Inspiration no3: Wild is God

The one of the most important books that I've read in my life is Clarissa Pinkolas Estés's Women who run with the wolves. Myths and stories of the wild woman archetype. 

I must admit, you have to get use to rather uncouth, harsh, and overly loaded language of the book. One sentence can evoke millions of meanings, one page can be read within one day, one week, or... This book makes readers aware of a priceless historical heritage that was deprived of contemporary, unspiritual life. The concept of archetype is taken from the works of Carl Jung. 

The book is organized into chapters. Each contains an archetypical story which is later analysed by the writer. Some time ago, when those stories were passed down from generation to generation, their role was to teach and pass on the most valuable experiences and thoughts, developed by our ancestors. Nowadays, the tradition of story-telling is constantly diminishing, and is practically uncultivated. This is a great loss. 

For me one of the most interesting fragments, included the history of a girl who took an metaphorical journey to find her inner self. Estes outlines here a stages of woman’s' life development, which change every 7 years:

0-7 the age of body and dreams; socialization without the loss of imagination

7-14 the age of separation and plait of reason and imagination

14-21 the age of a new body; girly age; budding, yet concealed sensuality

21-28 the age of a new world; new life; getting to know different worlds

28-35 the age of motherhood; learning how to mother to yourself and to others

35-42 the age of search; mothering to your own personality; search for personality

….

Here’s also a quotation from the book:

“Sometimes the one who is running from the Life/Death/Life nature insists on thinking of love as a boon only. Yet love in its fullest form is a series of deaths and rebirths. We let go of one phase, one aspect of love, and enter another. Passion dies and is brought back. Pain is chased away and surfaces another time. To love means to embrace and at the same time to withstand many endings, and many many beginnings- all in the same relationship.” 

Inspiration no2: enriching vanishing and sunshine!

My 99-years-old neighbor has passed away. This is amazing – can you imagine living almost 100 years? Especially now, when the progress in almost every discipline of life is so rapid, that you may say that she lived in a couple of worlds within just one lifespan. I’m feeling a bit sad because she was always very nice to me – I remember that when I was in the middle school, we spent New Year’s Eve together since I had a twisted knee and couldn’t go anywhere else. 

Overall, I have a lot of sentiment to old people – I think they gained wisdom throughout they lifes and are sometimes willing to share it with youngsters. I found it extremely valuable, although your own experience is the most instructive. 

Therefore, I surf the Internet and found some interesting surveys done with older people on the subject of “What They Wished They Had Done” in their lifes differently. And those are their responses:

“Top 5 Things Dying People Wish They Had Done Different…” (http://www.tyackhealth.com.au/top-5-things-dying-people-wish-they-had-done-different): 

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I found even an interesting article in the New York Times written by Jane E. Brody and entitled: “Advice From Life’s Graying Edge on Finishing With No Regrets” (link below). 

She wrote about her own experiences and what she’s learnt throughout her life.  

 

On Marriage – passionate love is important in every relationship, but what keeps couples together “is an abiding friendship, an ability to communicate, a willingness to give and take, and a commitment to the institution of marriage as well as to each other.”

On Careers – “Not one person in a thousand said that happiness accrued from working as hard as you can to make money to buy whatever you want.” She admitted that finding the passionate work may take a while, but it’s always worth it to have a job that you love and that inspires you every day.

On Happiness – happiness is choice.

 

There are more categories, I choose those three. For more go to à http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/health/elderly-experts-share-life-advice-in-cornell-project.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 I wish one day I could be that awesome grandma advising her grandchildren to become rock stars, astronauts, and fashion designers.

***

My second inspiration is sunshine.

Sun - you rock! Thank you for making us so happy! :)

Inspiration no1: artistic nudity and stunning little courage

Spring has finally arrived! Hurray! 

The time has come for: jogging, picknic, biking, discovering, open-air concerts, ... NOPE! I still have to wait... uhm 2 daysss! On Friday I have my last test and I'm gonna be free! So I can do all those things listed above :) Till then I got stuck in my room with all those readings, essays, notes, tons of surnames to remember, and French words to memorize ... and the weather is so tempting! 

I really appreciate all my little springish strolls to uni and back. I really can't believe that the temperatures are so high and that you can actually walk in your sneakers without socks! Love it! 

And to be honest, I really like my 8 o'clock French classes on Thursdays - mornings are so fresh, and clean, and you can see how the entire world is already delicately woken up, like the moment after you open your eyes after a nice sleep, and you notice that the sun is shining outside - and a delicate glimpse of smile comes to your face. In this time of day, the world is pinkish and delicate like a scrumptious baby. 

