Thursday, June 16, 2022

NATURE – the best “healer”

It has been stated by so many people that nature in itself is healing in every way!
Consider the following….walking through the forest, smelling the scent of a beautiful flower, filling the lungs with fresh air after a summer rain, admiring a rainbow, marvel at the force of a thunderstorm, feeling the fresh green grass under your foot, cherish the vibrant beauty of a sunset and the sound of the ocean waves, wonder at the innumerable stars of the sky while resting after a long hike on the mountains trails, and so on….yes…all these are natural ways of…healing.
The simple question is though: how often do we do one of these things?
The common argument is that we don't have time. But who said that time passes? Time does not pass. We pass.
Life is full of beauty, which we do not take into account. It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you feel that you do not have "beautiful eyes" then stop for a moment, open your eyes as wide as you can, and ….start seeing!
Start by looking up, then look inside you, and then…look outside, around and on front of you…you will be amazed!
Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature….it will never fail you!

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

June 1, 2022 – INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN's Day

On the first day of summer, June 1, the world celebrates International Children’s DayThis holiday was established by the decision of the Congress of the International Democratic Women’s Federation in November 1949, and began to be celebrated since 1950. According to the established tradition, various events dedicated to the protection of children are held in many countries, as well as various fund raising & charitable activities.
So, on this day (International Children’s Day), may we all be reminded that every child deserves a better future, build on Peace – Love – Respect – Freedom.
● My previous greetings on the same theme: INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN's Day – 2021,  20202019

Friday, May 20, 2022

Alice’s Book Club – SPRING session of 2022

As the current season is nicely unfolding, on Friday
(May 20’22) we had a brief spring session for my book club series, this time discussing “marriage”.  A nice and pleasant on-line gathering together with our core group of dear friends.
To everybody’s delight, this evening Sandu Oprea (who holds a qualification in Psychopedagogy) presented us a concise material called: “The secret of a happy marriage” based on which our group discussions further evolved.
My guests this evening were a mix of several generations, and as you can imagine, the chosen topic was on everybody’s reach, leading to meaningful debates, filled with timeless wisdom and practical tips. 
Respecting the privacy of the personal matters discussed, here are only few thoughts of general interest as well as some additional concepts issued by scholars, which might benefit the interested reader/s:
- A successful marriage is based on several solid pillars, such as: love, mutual respect, loyalty, effective communication, trust, good listening skills, patience, compassion, commitment, help and honesty
- If you want to have a strong marriage it is essential to be optimistic, grateful & share responsibilities
- By being willing to learn what marriage is about and what are the most important things in your marriage, you could determine how to enjoy married life and how to further solidify your marital relationship
- In order to have a happy marriage it is important to work in unison, not against each other
- During lifetime, every marriage goes through ups and downs, but in order to create a solid foundation and even out the eventual rough patches for a long-term happy marriage, make sure you understand the true meaning of marriage and when it is necessary, clearly express your love to your spouse
- The relationship needs to grow and evolve with steps taken into the right direction from both partners
- If you wish to have a solid marriage then it is essential to create a deep connection with your partner
- Without any doubt, marriage is one of the biggest commitments in life, and it requires love and a lot of hard work, patience and wisdom to make it successful
- Couples should enter marriage with realistic expectations, adopt a problem-solving approach and openly discuss their wants and needs with each other
- No single factor and no special event can make a marriage work…partners need to work at lacking aspects and progressively, improve them every day
- A happy, healthy and successful marriage has a number of important elements beyond love; it means the couple understands the traits of honest compromising, the implications of vulnerability, and again, the paramount significance of mutual respect & good communication
- A marriage is a union of souls, but it may not be necessary for those two souls to be the same as each other. Differences would be imminent no matter how much we look for similarities when searching for a life partner. It’s how you work with those differences that take a marriage forward.
As usual, our group talks were lengthy, honest, interesting, enjoyable and balanced, leaving each of us with a very pleasant feeling of benevolent camaraderie.
Before I’m ending my brief update here, once again I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to those who honored my invitation.
Till we meet again, my warmest regards to all!
Alice
“It is the fragile threads of love and sharing, which sew people together through years of marriage.”