Having no master

When you're asking for freedom, you must first give yourself freedom.

That's the way it goes. Usually yourself is the first person that keeps you trapped and doesn't let you be totally (or even in a good percent) free! It's hard, because sometimes you may not even realize how much do you suppress your own self. It might be the way you were raised, the environment you live in, the way you live your life, or a combination of all these.

Your way to freedom starts with a simple question: " what do I really want?".

The procedure of getting what you really want may break your bones a little bit (or a lot), the changes may be big, you may learn to react differently in certain situations and even stand up to yourself and others when needed in order to reach your goal.

Plus, you must be prepared to lose some people (or set them aside, it depends on your point of view). While going for what you really want, you put everything into perspective and you may realise that you don't want some types of behavior in your life.

While changing yourself and your life, the dynamics of your relationships with others are going to change as well (with some, the changes will come naturally and with some others are going to be your own choices). And that's basically the next step of freeing yourself! Being as free as you can from others. There comes a moment when you feel like you have no master, you need no bossy figure in your close circle of family and friends. And that no one is better on telling you what you want and what you need than yourself. You should be prepared for a few loses at this point. But it's ok, you can live without anyone that you think of as necessary right now. Freedom and the change you need to reach it take a lot of strength and inner will. Basically is a procedure of reaching your truth and finding your balance in your relationships with others and the whole world.

The only difference is that you can taste freedom and you're totally your own boss! 

Well done (for now)!

Comfort zone junkie

After a long time of thinking about it, you take your first trip outside your comfort zone.

You may say yes to an invitation you would have probably said no, or do that activity you weren't brave enough to do before.

It feels nice isn't it? The rush of something new and the sense of winning over your insecurity.

So, you do it again....and many times after that. 

And one day you wake up and you realize that you are so used to challenging your comfort zone that it feels weird and like you're kind of stuck when you're not doing it!

Have you become an adrenaline junkie?

Well, if you can't wait for the next comfort zone challenge.....there's a very good chance you have become one.

But, it's not so bad...you test yourself, your limits, you definitely do more things than you used to and you live with much more passion!

Just remember to take a break every once in a while.... 

infinity and beyond will be there waiting.

A place where magic happens

This a photo I took a couple of years ago,

 It was a sunny Sunday morning and as I was walking in the center of Athens I saw a bunch of balloons hanging from a balcony.

 "Oh something nice must happen inside there" I thought. 

A few months after that I attended a class of photography in this building so I had the chance to take a look at the inside, with the pink walls and big white staircase to the upstairs floor (where I never went, so the mystery kept on going).

So, this autumn I started attending a class of theatrical play....in the upstairs floor of this same building (yes the one with the balcony).

I realized that something magical does happen in there, a group of positive people gather and work on freeing and understand themselves and becoming their best selves through movement, theater, role playing and imagination!

Inside there.....magic happens!

A few truths....

There are things in life that you don't want to accept. 

Deep inside you may know they're true, but you prefer fighting against them than accepting them.

Here are few...

* You can make plans in life, but you must always remember that life may have her own for you (and yeah, hers might be a little bit different than yours!).

* Every person is different, unique and the chances of having a different opinion than yours are really big.

* Everything has a beginning, a duration/life and an ending.

* Life is quite ugly and you can't avoid or do something about it.

* Al the things that you're afraid of....well, stop worrying so much because you can't control everything!

* We're all pretty small in comparison with life . Yes, we can do amazing things, but life is definitely greater than us.

* You can't change someone if they don't want to change themselves....

*...but you can change yourself and the way you react to things.

* Magic happens when you start believing in yourself, without expecting a compliment or an other person to give you value. You have your own!

* As they say..."done is better than perfect". So, act!

(And let "perfection" aside or as a next step).

* Usually the worst things that you imagine happening to you aren't the ones that will eventually happen. (There will be others....!).

* You don't know evething and there are good chances that the things you suppose you know aren't right.

* There isn't really such a thing as "perfection".

* Life is a constant evolution, so you should get used to the idea of change.

* As I recently read on a quote, you must always keep in mind that others are figuring it out along the way too.

