Peter Pan...

When I was a kid, I always wanted to be older. Guess all children want and I was no exception. I imagined what it would be like to be big, to go to sleep whenever I want, to eat whatever I want, not to go to school and all the stuff adults do… And here I am, older… and it turns out, it’s not as fun as I imagined…

I was watching my daughter the other day. She is 7 and is able to enjoy every minute of her life, enjoy most of the things that are happening around her. I was watching her, thinking: I want to be able to do that. I want to be able to look at life as children do… No, I want to be a kid again… I want to be Peter Pan!!! Never to grow up.

People think being a child is easy: you don’t have to work to earn money; you don’t have to worry about every single thing; things are just given to you, without working too hard for it… But the truth is, being a kid is difficult, even more difficult than being an adult. You have to learn to live, learn to survive, learn so many things… But while learning all those stuff, we all lose the most important thing: we lose the ability to enjoy life; to love everything around us… We forget how to be happy!

There are too many things happening around us, all the time. We get tied up in all the problems around, not only ours, but others’ as well. And in the end, it turns out that our whole life is ONE BIG PROBLEM…

In this modern, liberal society, it gets very hard to lose yourself. It is difficult to even differentiate what is good and what is bad. It is even ‘cool’ to be a badass. I find it very hard not to lose the track; to still see the light, to still know what is right. There is this song by OneRepublic that says:‘I feel something so right, by doing the wrong thing;And I feel something so wrong, by doing the right thing.’

This is exactly how I feel. I think we are all lost. All of us, but children. And that’s why I want to be Peter Pan. I want to be able to enjoy every second of my life... I want to be able to forgive someone in a minute… I want to know what is right and what is wrong... I want to be able to be happy with what I have!!!

Please, don't worry too much and simply be happy with what you have!!!

Being alone together

Social media has been developing extremely rapidly within fast few years. It has brought us dozens and dozens of very useful ‘things’. People started communicating daily while being miles away from each other, moreover, now people can even see each other while being miles away. It’s almost like a dream come true. If we start, we can name a lot of positive outcomes that social media has brought, however...

I was on a vacation with my family in Egypt. There was a restaurant where we had breakfasts, lunches and dinners. When you are with a child, you have a little time to look at others, but once I happened to sit there alone, so I started observing people (as a sociologist, I love spotting other people and their actions). There was a young couple sitting next to me. They looked like being on a honeymoon, but the whole time I was observing, they were staring at their phones and apparently reading some ‘amazingly interesting’ information. What is the point of being together if meanwhile ‘being alone with the phone’? I looked around and there were more people doing the same: couples, friends, families… ‘being alone together’.

Then I started taking photos (I’m posting some here and apologise in advance for crappy quality). As I mentioned before, I like taking photos, but this was a different type of photography. I mainly had to shoot with my cell phone (since big photo camera would look suspicious) and had to pretend that I was just taking photos of scenery around me. At first I was trying to be careful so they wouldn’t notice me, but then I realized, they didn’t even see me. I was there, in front of them, taking their breakfast photos and they didn’t even care, moreover, they didn’t even notice. 

And that’s when I realised, social media is not the means of communication or something that made our lives easier, this is an illness, an addiction, an obsession…

Few months ago I stopped using Facebook (unless I get a message from someone), following Instagram or Twitter. At first it was hard. Suddenly, I had nothing to do when I was waiting for something or someone, or every time I liked something, I wanted to post it, wanted to write a status about it, wanted to upload a photo and then get comments, likes… But later I started appreciating everything around me more than before. For example, if I liked something, instead of uploading the photo on Instagram, I would continue enjoying it. Or if I had some free time, instead of reading useless information on Facebook, I stared reading books…

The scariest part of social media is not safety or security, is not NOT having privacy, but rather is social isolation, addiction, inexistence of real life, real friends, even real love.

My mom showed me this video couple weeks ago - http://sfglobe.com/?id=686. I think it is an amazing short clip that everyone should watch. As it’s said in the video, stop reading, close your computer and go out, have your life.

I wrote this article in hope that it will attract at least 1 person’s attention and make him/her think about severity of the problem. If I do achieve it, I’ll consider my mission accomplished. 

Good luck to me and to all of you!!!

P.s. preparing this article took my:

·      94 minutes on research and writing;

·      13 minutes on spying and taking photo;

·      4 minutes on distraction (Facebook and different videos while doing research).

·      Total 111 minutes (I probably could have done something more valuable during this time, but I think my mission is pretty important as well). J

Something to forgive...

