, rather, the  m e a n s  or simply

c o m p a n i o n s   in the  Q u e s t   o f   a   L i f e   w o r t h   l  i v e d .

The e s s e n c e  is living mentally & physically h e a l t h y,

in our immediate d o m e s t i c   e n v i r o n m e n t s , 

in satisfying, evolving  r e l a t i o n   s h i p s with our important others, 

as members of our current societies,

as people living on the same p l a n e t.

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Do you ever catch yourself believing in some way, that we as humans have the right to request immense 

happiness & joy in life, but somehow believe that difficult times, pain and sadness are for others but for 

us not ?

Do you believe that there is any other possible way in life to experience  d e e p   h a p p i n e s s,

other than also being b r a v e  enough and  h u m b l e  enough to accept pain as part of this life...

If you believe any of these above,

then perhaps you have already figured it all out

and needn't even be reading this,

right?

 { in the bedroom holding a favorite plant I promised to show you in this previous post} 

But if you accept and cherish the  g i f t   o f   L i f e   that has been given to us,

then at the same time we must be all ready to accept what goes with it, p a i n  being part of it.

So long as we surrender ourselves and stop resisting, then pain transforms us and our personalities,

Taking us a step closer each time to our g r e a t e s t   p o t e n t i a l.

Just as an example, consider this:

we are all alive because a  m o t h e r   g a v e   b i r t h   t o   u s .

Whichever ever way her baby was delivered,

she went through a great deal of changes through out her pregnancy and through immense pain while giving 

birth.

And then she was holding in her hands the greatest gift of all, h e r   o w n   c h i l d, which at the same time 

is not only a  c h i  l d   o f   h e r   o w n , but also a  c h i l d   t o   t h e   w o r l d .

And together with the immense happiness of taking care of  it and preparing it for life,

she has to be prepared to let it go, allow it to mingle with the world.

This must contain the greatest happiness & sadness at the same time.

Joy & pain are two different sides of the same coin : LIFE

Should we have any respect for Life in general and our lives,

we will learn to deal pain with the respect and attention it deserves.

Cause anything else, any other "cheating" method of dealing with it,

will be apparently and only temporarily bringing us forward, while

in fact keeping us back from our fullest potential,

keeping us back from allowing ourselves to experience,

t r u e ,   d e e p ,   l i b e r a t i n g   j o y , for the very simple & mere fact that we are alive

and all the  p o s s i b i l i t i e s  that this brings together.

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Last night I went to bed listening to this Speech, which I searched for,

after I was reading the article "Me me me generation" in the latest issue of the Time magazine.

I listened to the last 3 - 5 minutes repeatedly a few times...

till they sunk in,

making my  h e a r t   s o f t e n,

and my s p i r i t   f e e l   b r i g h t e r .

I'll quote the words that stroke me the most,

and post them here in a more random manner,

so that I can come back easily for reference,

every time I'll be needing to.

Here they are:

"The s w e e t e s t   j o y s   of  LIFE come from the  r e c o g n i t i o n   that you  { and I } are not special, 

cause  e v e r y o n e   is  s p e c i a l 

The best  g i f t  you can do to  y o u r s e l  f   is  S h e l f l e s s n e s s 

 L i v e   y o u r   l i f e   c r e a t i v e l y 

Be w o r t h y of your advantages &

r e a d ,   r e a d ,   r e a d   all your lives,

as a mater of  p r i n c i p l e   &   s e l f   r e s p e c t

D r e a m   b i g 

W o r k   h a r d 

 T h i n k   f o r   y o u r s e l f

L o v e   e v e r y t h i n g   &  e v e r y o n e  with  ALL your mind {and heart} 

and with a sence of  u r g e n c y

cause the  c l o c k   i s   t i c k i n g 

A  f u l l f i l l i n g  life, a  d i s t i n c t i v e  life, a  r e l e v a n t  life,

 is an  a c h e i v e m e n t,

not something that falls on your lap

Get  b u s y 

Don't wait for inspiration or passion to find you 

Get up, get out,  explore and  f i n d   i t   y o u r s e l f,

G r a b  all with  b o t h   h a n d s 

Climb the mountain, not to place your flag, 

but to  e m b r a c e  the c h a l l e n g e , to  e n j o y   t h e   a i r  &  b e h o l d   t h e   v i e w

Climb it so that YOU CAN SEE THE WORLD, 

 n o t   t h a t   t h e   w o r l d   c a n   s e e   y o u 

Go to Paris,  t o   b e   i n   P a r i s, 

not to cross it of your list & congratulate yourself for being wordly.

E x e r c i s e   f r e e   w i l l   &  c r e a t i v e,   i n d e p e n d e n  t   t h o u g h t 

 not for yourself {only}

 but the good it will do others, the rest of 6,8 billion people,

and those who will follow them "

The quoted words are part of the Commencement Speech by David McCullough Jr.

an English teacher at the Wellesley High School, Massachusetts

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collage curation: Iro Ivy Nassopoulos, 2013

picture credit clockwise from top left: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6