Alice’s Book Club – WINTER session of 2023

Before the astronomical winter was completely over, on Sunday (March 19’23), I organized the first session of the year for my seasonal book club (the winter session of 2023). At this on-line gathering, all my guests presented a number of favorite books, and because our group was of such a reasonable size, some titles were discussed in more depths.

Also, I was truly happy that Mihai was able to join us again, this time explaining the audience, from a medical perspective, how reading books could benefit both physical and mental health, and how those benefits could last a lifetime….reading for at least 30 minutes every day could take you far!  
Additionally, he briefly touched on “neuroplasticity” (also known as “brain plasticity” – this is a term that refers to brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience), which is a central concept to theories relating to memory and learning abilities as well.   
Apparently, there is a lot of scientific research which indicates that reading involves a complex network of circuits and signals in the brain, and the more you practise it (the more you read) those networks get stronger and more sophisticated.

Now, back to the books we’ve discussed that evening, here I’m glad to share only several titles that were briefly touched on, hoping that by doing so, you might find the inspiration to read them (in case you haven’t yet):  
– “When Breath Becomes Air” (by Paul Kalanithi)                           | – “Sense and Sensibility” (by Jane Austen)
– “All the Light we cannot see” (by Anthony Doerr)                          | – “To Kill a Mockingbird” (by Harper Lee)
– “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” (by Dr. Joy Dispenza)      |– “My Brilliant Friend”…The Neapolitan Novels (by Elena Ferrante)
– “Gone with the Wind” (by Margaret Mitchell)                                 |– “The Biology of Belief” (by Dr. Bruce Lipton)

– “Shogun”…the Epic Novels of Japan (by James Clavell)                 |– “The Old Man and the Sea” (by Ernest Hemingway)

– “The Prayer of Jabez” (by Bruce Wilkinson)                                    |– “Finding Me: A Memoir” (by Viola Davis)

Of course, many other books and writers were also referred to (spanning from spiritual to health, from science to fiction, and so on), but for the purpose of this briefing, the above mentioned titles might suffice.

So, dear friends, once again, I would like to refresh that reading is an indispensable skill in life, which allows you to discover new facts, by opening for you the door to new ideas, stories and opportunities. This beautiful habit of reading books could bring people knowledge & wisdom, making them more intellectual & sensible.
In closing, once again, many thanks to all my friends who honored this invitation! Until we meet again, warm wishes for a beautiful spring to come!
Alice  

“The journey of a lifetime starts with the turning of a page.”

Life needs meaning to be lived with joy

 “Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught,
but a quest for meaning. The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her own life.”

I’m sure you all agree that life is about Joy and Meaning, not about the calendar.

One of the major concepts of living with joy is to always keep your sense of "wonder" while carry on with life, because life in itself is truly an extraordinary miracle.  

For instance, the birth of a child is the "normal" way of coming alive, and yet, what a marvel!

On the other hand, each year, spring always comes after winter and yet it always fills our hearts with rustle and emotions.

Also, snowdrops are the ones that cope with the harshness of the cold weather, but yet they remain soft, graceful, pretty, "courageous" and amazingly inspiring every year.

Aside of that, the sun sets every day, but each time it gives us a different splendid spectacle.

Only mentioning these few aspects of our daily lives, we all could agree that our world is a place full of beauty and miracles, and if we truly open our hearts to them, we could appreciate them even more.

And yes, life needs meaning to be lived with joy! Meaning comes from fulfilling your purpose in life, and every single human being has its own purpose…one just needs to pursue it….

The advice of the elders of the world is to live our lives with joy, to be good, to help our fellows and we all will live well…and I can’t agree more with that!

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live.
 Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” (Albert Einstein)

Socializing: 2023 – INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’s Day

On Wednesday (March 8, 2023), I was truly happy to be able to meet on-line with several dear friends for a quick celebration of 

International Women’s Day!