Ever since high school (or even earlier) I’ve been taught to think critical, to assess everything critically, and so I did. I guess I even overdid it, so it almost turned into an addiction. I started looking at everything with a critical eye, even people and events. I was discussing things with friends, criticizing actions, minding other people’s business… You name it, I have criticized almost everything in this world. And one of the things I criticized the most is my homeland. I was constantly dissatisfied with government, with people, with everything that was happening here. Since I come from Georgia and this is my home, I felt very sad for all the things I did not like. Deep in my heart, I felt my actions were wrong, I felt I should have stopped this, but it turned into a habit, and we all know how difficult it is to get rid of bad habits. I was so much into criticism that I was even unable to see anything good about Georgia.

Some time ago I met a very interesting person, who showed me entirely different perspective of the world. I told him of my addiction and he taught me how to get rid of it. “The method is very easy” – he said – “Just needs your strong will. Every time you want to criticize someone or something, write down 5 good things about him/her and then go and tell this to someone else. The most important is that you have to share these things with somebody, just writing it for yourself is not enough”. And so I decided to follow his advice.

I started thinking, it’s easy when it gets to single persons, but gets really difficult when talking about the country and people.  So I came to the idea, to write an article with 5 best things about Georgia and Georgian people and share it not only with one person, but with everyone. And so I’m here, writing 5 things I LOVE about my homeland.

(1) Location

Georgia is a very beautiful country. The nature is very diverse. Even though it’s a small country, we are lucky to have the sea, as well as amazing mountains, so you can find touristic attractions at any time of the year (sunbathing, swimming, skiing, etc…).

I personally love Georgian climate. I often say that I would love to live in a country with a permanent summer, but the truth is, all seasons have their beauty and I come to appreciate it. Summer is pretty hot here, but bearable and even nice if you are on the seaside. Autumn is amazing, with all the different colors and beauty of nature. Winter is cold, but it never gets lower than 5-10 degrees (not considering mountains). Sometimes we are fortunate enough to get some snow in Tbilisi (I have to note that Tbilisi is simply amazing in snow). I was lucky to live in far more Northern countries with long and cold winters. I guess that was the time when I especially started appreciating Georgian winters. And finally spring (my favorite season), is just amazing. Nature starts waking up. I especially love blossoming almond-trees and the fresh green leafs; the sight is simply breathtaking. 

(2) Hospitality

Few years ago Tbilisi was given a new slogan – ‘The city that loves you’. Georgian tourism department was working on its rebranding and you could see city’s advertisements with the slogan almost everywhere. A friend of mine told me that he truly agrees with this slogan. “You really feel loved as a foreigner when you travel here” – he said. I couldn’t agree more.

It is true, Georgian people are very hospitable. If you simply Google “Georgian hospitality”, you’ll get dozens of articles describing how welcoming we are to guests and moreover, how we love to have them. There is a Georgian proverb – ‘Every guest is sent from God’ and I guess this says it all.

This is one of the features I love the most about Georgians and the one that makes me proud to say that I am Georgian.

(3) History/Traditions

Georgia has a very long and complicated history, which shaped all our traditions and made us what we are now. I’m not even going to try to give its short overview, but will rather underline few things that I’m mostly proud of.

Georgian language – I love the fact that we can speak the language that NO ONE but us can understand. I was once in Sweden, sitting in a café talking with my husband and a random woman come wondering what language were we speaking. When she heard about our language, suddenly she became very happy – “That is so cool. You have a secret language that no one can understand”. It indeed is cool. Especially when you are traveling abroad (mind Georgians though, especially if you are planning to say something nasty). :) After all, having a secret language is simply awesome.

·     We are orthodox Christians and even though our church has been criticized a lot within past few years (and I have to admit that I was one of the people doing so), I think that our religion has brought us here, has helped us to maintain our country, has kept us as Georgians. Despite all the criticism, I’m proud of our church and thankful for everything it did and is doing for us.

(4) Cuisine/Wine

If you have ever traveled to Georgia, one thing you will definitely remember is Georgian food and wine. It is impossible to forget, since you probably were fed ALL THE TIME (part of the hospitality). I personally love our cuisine. We once had a Canadian friend traveling to Georgia, who simply fell in love with Khinkali (Georgian dish, similar to dumplings). “I could marry this” – he once said – “it’s a pity this is not a woman”.

Our food and wine is another thing that makes me proud to be part of this country.

