Tranquility

Cadaqués 2011 w/my master, favourite blackbelt and great friend S.S.

We must never stop dreaming

It's the pleasure of searching and the pleasure of adventure. You are nourishing something that's very important - YOUR DREAMS. We must never stop dreaming. Dreams provide nourishment for the soul, just as a meal does for the body. Many times in our lives we see our dreams shattered and our desires frustrated, but we have to continue dreaming. If we don't, our soul dies...

The Good Fight is the one we fight because our heart asks it of us. It is the one that's fought in the name of our dreams. We kill our dreams because we are afraid to fight the Good Fight.

The first symptom of the process of killing our dreams is lack of time. The bussiest people I have known in my life always have time enough to do everything. Those who do nothing are always tired and pay no attention to the little amount of work they are required to do. They complain constantly that the day is too short. The Truth is, they are afraid to fight the Good Fight.

The second symptom of the death in our dreams lies in our centainties. Because we don't want to see life as a grand adventure, we begin to think of ourselves as wise and fair and correct in asking so little of life.

And, finally, the third symptom of the passing of our dreams is peace. Life becomes a Sunday afternoon; we ask for nothing grand, and we cease to demand anything more than we are willing to give. In that state we think of ourselves as being mature; we put aside the fantasies of our youth, and we seek personal and professional achievement. We are surprised when people our age say that they still want this or that out of life. But really, deep in our hearts, we know that what has happened is that we have renounced the battle for our dreams - WE HAVE REFUSED TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT.

- Paulo Coelho (The pilgrimage, 2008)

The five agreements

THE FIVE AGREEMENTS

According to don Miguel Ruiz, everything we do is based on agreements we have made - agreements with ourselves, with people, with God and with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. With these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how we behave, what is possible, what is impossible.

1. Be impeccable with your word

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others, for it is poison. Use the power of your word in the direction of TRUTH AND LOVE. This agreement does take courage and determination.

2. Don't take anything personally

Nothing others do is because of you. We all create our own world by our thoughts and dreams. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering. Breathe.

3. Don't make assumptions

Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. Be and see, instead thinking of it. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always do your best

Your best is going to change from moment to moment: it wil be different when you are tired as opposed to well rested. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regret. Shine!

5. Be skeptical, but learn to listen

Don't believe yourself or anybody else. Use the power of doubt to question everything you hear: is it really the truth? Listen. Listen to the intent behind the words, and you will understand the real message.

Accept yourself. Accept others. Accept the universe.

Love yourself.

S.R.P.

The words that flutter from your mind

I do not care what care you drive. Where you live. If you know someone who knows someone who knows someone. If your clothes are this year's cutting edge. If your trust fund is unlimited. If you are A-list B-list or never heard of you list. I only care about the words that flutter from your mind. They are the only thing you truly own. The only thing I will remember you by. I will not fall in love with your bones and skin. I will not fall in love with the places you have been. I will not fall in love with anything but the words that flutter from you extraordinary mind.

- Unknown



Vrienden zijn als bomen

Vrienden zijn als bomen,
ze wachten tot je nog eens langs komt en ze zijn onverstoorbaar als je wegblijft.
Ook na maanden afwezigheid kan je de draad weer opnemen,
omdat ondertussen niets werd afgebroken.

Vrienden zijn als bomen,
op een goede afstand van elkaar geplant.
Zo moeten ze elkaar niets betwisten,
ze kennen ook geen afgunst,
maar nodigen elkaar uit om hoger te groeien.

Vrienden zijn als bomen
en bomen buigen niet, maar wuiven.

- Eugeen Laridon



You are beautiful for the volume of the soul it carries.

You are not your bra-size, nor are you the width of your waist, nor are you the slenderness of your calves. You are not your hair color, your skin color, nor are you a shade of lipstick. Your shoe-size is of no consequence. You are not defined by the amount of attention you get from males, females, or any combination thereof. You are not the number of sit-ups you can do, nor are you the number of calories in a day. You are not your mustache. You are not the hair on your legs. You are not a little red dress.

You are no amalgam of these things.