At this gathering, before we proceeded with

In loving memory of
  Rodica Phillip

our talks, we held a moment of silence to honor the memory of our dear friend, Rodica Phillip, who recently transitioned. Rodica was part of our Circle, a wonderful human being, who always brought interesting  perspectives to our group conversations. I truly loved Rodica because she was a positive lady, with a great attitude, always willing to learn and grow, and (as I’ve said before) she was a wonderful supporter of our Circle. Without any doubt, she will be deeply missed by many! Taking that moment of silence, allowed us to really be reflective and remember all those beautiful moments when we laughed together! Sometimes, a moment is all you need to feel grounded in both yourself and your community; it is fascinating how something so focused on sharing could be also so individualistic!

Then our evening continued with the theme of the day: womanhood! Lots of questions were tossed around, personal perspectives were openly shared, and useful tips were freely given away.  Also, I was truly grateful that Mihai joined us, because he clearly explained, from a medical standpoint, how many external factors could affect woman’s femininity, and the link between women’s femininity and women’s health. Super interesting concepts, eye opening and definitively worth pondering upon! The evening continued with a number of poems that I and few other ladies from the group recited. It was truly lovely!

Also, since the focus of this meeting was International Women’s Day, here I’m glad to share with you some names of famous women who changed the world.

· Only few famous ROMANIAN WOMEN:
– Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu (1887–1973): she was the first female engineer in Europe. She was born in the Romanian town of Galați. She intended to attend “Bridges and Roads University” in Bucharest, but was rejected because she was a female. She qualified as engineer in Berlin (Germany), at the “Royal Technical Academy”. During World War I she managed a hospital in Romania.
– Elena Caragiani Stoenescu (1887–1929): she was the first woman aviator in Romania. She graduated from the pilot school in Bucharest, but her applications for a license were rejected by the Romanian authorities, at that time. For this reason, she left for France, and two years later, she received her license, issued by the “International Aeronautical Federation”, being one of the first 15 female pilots in the world
– Elena Văcărescu (1864–1947): she was a Romanian aristocrat writer, having a rich literary activity in Paris. Twice, she was a laureate of the “Académie Française”, for her writings (called “Chants d’Aurore”). In 1925 she became member of the Romanian Academy (in Bucharest)
– Elena Negruzzi (1876–1948): she was a women's rights activist (in Romania), and the first female lawyer in Romania (1913). She was allowed to join the Iasi Bar only after 6 years of systematically applying and being rejected due to the fact that she was a woman. She was a co-founder of the women's organization “Association for the Civil and Political Emancipation of Romanian Women“ (1917), the “Group of Democratic Lawyers” (1935) and “The Women's Front” (1936)
– Elena Ghica (1828–1888): she was the first woman to climb the Swiss Alps. She came from a wealthy family and already at the age of 10 could speak 9 languages and at age 14 she translated into German language Homer’s “Iliad”
– Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu (1876–1955): she was a famous Romanian writer…a novelist of the Romanian interwar period, and her most famous novels were “Bach music concert”, “Hidden road”, and “Roots”

· Only few famous WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD: 
– Marie-Sophie Germain (1776–1831): she was a French mathematician whose work is still used in the construction of skyscrapers. She was also physicist and philosopher. Despite initial opposition from her parents and difficulties presented by society, she gained education from books in her father's library, including ones by Euler, and from correspondence with famous mathematicians such as Lagrange, Legendre, and Gauss (under the pseudonym of Monsieur LeBlanc). One of the pioneers of elasticity theory, she won the grand prize from the “Paris Academy of Sciences” for her essay on the subject. Her work on “Fermat's Last Theorem” provided a foundation for mathematicians exploring the subject for hundreds of years after. Because of prejudice against her sex, she was unable to make a career out of mathematics, but she worked independently throughout her life
– Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (1815–1852): she was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and to have published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. As a result, she is often regarded as the first computer programmer (as she created the concept of an operating system, or software)
– Marie Curie (1867–1934): she was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She is regarded as the mother of modern physics. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. Her husband, Pierre Curie, was a co-winner of her first Nobel Prize, making them the first-ever married couple to win the Nobel Prize and launching the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. She was, in 1906, the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris
– Clarissa Harlowe Barton (1821–1912): she was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not very formalized at that time, she did not attend a nursing school, but she provided self-taught nursing care. Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work and civil rights advocacy at a time before women had the right to vote. In 1973, her name was added to the National Women's Hall of Fame
– Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (1858–1940): she was a Swedish author, and the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (in 1909). She published her first novel ("Gösta Berling's Saga") at the age of 33. Additionally, she was the first woman to be granted a membership in the Swedish Academy, in 1914.

