"I am on a journey... With my work, my explorations, and a few sad stories. I travel with a suitcase full of outrageous blessings. I am on a quest for truth, beauty, and quiet joy. I am an artist, a writer, an explorer."

Monday 19 December 2016

Love Poem #137

Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy

I will wake you up early
even though I know you like to stay through the credits.

I will leave pennies in your pockets,
postage stamps of superheros
in between the pages of your books,
sugar packets on your kitchen counter.
I will Hansel and Gretel you home.

I talk through movies.
Even ones I have never seen before.

I will love you with too many commas,
but never any asterisks.

There will be more sweat than you are used to.
More skin.More words than are necessary.

My hair in the shower drain,
my smell on your sweaters,
bobby pins all over the window sills.

I make the best sandwiches you’ve ever tasted.
You’ll be in charge of napkins.

I can’t do a pull-up.
But I’m great at excuses.

I count broken umbrellas after every thunderstorm,
and I fall asleep repeating the words thank you.

I will wake you up early
with my heavy heartbeat.
You will say, Can’t we just sleep in, and I will say,
No, trust me. You don’t want to miss a thing.
~ Sarah Kay

Monday 12 December 2016

You Learn

Corinorhinus by Hans Zimmer

After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,
And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning
And company doesn’t mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts
And presents aren’t promises,
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open

With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,
And you learn to build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn…
That even sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant your garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure…
That you really are strong
And you really do have worth…
And you learn and learn…

With every good-bye you learn.
~ Jorge Luis Borges

Monday 28 November 2016

Remember This

First-Last Snow by Gabriel Yared

Every morning you rise, I want you to remember this, there are amazing things to be a part of, and fight for, and feel, because the world will unlock hundreds of doors when you give this day all the courage, love, and intensity you can.
~ Victoria Erickson

And never lose hope, miracles dwell in the invisible!

Friday 25 November 2016

Love is all you need

Love is all you need by The Beatles

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love,
Love is all you need.

Happy Thanksgiving ♥

Sunday 13 November 2016

Postcards

Photo by Alice Karayiannis

Still now, I send letters into space.
Hoping that some mailman somewhere will track you down 
and recognise you from the descriptions in my poems.
That he will place the stack of them in your hands and tell you
“There is a girl who still writes you. She doesn’t know how not to.”

~ Sarah Kay

Friday 11 November 2016

That's how the light gets in

Photo by Alice Karayiannis

Ring the bells that still can ring 
Forget your perfect offering 
There is a crack, a crack in everything 
That's how the light gets in...

It is a happy thought if we enjoy the truth. There is always something that will have to break. Usually it is our personal pride. A Buddhist thinker said that disappointment is a great way to illumination. Other masters said: "from the broken debris of my heart I will erect an altar to the Lord". 

The idea that there is a staircase of gold and marble, which leads to knowledge is seductive, but seems to me that the idea of something needing to get broken before we can learn anything is a more true idea. It is my experience, maybe you can escape it, but I doubt it. Unless the heart breaks, we will never know anything about love. As long as our objective universe doesn't collapse, we'll never know anything about the world. 

We think that we know the mechanism, but only when it fails we understand how intricate and mysterious is the operation. So, it is true, "there's a crack in everything", all human activity is imperfect and unfinished. Only that way we can have the notion that there's something inside us that can only be located through disillusion, bad luck and defeat. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case. 

~ Leonard Cohen
RIP

Monday 31 October 2016

Στης μοίρας τον χάρτη

Στης μοίρας τον χάρτη by Δημήτρης Παπαδημητρίου

Ξέρεις τι είναι ο έρωτας;
Το άγριο μπλε της θάλασσας.
Το βαθύ κόκκινο της παπαρούνας.
Το φλύαρο πράσινο του λιβαδιού.
Το μεθυσμένο πορτοκαλί του χειμωνιάτικου ήλιου.

Μόλις σταμάτησε η βροχή… Οι σταγόνες χορεύουν ακόμη στα σύρματα. Ένα δάκρυ κυλάει αργά αργά στο φύλλο του κάκτου. Το ξέρω πια. Ποτέ δεν έπαψα να σ’ αγαπώ.

Από τότε που περιμένω να φανείς οι νύχτες μου γέμισαν φως.

Άπλωνα τα χέρια μου τις νύχτες και μάζευα αστέρια και φτερά από αγριοπερίστερα για να τα κρύβω στο μαξιλάρι σου και να γλυκαίνω τον ύπνο σου.

Θυμάμαι τότε… Κάτω από τα πλατάνια, στην πηγή. Διψούσα και μου ΄φερες στη χούφτα σου κρύο νερό. Όλη μου τη ζωή ξεδίψασε.

Κάθε φορά που πέφτει η βροχή πάνω στο τριαντάφυλλο θα σου στείλω ένα φιλί να κρύβεις τ’ όνειρό σου.

Πότε θα ‘ρθει αυτή η μέρα, που θα βρεθούμε μαζί. Οι δυο μας. Μόνοι μας. Θα μεθύσουμε και θα βγούμε να ζωγραφίσουμε καρδιές στις λεωφόρους. Θα τρέχουμε ξυπόλυτοι, θα βουτάμε στα ποτάμια, θα σκορπάμε φιλιά, θα φωνάζουμε ζήτωωω!