Yesterday I felt very light and no in the mood for studying. Therefore I decided not to force myself, but to enjoy a little time off. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460740/

"Cashback" (2006)

(directed by Sean Ellis)

I came across my first inspiration - a trully brilliant movie about college student who starts to work on a night-shift in local Sainsbury to somehow "use" additional 8 hours of life due to insomnia. He wants to be a painter, and therefore there's a lot of nudity in the movie, nontheless it is all very tastefull and artistic - in a way. We bagan to see the world through his eyes - a person who is extremely sensitive, fragile, and totally absorbed by his passion to create and froze the moment. It's nice to know that they are poeple who perceive the world similarily to you, and that it is not the indication of weakness and naivety but of some deep passion and perceptiveness. I loved it :) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdi0F7xSPPE

"The Secret World of Arrietty" (2010)

My second inspiration came from Master Miyazako movie "The Secret World of Arrietty". First of all, I couldn't stop marveling about the scenery of the movie, and that is, a little home of tiny people. The furnitures, wallpapers, tools, dishes, tea service, absolutely everythings was draw with this master attention to the detail! It felt so cosy, so soft and crafted. I liked that poeple lived like in the old days - they were preoccupied with house works, and basic activities, and they relied on their contact with nature. I absolutely adore the main heroine, Arrietty. I like her resourcefulness, courage, compassion, and endless curosity about sourrounding world. It's funny, but I believe that kids nowadays are complete opposites of her. I think that when you read between the lines of this scenario, you may guess that the Ghibli studio wanted to present the topic of the endengered species and that people, with no hesitation, take part in the cruel process of eliminating them. I believe that the movie tries to persuade youngsters to take an active part in rescuing the nature. 

Ok, so those were my two inspirations for today :) 

Gdyby Budda pisał bloga...

... usunął by sekcję "O mnie"... tak myślę. Dlaczego tak uważam? Bo jego nauki mówią jednoznacznie - nie ma zdefiniowanej, niezmiennej, ustalonej jednostki ludzkiej. Nasze sławetne "ego" nie istnieje (anatta = brak rzeczywistego ego). A nie może istnieć dlatego, że człowiek w każdej milisekundzie zanika, aby pojawić się na nowo w czasie ledwo rejestrowanym przez pionierskie zdobycze techniki. Jesteśmy stworzeni z mikrocząsteczek, elementów będących w ciągłym ruchu.

Nie możemy siebie definiować, ponieważ nie istniejemy jako zdefiniowany element dłużej niż ułamki milisekund (chociaż osobiście uważam, że definicja człowieka jako: "all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world" jest stosunkowo trafna ; ). A my tymczasem ciągle ewoluujemy, ciągle się zmieniamy, nasze kształty nadają nam falujące rozbłyski i gasnące punkty wyznaczające coraz to nowe granice naszego poznania i reakcji na otaczającą rzeczywistość. Dlatego nasz świat wewnętrzny zawsze będzie niewyobrażalnie bogatszy od zewnętrznego.

Uważam również, że zakładka "Kalendarz" miałaby ciągnący się w dół ogon miesięcy, pór roku, dekad... Budda bowiem doszedł do oświecenia po parudziesięciu latach sumiennej medytacji.

Zakładka "Followers", myślę, że też by mu się nie spodobała. Byłoby mu chyba wszystko jedno, czy ktoś uważa go i jego nauki za ścieżkę do najczystszej postaci, upragnionego szczęścia, czy za wyssane z palca dyrdymały. Budda nikogo nie przekonuje, nikogo nie zmusza, nikogo nie potrzebuje.

Layout... nie jestem pewna - ale pewnie raczej stonowane, ciepłe kolory.

I same posty... pewnie byłoby ich całkiem sporo... w końcu był kilkadziesiąt lat w podróży. Kluczenie wieloma, zwodniczymi ścieżkami, odwracanie się plecami od tych właściwych by w końcu do nich powrócić z bagażem doświadczeń zebranych na kuglarskich ścieżkach hedonizmu. W końcu przedzieranie się ścieżką niezmąconego umysłu przez chmary moskitów-złych myśli, jadowitych węży przyzwyczajeń, kąsających pająków uprzedzeń by w końcu dojść do źródła i zrozumieć, wymagało nie lada wysiłku i czasu.

I w końcu którą nazwę by wybrał na swojego bloga? Może "Yatha-nana-dassana" (mądrość z ujrzenia prawdziwej natury rzeczywistości)? Trochę długa, ale jeszcze dostępna! (Sprawdziłam ; ). Chociaż teraz, już chyba znam odpowiedź na to pytanie... Myślę, że bez wahania wybrałby tylko jedno właściwe miejsce - siebie.

Rythm of my life in 2012

Hello 2013! Make yourself at home ; )

In this last post concerning my music in 2012, I'd like to make a list of my top songs with some commentaries about the memories, people, moments, events I associate them with...

The Wombats/Gotye/Foster the People - those are my paiting/drawing classes in January 2012. Back then it was a real pain for me to concetrate at my maximum for 4 hours and draw every detail of still life... when I put those songs on, I got an extra kick of an energy and danced around the table... seriously ;)

Jessie Ware - and especially Wildest Moments - when I think of this song, the image of my friend Ania comes to my mind. She's also a great fan of her, and I think I will always associate this song with Ania's photo exhibition this Fall.