As you can imagine the list of amazing women is absolutely enormous, and here my intention was to mention only a couple in order to emphasize yet again that women make history too and they also make our lives better, either by making amazing discoveries, or by writing phenomenal stories, or by participating in politics, or by advocating for human rights, while they love and take care of their families as well.

Our time together was heart-nourishing, and we concluded this warm evening on a peaceful note, wishing each-other only the best for the spring to come!

Until next time, my very best regards to all, and once again, dear ladies: 

Happy International Women’s Day!

● Previous events I organized on the same theme: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’s Day – 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 

● My additional greetings referring to INTERNATIONAL WOMEN's Day! – March 8: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 
NOTE: Dear readers, please be advised that on this website each of the previous postings, pertaining to the recurrent annual themes, portray a different perspective of the subject/s presented (same theme/s, but a different outlook without duplication due to the cultural richness of the specific topic/s discussed). 

March 8, 2023: Happy INTERNATIONAL WOMEN's Day!

International Women's Day (each year, on March 8^th) is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.

Wishing all the women out there a very Happy International Women’s Day!

● Additional background info:

ARTICLES:  (English) “UN-International Women's Day” | (Romanian) “Ziua Internaţională a Femeii - 08 Martie: Semnificație și scurt istoric”

● My previous greetings on the same theme: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN's Day – 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019

March 1, 2023: “Mărțișor”

 “Mărțișor” – an immortal Romanian tradition

Each year, on March 1^st, Romanians celebrate “Mărțișor”, which is a cultural practice marking the changing of seasons,

while everybody is sensing that spring is in the air.

To all my friends who honor this custom, I’m wishing them joy, peace and prosperity!

● Remarks:

In 2017, UNESCO decided to inscribe “Mărțișor“ on their list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity…please follow the links below for a more detailed reading about this significant gesture…thank you!

          - ARTICLE: Romanian spring tradition included on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list

          - ARTICLE: UNESCO adds Mărțișor to its ‘intangible cultural heritage of humanity’ list

● Brief historical background info about “Mărțișor” (March 1)

The name “Mărțișor” (mərt͡siˈʃor) is the diminutive of “Marț”, the old folk name for March (“martie”, in modern Romanian language), & literally means "the little March". The actual “Mărțișor” is made of a small decorative object, tied to a white & red string, with two hanging tassels, which is offered customarily on the 1st day of March to girls, women & men (in some parts of the country) as it is believed that the wearer will stay strong & healthy throughout the entire year ahead. In the old times “Mărțișor” was regarded more as a protective talisman, but in modern days, & especially in the urban areas, most of its talisman properties got lost and “Mărțișor” became more of a symbol of friendship, love, appreciation & respect, as well as a symbol of the coming spring in addition to the snowdrop flowers.
● Previous events I organized featuring “Mărțișor”– 2022,  2021, 2020, 2019

● My previous greetings on the same theme: “MĂRȚIȘOR” – 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019

NOTE: Dear readers, please be advised that on this website each of the previous postings, pertaining to the recurrent annual themes, portray a different perspective of the subject/s presented (same theme/s, but a different outlook without duplication due to the cultural richness of the specific topic/s discussed).