A World of Fear

The world has never been totally at peace. Turmoil and fighting seem to be a sort of rule on our planet. Yet, there was a time, not too long ago, when you felt reasonably safe while going around your business. You could be at work, at school, at the supermarket, at a sports event, in a night club, at the airport and experience a sense of "normality". But... what about now? Can you honestly say that you never think about the possibility of something bad happening in the place where you are going, or where you already are? If you allow yourself to really ponder about the present world situation, a feeling of fear can't help creeping into you. What to do, how to deal with it? You can either ignore it or just hope for the best. But realizing that every human being has their final destiny already set might give you a sense of fatality that, all considered, can be of comfort.

Your Place

You might have wondered where your real place in Life is. Or maybe you haven't. If you haven't, no problem. You are happy to vegetate in the spot where you are finding yourself, with neither ambition nor goal. But if you have ever asked yourself the difficult question, "Why am I here?", you may or may not have found an answer. And if you have found the answer, whatever it might be, you are probably able to perceive yourself as the marble square of a mosaic, so small but so important. Actually, indispensable. It it weren't there, the work of art would not be complete, would not be perfect. Hence, the awareness of the necessity of pursuing your goal, i.e. of being what you are supposed to be.

The Matrix

Do you consider yourself "free"? And if you do (as you almost certainly do), to what extent? Totally, you say. Are you sure? Think of the conditioning you receive from all sides, every day, all day long. Think of the headlines that are showed to you non-stop, visualize all the messages that are sent to you every instant, become aware of the numberless ads that are pushed under your nose wherever you look. And then... the opinions, the judgments, the comments, the criticism, the praise, the spite etc... that you see, hear, read about throughout your waking time (there might even be messages sent to your brain subliminally during your sleep, but I honestly don't know anything about them - yet!). So, are you still positive that your feelings, thoughts and convictions are "originally" yours?

The Mirror

It is both interesting and depressing to spend some time (only a reasonable amount, though) surfing the Internet. When you do it, you have a clear picture of our society. You can easily detect several characteristics mirrored in what you read and see. You read insignificant, often stupid, articles posted with grandiose headlines. You spot blatant ignorance in the many grammar and spelling mistakes scattered everywhere. But the most depressing thing is to realize the huge number of "replies"" or "comments" so full of spite, rage, vulgarity. Why can't people express their own opinion, even if extremely negative, in a decent -if not polite - way? Why such need to be offensive? Is it still in the name of the so highly praised "freedom of speech"? In my opinion, it is only ignorance, ill manners and rudeness.

Confidence

If, right now, you are facing problems, you might think that they are too big to overcome, too heavy to bear. They might be but, most probably, they are not. Challenges are to be expected in life because the road is never smooth and straight. If it were... how boring! You need to move, sometimes to walk, other times to run. Even when you stumble and fall, just get up and move on. You can do it, if you believe you can. Keep reminding yourself that you are strong enough, smart enough, wise enough to be a winner (at least most of the times). And even when you don't make it, the "little small voice" tells you that tomorrow you'll have another chance for victory. Always nurse such belief because it is the only one that makes your life worth living!

Where to?

Where are you running to? What are you moving towards? Which target are you aiming at? Do you ever think about the true purpose of your life? If you know where you are going and have a clear aim, then you don't have to worry. Clarity is all you need to proceed and progress. But many seem to move randomly or in circles or back and forth - without going anywhere. It's up to you to choose between a life that is meaningful for you as well as for others, and a kind of existence that unfolds in total unawareness.

The Universe

Every time I watch a documentary about the Universe, I remain in awe for quite some time. I keep thinking about the wonders of the cosmos, the huge galaxies, the immeasurable distances between stars. I can't quite understand how all the creative activity that pervades it all could happen, can still happen and will go on happening for thousands, millions, billions of years.

Everything is just too fantastic to fully take it in. Then... I bring back my attention to our prosaic world and I mainly see human beings who, totally unaware of all the marvels that surround them from all sides, are unable to look beyond their selfish little lives. Many even waste precious time... just hating!

Drink your wine!

I'm back with a few more reflections. This quote seems quite interesting: "No one ever got drunk by reading the label on the bottle". Its meaning? Easy. Many people believe they know Life simply because they keep talking about it. Nevertheless, they don't dare to fully experience it. They are unable to take action. They have convinced themselves that it's enough to have a superficial idea of something in order to actually know it. It is not so. You can be informed about the kind of grapes, the name of the vineyard, the way the grape juice was stored, the sort of vat it was kept in, the year of production and so on. But... be sure that all this knowledge doesn't make you experience the actual taste of the wine. Don't talk, just take a sip. Only then will you truly "know".