Matcha latter art by The Missing Piece cafe in Hong Kong

Sun is up, happiness all around for me. I do hope that you find today that exact moment that makes you happy and go with the flow, onboard that moment and keep it moving and up for the entire day.

I can say with all my heart that we do not know how on some days, the energy suddenly changes, the surge of optimism is higher, the ideas flow, the peace and harmony lives around you in abundance. All of these feelings are constantly present at our arm length, and yet, on some days the feeling is more abundant than others, and our awareness peaks.

I woke up with the imediate desire to dance. So, music plays in my cozy apartment since 8am…..and I danced, stretched my arms to the sky, jumped upside down, embrace the sunshine and opened the windows so I can get the awakening crisp air inside. Brrr…. The windows only lasted open for 10 minutes. I am not that stoic really when we talk about low temperatures.

I hope truly that my words and optimism this morning inspires you, moves your heart a little bit and know that we have our own power to change how we feel about the immediate moment, sometimes more than we know it quite a difficult passage to be in.

Many years ago, opening perhaps one of my first businesses, I went to someone for advice. He gave me quite solid advise that I did not take, and yet his words lingered in my mind. I do remember his check-ins, and saying that I can just stop all of it and look for an exit if it does not work, the idea would have been however to exit in a smart way and not loose much. Needless to say,I was not able to do. I do cherish that advice and while I was to unexperienced to be an entrepreneur,I know I can still apply his words of business approach intentionally at any time. It is never too late. To start listening closely to experienced people.

One thing I also remember, is my answer to the question” Why?”. We all have to question everyday what is our “why?”. My answer was that “the only way to learn how to swim is to be in the water.” The truth of the matter I have thrown at that time into an ocean, with no proper swimming lessons and one way or another, I did look for a raft to jump on later on.

As of today I am not a great swimmer, despite being an amazing pisces fellow. Literally or figuratively. Yet, I keep “swimming”every single day and or pushing an imaginary canoe in the open sea, just because I do not know any other way. I have left my country of birth right after the university years with a very clear approach, deeply rooted in my system. I have to earn through my own efforts and I would very much love to be financially independent. I woke up so late to the fact that I could have worked part-time as a student simply because I was not raised in that mindset.

We have heard this kind of statements so many times. The hard truth of all of it is that there have been many peaks and also many valleys. Sometimes stable plateaus until an earthquake stroke and suddenly you retreat into a valley again. The valleys take all the shapes and forms, green and lush, supporting and welcoming, foggy and gloomy, wintery and cold, non-sensical at times, long hours of hard work at times - even for not much in return.

However, and this however it is key for my journey really - I have learned as this unexperienced swimmer, surfer, canoe-rider in the ocean, that nothing matters except our attitude to it and the drive to diligently go through every challenge.

All the peaks and the plateaus serve good purpose and offer a temporal, definite in time and space, financial security and we do get to constantly learn particular skills, human communication, we learn what we love, what we cannot tolerate, what drives our energy towards flourishing.

I could say easily that I have always flourishing in all the valleys I have been. And I have felt at my lowest on many on the fancier peaks.

I can transform any valley into a concept valley of the century. I can gamify my own scenery with all the things I value most. Among those I would like to highlight few of them that are so essential for my vallery to be always a true green oasis with amazing trees, birds chirping, dogs barking, cats jumping around,with some quiet time and introspecvtion but also with dynamic lovely gatherings. A balance among of these things:

• Fundamental one: cherish all rewarding equal human connections based on authenticity and genuine interest in each other as a human being - not in what we do. They add your fuel and they sustain you long term. (Toxicity, contempt, non-sensical competition, envy, greed,superiority,discrimination - leave all of them out.If we cannot block them out physically, train yourself to block them out mentally. They are never good news to your health in particular and overall to your wellbeing or the people next to you). Once we start looking around for what makes us happy, and who are the people truly supporting us, we can simply grow these plants, these anchors in our life. We have to start cultivating every day.