(5) Tbilisi

I would like to apologize in advance to everyone who lives outside Tbilisi, but I had to put this on my list, since Tbilisi is my city, the city I was born and grew up in. Please, don’t get me wrong, I love all parts of my country, but I believe Tbilisi is one of the best and definitely to visit places in Georgia. Some time ago I was flying back home from Europe and set next to two guys on a plane. One was Georgian living in UK and another American, temporarily working in Georgia. They had a very hot discussion about how terrible Tbilisi is. It was mainly an American guy saying how much he hates being here, but the saddest part to me was the Georgian guy agreeing with him. I gathered all my patience and remained silent throughout whole flight. I thought it was very unfair to say all these things, but also realized that it had no sense to argue with them. You can’t really change a person; only they can change themselves. So I sat there, all silent, and very sad. But on the other hand it made me realize, how much I love this place, how much it means to me…

Tbilisi is a beautiful city and as noted above, is simply astonishing when covered with snow.

So… These are my five things I love about my country. As I am finishing to write, I realize it looks like a travel advert than a personal opinion, but so what? :)

After thinking so much and figuring our all the positive sides of Georgia, I came to the idea that we all awe an apology to our homelands. I barely think of anyone who has never criticized their people, their country, their government... Let’s just do our own work, mind our own business and this will be the best thing we can do for our countries.

I apologise to Georgia, to Georgian people for not being sympathetic, for thinking negative more than positive, and most importantly, for not being the “right part of it”, not being the “useful cell for the entire body”.

We can continue criticizing everything around us, but stop for a second and ask yourself, does it do any good to you? Does it do any good to anyone else? I bet you’d say no. From now on, I choose to live positive, to love people around me and simply enjoy my life. Trust me, if everyone did so, it would make our world a much better place to live.

February 2nd, 2014.
Tbilisi, Georgia.

Good night!!!

So, here we go... Haven't written anything for years, but probably there are times in life, when you can, or even need to go back to your old habits and do things you haven't done for ages. I used to write a lot when I was a teenager: used to have diaries and wrote pages and pages when I had difficulties, or even when I was just happy. I simply shared my life with pen and paper and it seemed perfectly fine. Then I started growing up, having less and less free time and gave up on this habit. Time after time wanted to get back to writing, but somehow never managed to. 

Anyways... Probably there is right time for everything in life... So now I decided to start this blog and share my new life with you. Who knows, maybe you'll find an inspiration in it!

I am 26 now, alone in my hotel room, about to make a big change in my life: give up on job I used to love more than anything and start searching for new aims, goals and horizons. I am afraid, which is probably a normal thing, and keep thinking: 'am I making a right choice?'...

One smart person once told me: "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get, what you always got, and you'll always feel what you always felt..." and there is much more... So considering unhappiness of my current situation, I decided to take a risk, get out of my comfort zone and do what I have never done before, in hope of getting something better, than I have been getting until now... and in hope of feeling better, than I have felt until now... At the end of the day, our life is all about feelings, isn't it? Even business...

It's a little difficult to decide to change your life significantly, especially professional life, the one you have been trying to build for almost 10 years. It's also difficult to search for something new, which has close ties with your past, but is NEW!!! But since the first move is made, and I recently left my current job, all there is left now, is to jump into a pool of new life. At this point, this pool is full of uncertainties, but who knows, maybe it will be a pool of joy and happiness. And after all, isn't it us who make our own life? Don't we drive our own future? Don't we decide how to fill out the pool? So I hope for the best and refuse to expect the worse!
Another wise person once told me (and yes, I tend to meet a lot of wise people in my life) that one has to try to be as positive in life as possible, in order to get positive outcomes. So I'll try to follow and say that this new life of mine is full of new opportunities and possibilities that I didn't have before. 

I am a very lucky girl! I have a wonderful family and friends, who love me and support me, no matter what path I decide to take. So when I said that I am about to quit my past and start new future, they appreciated and supported my decision. 

I guess this is the time I'm realizing that sometimes, YOU are the only one to help YOU, simply because no one else can do it for you. So I'll try to help myself and rely on ME. I will try to make my life interesting BY MYSELF. 

So, once again. Here I am, alone in my hotel room. It's 01:20 AM and YES, I'm a little afraid of future. YES, changes hurt. They hurt a lot. But probably my current situation hurts even more, so let's gather all strength and deal with this pain of change and turn it into pleasure, because I CAN!!!

Good night everyone!!!

August 29, 2013.
01:30 AM
Kazbegi, Georgia