Our one month anniversary! 20 posts in 1 month (including this one), and 900 views. Just amazing. I can’t believe how it’s been a month already since I started this blog!
I’d like to thank everyone who read and has been reading my blog for the last month. I didn’t expect such a response!
And thank you for all your amazing comments (most of them, but all comments were and are welcome), advice, and unexpected support. I still get people coming to me telling me how much they enjoy it! It made it even more special for me.
It’s almost April, how time flies! In less than 2 months I’ll be 30 (I have been recently told I look and act like a ‘young’ and not an ‘old’ 29 year old, which made my day, thank you 🙂 )!
And as I already mentioned, it’s been a month today since I started this blog. One of the best decisions I ever made 🙂
This year has been surreal so far. It started with plans and expectations (although I tried to avoid any long term planning ’cause I know how quickly things can change and they have changed, I am so wise sometimes!) but ended with another reminder that- LOST COUNT OF LESSONS SO I WILL JUST HIGHLIGHT FROM NOW ON- life can change at any minute (so planning is most of the time useless) and that life is much more enjoyable when you have no expectations!
I recently read this amazing article a lovely friend shared on social media about living with no expectations. It’s definitely worth a read!
http://brightside.me/article/how-life-changes-if-you-stop-expecting-things-to-happen-40555/
The last month has been challenging at times (a special thanks again to my friends and colleagues for their amazing support) but probably the most incredible so far.
I won’t get into details because I’d like to keep some of my personal life private but I’ll share what I learned 🙂
A month ago I was disappointed, upset, overreacted to situations and struggled to control my feelings. I’ve said and done things I shouldn’t, I was a mess! (But that’s how we learn, from our mistakes).
A month later, I feel I know myself better and I learned a lot from my experiences and mistakes. I try to enjoy every day as it comes, be open to new experiences and not dwell on ‘what if’.
I had the most amazing week back home which has truly been healing and exactly what I needed. It couldn’t come at a better time. And I can’t wait to go back in the summer!
What also helped me immensely is this blog. Writing down and sharing my experiences enabled me to explore and put my thoughts and feelings in order. It allowed me to clear my mind up and figure out what I really want and what I still need to get over, which sped up the healing process.
Sharing my experiences and what I learned, just letting it out in the open was a weight off my shoulders. And I am grateful and happy I learned so much more about many of you!
What helped me I’d say, probably the most, is empathy.
Empathy is an amazing ability, which becomes stronger and stronger the more you practise it. And I’ve practised it a lot for the last couple of years, but even more the last couple of months.
And that’s why I don’t hate anyone. It’s not because I’m a ‘nice’ person.
(ET- sorry, a long one!-I believe the majority of people are not nice or bad, we just behave differently under different circumstances. I don’t think a behavior or a reaction to a situation necessarily determines someone’s personality and I wouldn’t make assumptions and form opinions about people solely based on a bad reaction or an outburst or a lie or someone else’s opinion about them or …
If my sister or a friend has been mean to me, I know they are not mean, it’s just how they reacted to a situation. Why would it be different for any other person who doesn’t happen to be a relative or a friend?)
It’s because I try to understand why people react the way they do. I try to imagine how it felt to be in their shoes, dealing with the situation from their perspective.
I won’t pretend is always easy or successful. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. But the more you do it, the better your understanding gets!
SO now what?
Well, life goes on. I tried and I’m trying new things, I got to do things I’d never imagine, I’ve made new friends, I came closer with people I didn’t expect (see that’s why it’s much better if you don’t have any expectations), I added so many happy and funny moments to my memory bank, and have some news I’d like to keep for myself for now, but can’t wait to share if all goes well. 🙂
The most important lesson is to live in the moment. And I do it most of the time.
Smile at a stranger on the street, notice the surroundings (I was impressed with how many things I never noticed on my way to work or when leaving a friend’s house until recently. Focusing on the moment makes such a big difference), chat to the cashier, say yes to whatever comes along, just enjoy the little things. Little things add up and make life better.
But we are only humans and common sense and feelings don’t always follow or listen to each other. And the mind sometimes wanders and loses its focus from the moment.
Well, time is the best medicine! Feelings don’t always go away easily (sometimes they never do) but they go away eventually (or you learn to live with them) and it gets better, it always does!
And I now know I’ll get it right next time and it will be amazing! 🙂
Enjoy the long weekend 🙂
Love you all x
Lessons I learned after I turned 30 