Brodka - Varsovie - can't express how much I love this song. It was produced in LA, and come to me as a storm in Spring. The lyrics are of significant meaning to me - 'Wake me up in July...' - meaning: wake me up for the RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS concert in Warszawa (Varsovie) in July! :D

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - album: I'm With You. Amazing album, although I began to fully like it after some time. First, I was in love with Did I Let You Know, but afterwards my heart was stolen by Monarchy of Roses (and they played it as a very first song!) and the entire album.

Coldplay - Paradise - amazing song, very powerful and addictive ;) Big plus for very creative video clip :)

Karen O, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross - Immigrant Song - this is a great piece of a history... This song is of course a background song for the opening sequence in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - my movie of 2012. David Fincher, the director of the film, said that he was driving in Sweeden, where he coordinated all the preparations to shoot the film, and he was listening to Led Zeppelin. In a second he realized that the lyrics of the Immigrant Song goes like this: "We come from the land of the ice and snow..." which is a perfect reference to the Sweeden and of course, Lisbeth Salander :) Then he contacted a music producer - Trent Razor, and the updated version of this song appeared in the phenomenal and unique opening sequence, interplaying with stunning visual effects. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=mVLJkIZvFlo&feature=fvwp) This song give me as much energy as 10 cups of coffee, and I will associate it with the finishing touches of my grandma's portrait that I drew this Fall.

Nouvelle Vague

Nouvelle Vague - the softness, magic, femininity, and cheerfulness are characteristic for this amazingly talented band. I had an occasion to attend one of their concerts, and I must admit - it was brilliant and I felt so charmed by their performance. Chapeau bas!

Walk the Moon - Tightrope - I can literary run the marathon when I have this song in my head. No matter how tired I am, how melancholic, or powerless I feel - this is my ultimate cure for discharged batteries. This song turns on my emergency power supply ;)

Angus and Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane - ... Paris!

Those are not all the significant songs that I listened to in 2012, but those have a special place in my heart ;)
2013! - I will keep my eyes and ears wide open ;) BRING IT ONN!

Rythm of my life in 2012: Autumn vol. 2

Funny enough Fair Weather Friends (previous post) brought me to... KAMP! (another Polish band, this time electronic music). I will never forget the day when I put my headphones on and press play button on youtube video and listened to one of their songs... My main motivation was to discover why there are so much noise about them. Earlier I asked a friend of mine to come with me to the Fair Weather Friends concert this November. I remember her eyes widen and lit up in excitement, when she squeaked: 'OMG! You mean the one in which KAMP! will be playin'??'
I raised my eyebrows and replied outraged: 'No... I wanna go and see FWF life!'.

It was couple days after that conversation when I was sitting alone in dark office room... late afternoon hour.... silence, gloomy atmosphere behind the window, quiet and soft murmur of the computer, complete solitude, slowdown of all the emotions... all in all, I couldn’t ask for a better scenery ; )

So I put my headphones on, press the play button and I... softened, swim away, fly away... it is very hard to describe that state of disembodiment, of finding my mind being away from me without the use of any suspected narcotic substances.
I don't know how many minutes had passed when suddenly my colleague's voice revived me drastically from this hypnotic journey announcing the end of the office work and I remember I was so angry at him, so frustrated that he pull me back on this planet Earth ;)

KAMP! You're truly magical :) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csNt3EB-ci0) 

Rythm of my life in 2012: Autumn vol. 1

It's the time of year when you have to rest after intoxicated Christmas and accumulate energy before strenous, energy-intensive New Years Eve. Today, by accident, I listened for a couple of minutes to one of the commercial radio stations in Poland and I was completely disagreeing with their songs selection. They put only energetic, fast beat songs, completely out of place. I would fall for something rather melancholic, slow, delicate yet cheerful. And this idea brought me to the annual tradition of 2012 music chart :D. What songs composed the soundtrack of my life in 2012? Day after day? What were the tunes that were able to wake me up, raise the level of seratonine in my body, or, on the contrary, fed my hunger for melancholy, nostalgia, and were the best friends in my journey through cyclic Broadway-star-wannabe moments and impulsive cleaning spurs in the evenings?

I'll begin with one of my latest discoveries...

Autumn 

FWF

I don't know when exactly I heard this song for the first time, but it definately made an impression on me since I memorized it and recognized each time it was aired. I was more than sure that it is an anglo-saxon band. Was there a milisecond when this one crazy idea 'hey, maybe it's Polish band' bump into my head? - not even once!  Not because Polish music is dreadfully dull, although mainstream is, but simply it is hard to be barely recognizable young band whose first song is there on the radio with national coverage... unless you're as lucky, as talented, as thrilling as... Fair Weather Friends and their Fortune Player (and amazing music video, btw) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrwBaJlvxEY) 

I can't really tell how many times I listened to this song. One more funny thing about them - when you're ordering their demo (btw, mind-blowing!) you actually exchange e-mails with the guitarist of the group himself! What a funny feeling you have! It's like having a chat with a superstar, because the quality of their music is absolutely international, and yet they're still not so famous. 

Funny enough FWF brought me to... another amazing band that I'll describe in another post ; )