"Fly" (a poem & a song)

See I can fly away from you

And reach the sky, fly over you

It took me time to rise from the tomb

But I'm alive and I thank you

I was lost in space for a while

I've left my broken heart behind

And as I was fighting my mind

I found something kept inside

Always trying to be there for you 

Cuddle you softly to comfort you

But pain takes turns in life

And hey, the dices keep rolling

I've left the door open for you

You passed by never seeing the view

But what else can you do

Life is for the fighters

Walking next to each other

Sharing our minds with one another

But suddenly a wall between us

Keeps you from seeing the rest

See I can fly away from you

And reach the sky, fly over you

It took me time to rise from the tomb

But I'm alive and I thank you

Hello, world!

After periods of time when everything has gone wrong, the moment when you feel like everything is falling into place again it's a blessing! Magic, magical (like the unicorn emoticon says on Facebook)!

 You feel like saying "Hello, world!", or "I'm back baby!". 

You start feeling something familiar inside your mind and soul, pieces of the person you really are and of whom you used to be before the crisis you've been through.

And my personal favorite: smiling! Oh, catching yourself smiling at random momemts during the day is....great (or should I say divine?). At least if you're normally that type of person.
The world is a fine place, life is going to be what you want to be (because the ending era ddefinitely left a few things behind to help you with those coming), a day just started (you can even see it in my inspiration-of-the-moment photos, 10 minutes after waking up) and nice things are coming!

I'm back baby!

"Almost"

This is the original text and photo which were my participation in a project called "25th Hour".You can learn more about the project here and my text in its greek version here.

Most of us "almost" live our lives. We "almost" love, we "almost" work, we "almost" laugh, we are "almost" ourselves, we "almost" live.

And this way life passes, people enter and exit our lives, things happen and experiences are documented in the hard disc of our minds.

Until that moment comes, when everything is falling into place and something magical happens: you're finally ready to live. You feel comfortable and strong enough that the hour has come, the 25th hour, to do everything you were afraid of doing and live the life that you really wanted to. 

Years pass and life is short, so at that magic moment you're deciding that you're going to truly live: you're going to love, taste, smile, pay attention to the beautiful things around you, you're going to feel happy that you're breathing, you're going to create, notice the small things that give a pinch of color in life, you're going to be yourself, express your feelings, be free, look at the sky and think that this is just the beginning!

"Because of you"

There are some letters that you can't (or better you don't want to) send, but still they're worth written. 

Lately I have been listening to an mp3 player I hadn't used for some time now. From there one day I listened to "Because of you" and a letter started forming itself in my mind...

My once loved one,

Thank you for everything you did.

Thank you for being who you were.

Thank you for not laughing, because you made me realize the importance of laughter.

Thank you for all these grumpy moments of you, because you made me really understand how important peace of mind and inner happiness is.

Thank you for the typical last text you sent me, because I saw some more of you true colors.

Thank you for the times of crying, because they made me realize how a good relationship shouldn't be.

Thank you for the point of view you had of the world and how critical you were of the opposite mine, because it made me be proud of the way I see the world around me.

Thank you for having your fears and especially those of jealousy, because they made me understand myself more and how ethical I am.

Thank you that because of you I reached to the conclusion that to others we project ourselves and what we want to see.

Thank you so much because you made me respect myself more and fight more for the meaning of "freedom" each one of us should have as part of a relationship and in life in general.

Thank you because you made me be more careful with others, but a ton more open as a person and soul.

Yeah all these things are part of the work I have done with myself first of all, but I don't think there would have become true without you being in my life.

Thank you for the good times (and the bad ones too).

Thank you for everything!

Prefer love than hate, and smile than not smiling.

Have a great and happy life!

 Angelina

I fell in love and I learned my share of lessons

I really loved someone for the first time in my life. 

Past tense. 

And now I know a few more things about myself, love and life.

Present tense.

1. Since you have fallen in love once, you can do it again.

(There's a stage where you're thinking that you won't be able to love again, that he/she was the one that created the special feeling of love for you.....guess what, if you felt it once it means you have it in you and it also means that it's going to happen again.)

2. People and situations rarely change.

(Change is possible, but only if people can and want to change things.)

3. Relationships must be about happiness.

( If you're in a relationship and you start not being happy, probably it's time to leave.)

4. Never let anyone take away that (even small) personal space you own and deserve.

(It's one of the healthiest things in the world for the two members of a relationship to have some personal time.)