• Fundamental two: self pep-talk. Turn your mind, turn your feelings and emotions, turn your body into your best friend. That is all we got literally to keep us move forward. I might not succeed hundred percent of the time, but, lovely friends, I do push my limits on that! No matter how deep is the ocean, I am chasing the sun. This is a purpose in itself. I make this the purpose of my life. Learn what drives you, learn what is your passion, learn what turns the switch on in your heart- body-heart axis and work at it. This practice to me is the basis to everything, the attitude I take. This is not toxic positivity - please let us clarify that, although I am great at it. Trust me, there might be days and I say this in all striking open vulnerability, when I fall down on my knees on the floor and pray. Not because I am a follower of a particular religion. I do pray to universal law of the great space that we do not know, to the worlds beyond of our understanding. And that is because,I have shown and offered hands of support out of the blue, when I needed most and also when I have asked for help. Maybe we do not know how to do more of that, maybe I relied too much on my grandmothers, now my mother or other people that are masters of these daily prayers to do this job for me. And, by all means, find all the mediums that serve you well in that sense. I also meditate and practice contemplation daily, more than once a day. Mornings are longer meditations, and during the day - I keep stealing moments for myself - to re-group, to breathe, to walk sharply, to dance! Find your game. Take a little break and make yourself joyful. One step at a time, it all adds up and these practices pay off. The trick is really to TALK NICELY to yourself. There are so many external factors might try and attempt to belittle, tell us which exact very small box we have to fit in, to shut down our gentle voice, there are ALREADY situations out there that are not kind. That is why, it is imperative I think that we keep pushing this canoe far and forward, continuously, with all the best words, vocabulary, tools, and all you can learn. Please let us all implement it regularly into pockets of sunshine in our lives. It is doable. !it is. I practice this all my life. We might not have been brought up in a culture that used so outspoken expressions of love, never mind the self-love areas. I dare you here today, to step outside of your comfort known familiar world of upbringing and learn it. It might feel false at the beginning and I therefore suggest you can start by reading something nice out loud. Find paragraphs, articles, book citations with good vibes and read them out loud to yourself. We all have to start somewhere with any form of practice if we would like to witness the wonderful power of transforming our lives.

Ikebana art by Camelia Tîrlescu, @SufrageriaCameliei

• Fundamental three: learn something new. We can continue learning in so many wonderful ways. You can find ourselves this way surrounded again by amazing humans. Once you adapt, keep learning what makes you happy or offers you stability, you enter this universe of incredible communities. Status, age, all become irrelevant. People sign up for courses or take up on new challenges because they have an interest to further develop themselves. And that is motivation right there - your own motivation multiplies. Once there, you would keep listening to these stories of diligence, of not giving up, of putting in the work towards ourselves but then paying forward to support others, to share our skills with the world. Once again, we empower ourselves to remain unboxed or defined by a small definition. You can embrace whatever facet of yourselves that you would like to master. I see that through my friends. A yoga class led to someone becoming interested in learning the skills and now they make for wonderful teacher themselves, and they keep training evolving. This purpose made them see what they love. A podcast with a mindfulness renowned teacher led me to embark on a mesmerising journey. Tara Brach voice reached out to me while she was saying” The world needs teachers like you! “ The canoe metaphor is here because my friend pick up interest in this hobby few years back, she fell in love with the sea, with the ocean, with the hardship and the challenge and she is now racing constantly in competitions and she turned this passion into a priority in her life. We do not clap once and ask Aladdin to fulfil a dream for us as in gain a mastery in anything. We hone these skills, day by day, the happier they make us I would say the better they reward our hearts. And of course, you might know the example and the shining star that is my mum - she has learnt CAD engineering software at 65 years old and got herself a mentor to offer private classes, a computer, went to workshops and even mastered english words to learn how to build house models after she retired as he embarked on being an entrepreneur! Way to go mum! Happy International Women’s Day! If the young people were using CAD, why wouldn’t she - that is her spirit. No limits to learn, to start something new, to keep building. She keeps saying - you know, I loved the school and I did not like gardening with my mum when I was a kid. Or maybe, I liked tending to the animals on the hills, but since she returns every year for longer stays to the village she is now the best gardener, by doing and learning constantly. By tending with love and care to any work she is doing. She watches the master chefs on TV, mind me saying, with an advanced macular degeneration, with her eyes close to the screen almost, and she then prepares recipes in the master chef style. “You know, it tasted really well!” .

There are plenty of ways and turns we can take to keep us motivated, to keep us going. I would just sit here and tell you plenty of stories. I hope I could generate a little spark in you today.

I also owe you an apology, as I had few weeks of silence. I think is a lot brewing and hence there is a lot of for me to take in and sit with all there is. Thank you once again for your tremendous hearts and patience.

My friend, Lizzie, a real community builder, offer me a book yesterday.I would leave you with a couple of quotes from this:

When we neglect what we’re feeling inside or we torment our body, we ultimately hurt our core self-our essence. And in doing so, we stop belonging to ourselves.

Belonging and authenticity are inextricable intertwined. To experience belonging, you must be able to reveal your authentic self.And when you feel safe to be your authentic self, this is when you experience the greatest belonging.

The title of the book is exactly what I meant “ We’ve got this” . Build up your self-confidence. We all got what we need inside of us.

Ruth Bhasin, We’ve got this

Enjoy the day, the valleys and the peaks, the beauty you bring to the world.

Loving this space and this community! Very grateful to each and every one.