You are the content of your character. You are the ambitions that drive you. You are the goals that you set. You are the things that you laugh at and the words you say. You are the thoughts you think and the things you wonder. You are beautiful and desirable not for the clique you attend, but for the spark of life within you that compels you to make your life a full and meaningful one.

You are beautiful not for the shape of the vessel, but for the volume of the soul it carries.

- Unknown

The quiet before the storm

While running in the countryside, I attended a beautiful concert. The crickets started chirping loudly - to some annoyance, but to me, music. The birds sang and the wind was blowing through the fields.

Suddenly the crickets stopped chirping, the birds stopped singing and the wind stopped blowing. The sky turned grey. Dark grey.

All I heared was my respiration, my running pace and some rumbling noises.

The quiet before the storm.

Tranquillity. Everything seemed at ease, the fields, the flowers, the sky and me - the runner. I smiled.

Life is full of beauty, notice it.

S.R.P.

Beautiful people do not just happen

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of depths.
These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern.


Beautiful people do not just happen.

- Elizabeth Kubler Ros

We are the captains of our soul

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful and beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

- Marianne Williamson, 1992

Life isn't about keeping score

It's not about how many people call you and it's not about who you've dated, are dating, or haven't dated at all. It isn't about who you've kissed, what sport you play, or which girl or guy likes you. It's not about your shoes or your hair or the color of your skin or where you live or go to school. In fact, it's not about grades, money, clothes, or colleges that accept you. Life isn't about if you have lots of friends, or if you are alone, and it's not about how accepted or unaccepted you are.

Life isn't about that. But life is about who you love and who you hurt. It's about how you feel about yourself. It's about trust, happiness and compassion. It's about sticking up for your friends and replacing inner hate with love. Life is about avoiding jealousy, overcoming ignorance, and building confidence. It's about what you say and what you mean. It's about seeing people for who they are and not what they have. Most of all, it's about choosing to use your life to touch someone else's in a way that could never have been achieved otherwise.

These choices are what life is about...

- Unknown

Het verhaal van het potlood

Een jongetje keek naar zijn oma die een brief aan het schrijven was. Op een gegeven moment vroeg hij: 'Oma, schrijf je een verhaaltje over wat wij samen hebben meegemaakt? Of schrijf je misschien een verhaaltje over mij?'
Zijn oma stopte met haar brief, glimlachte, en zei: 'Ik schrijf inderdaad over jou. Maar belangrijker dan de woordjes die ik schrijf, is het potlood waarmee ik schrijf. Ik zou willen dat je later, als je groot bent, net zoals dit potlood wordt.'
Het jongetje keek nieuwsgierig naar het potlood, maar kon er niets bijzonders aan ontdekken.
'Maar het is een gewoon potlood, niets speciaals!'
'Het is maar hoe je ernaar kijkt. Het potlood heeft vijf bijzondere dingen die jou - maar dan moet je ze wel onthouden - tot iemand zullen maken die altijd in vrede zal leven met de wereld:

Ten eerste: Je zult misschien grootse daden verrichten, maar je mag nooit vergeten dat er een hand is die jou leidt. Deze hand noemen we God, en Hij zal je leiden volgens Zijn wil.
Ten tweede: Af en toe moet ik stoppen met schrijven, om de punt te slijpen. Daardoor heeft het potlood een beetje pijn, maar het wordt er wel scherper van. Dus je moet wat pijn kunnen verdragen, het maakt je tot een beter mens.
Ten derde: Als je met een potlood schrijft, kun je altijd uitgummen wat je fout schreef. De les is dat corrigeren wat we gedaan hebben niet slecht is, maar belangrijk om rechtvaardig door het leven te gaan.
Ten vierde: Het belangrijkste van het potlood is niet het hout of de buitenkant, maar het grafiet dat erin zit. Dus, wees steeds bezorgd om wat er binnen in je gebeurt.
Ten slotte, het vijfde wat het potlood bijzonder maakt: hij laat altijd een spoor achter. Besef goed dat alles wat je in je leven doet, sporen zal achterlaten en probeer je daar voortdurend van bewust te zijn.'

- Paulo Coelho (2006), Als een rivier.