5. In general, in life, you should prefer love than hate, happiness than misery and calmness than rage.

(That's the theme of other "microcosm" posts, I know. And yes, you can make these choices.)

6. Trust your instinct.

(For good, for bad, for love, for friendship, for life, for people and for situations. Always listen to the things you hear from deep inside you.)

7. Life is short, so get up and act!
(Don't wait for the perfect timing and be more brave, in general.)

8. Never lose your faith.

(You may have faith in yourself, a dream, people, a higher power, life, whatever it is for you, don't stop believing. Never!)

New rules of (my) life

There are thoughts and ideas that are always in your mind, coming and going depending on the circumstances. And then there comes a moment when everything's falling into place and it's TIME to feel them to your core and adapt them so you can live the rest of your life (or a big part of it, until the next period of self-searching comes).

The last three weeks I realized so many things about  myself and life and I'm already living according to my new discoveries!

* Prefer love than hate. 

Hate and negative feelings can only harm yourself, your "insides" and it's definitely not good to wish something bad to other people. 

So, wish for everyone to be ok and happy!

* Time passes and life is short.

You should try to live the best you can and be true to yourself, your needs and your dreams. Things might not go exactly as you plan, but at least you'll come as close as you can to the life you wanted to live!

* Don't run.

I used to be that kind of runner who runs from awkward feelings, from moments where things get uncomfortable, from feelings, from myself, from others. The difference between running and staying there living what's happening it's huge. Sometimes it's hard when it happens, but afterwards you take a bunch of things with you.

* The world sucks, but each one of us can create his/her own life and "microcosm".

Yes the world we live in is far from ideal but this doesn't mean that we're going to live the life others choose for us. In the end we must be able to say "I have lived the best I can" (like a Korn song says).

* Happiness it's definitely a choice.

It's a choice you make on a daily basis. Even in the worst of times, beauty and happiness exist and can be found.

The resolutions of 2015!

Happy New Year!

Oh, new year, new organizer (bought my first original Filofax, in purple) and....

 new resolutions list!!!

I love this time of the year, when I can make a list of the things I want to do during the whole year!

Last year my list had only four goals. I worked for all of them but in the end I accomplished two. 

This year I'm more of a daydreamer and the list is much bigger. Here's a part of it:

* Spice up my personal style. 

I think that growing up I'm becoming less eccentric. I started working on my appearance by dying part of my hair (which is usualy dyed blue). So now I'm wearing a combination of brown, blue and purple hair!

* Smile.

Lately I realized that smiling makes you fell better instantly!

* Take care of my body and soul.

Workout more, eat better (and less) food, etc.

* Finish my video art project.

I've been trying to do this since last year.

* Work even more with my jewelry brand, Daily Art by Angelina.

When you're a one person business there's a lot to do, from designing and creating to promoting your work, and always something extra you can add to your "to-do-list"!

* Improve this blog.

New things coming!

* Volunteer.

I've been thinking for quite some time to volunteer to a cause.

* Maybe travel. 

"Maybe" is about the money factor. Last few weeks I'm watching a tv show where two guys travel the world and Ι heve started feeling very strongly the need to see the world (or part of it)!

Plus, being inspired from the facebook games where you have small goals to accomplish, I thought of setting one or two each month. I'm starting with reading four books and workout and meditate daily, for january.

Have a very very nice year and good luck with your own resolutions!!

My microcosm

Hello!

My name is Angelina.

I was born 25 (and a half) years ago. I'm an artist / jewelry designer / blogger and I live and create in Athens. I have studied cinema and music and my list of hobbies needs more than one hand to be counted. 

I used to have three different blogs:

* The microcosm inside her mind, which was my personal one where I could turn into words and photos my thoughts and feelings (http://themicrocosminsidehermind.blogspot.gr/)

* Daily Art by Angelina, which was a blog about my jewelry brand (http://dailyartbyangelina.blogspot.gr/)

* The dress in the nutshell, my newest one, which was basically a fashion blog (http://thedressinthenutshell.blogspot.gr/).

"The microcosm inside my mind" is a combination of all three.

A blog about my microcosm: the things I like, the things I notice, what I create, my jewelry, art, fashion....

Stay tuned!