Δεν είναι πια η ζωή μου μια πορεία στην έρημο. Ξαφνικά η έρημος γέμισε κόκκινα τριαντάφυλλα. Ξαφνικά οι μέρες μου γέμισαν ήλιο. Ξαφνικά οι νύχτες μου γέμισαν δίδυμα φεγγάρια. Για κοίτα, φίλε μου πώς γυρίζει ο τροχός.

Σημασία έχει ποια χέρια θα σ’ αγκαλιάσουν και θα κάνουν το δέρμα σου να δακρύσει. Ποιο στόμα θα τσακίσει το φλοιό του μυαλού σου και θα σε τινάξει χωρίς ανάσα στ’ αστέρια.

Έκλεινα την ψυχή μου στα κοχύλια και στα χάριζα, για να μαθαίνεις τα τραγούδια της θάλασσας.

Μάζευα τη δροσιά απ’ τ’ αγριολούλουδα, την αυγή, για να δροσίζω τα χείλια σου.

~ Αλκυόνη Παπαδάκη

Monday 24 October 2016

Και κάπου εκεί ήταν που σταμάτησα

Photo by Alice Karayiannis

Προσπαθούσα συνεχώς να καταλάβω τους άλλους. Να προσπαθήσω να μπω έστω για λίγο στον τρόπο σκέψης τους. Είδα πως υπήρχαν πολλά σκοτάδια κρυμμένα. Πολλές καχυποψίες. Πολλά δήθεν σ'αγαπώ και χαμόγελα ψεύτικα. Νόμιζα πως μπορώ να αλλάξω καταστάσεις μα τις έβλεπα να αλλάζουν εμένα. Και κάπου εκεί ήταν που σταμάτησα. Μου είχα υποσχεθεί να δίνω μόνο εκεί που με ρωτάνε για να πάρουν. Και να παίρνω μονάχα απ'οτιδήποτε φέρνει θετική ενέργεια γύρω μου. Και τότε ησύχασα. Ευχαρίστησα ό,τι μου πρόσφεραν και τους καληνύχτισα απ'τη ζωή μου. 


~ Γιάννης Πολίτης

Tuesday 13 September 2016

All Is Good

I've always been the type that worries about everything; from the trivialities of the daily routine to (actual) serious issues which do need a bit of worrying about. I've been more of a worrier than a warrior but I've slowly been converting myself to the latter. I tend to overanalyse to the point of exhaustion; I tend to look at the details and not the big picture. I worry about the future, I even worry about the present. What's in the past has been left in the past. I guess I am a little bit overconscientious?

I’m also a bit of an emotional type. I wasn’t always this way and I’m not quite sure when it started, but I guess I can be a little bit too sensitive. Sometimes, depending on my mood, I kind of absorb other people’s moods, mostly those of the people I care about. If you’re a bird, I’m a bird. Sometimes I get attached to people and things, but I’m learning to let go. Of course, I do like my independence from time to time. Sometimes I’m a bit of a moving contradiction but I’ve been trying to find balance. 

I tend to be guarded with people I don’t know well, but I’m learning to be more open. I’m learning to always be authentic, even if that means being vulnerable. Easier said than done but I always crave true connections with people and those can only be achieved through vulnerability. I’ve learnt that the people who are meant to stay in your life will do so no matter what… That being said, I’ve also learnt to distance myself from the toxic people in my life. 

Sometimes I judge myself too harshly, but it's only because I do have an idea of the kind of person I would like to be. I’m too in tune with my emotions; I’m quite the indecisive type in general, but I (usually) know what makes me happy and what makes me sad, I know how I feel and what it is I need. I know when I’m in the wrong, simply because I feel it, but I don’t always have the strength to do what is right. I’m trying to fix that too. 

A few years back I felt quite scared and insecure about the future; I felt that I had to have everything figured out and I felt lost. But now, I’ve learnt to trust the process. I’ve been trying to make the most of everything I do and the most of the people in my life. I’ve learnt that new experiences only come out of breached comfort zones and that this is the only way to keep going forward. The truth is that, no matter what or how I am, I do believe in myself and I know that I’ll be alright in the end. I have an idea of the kind of person I would like to be and I have an idea of what I would like to do with my life and that’s good enough for now. No one ever has anything fully figured out and that's absolutely fine. Life is sweet :)

She finally reached a place of knowing she’d be okay, and that is the biggest part of the battle, believing that you are meant for the good more than the bad. 

Sunday 4 September 2016

Never Get Lost

Photo by Alice Karayiannis

Can you hear the sounds of the departing?
Can you hear them fading out?
Maybe I want not to want anymore
And never get, never get, never get lost.
...
In the dust that never settles
I found my home.

Thursday 11 August 2016

Falling Star

Photo by Alice Karayiannis

Three years after having written the post below, I came across another falling star. I'm sure I must have come across other falling stars over the last three years (I tend to gaze at the night sky a lot) but this time I really did see it. Three years later, I remembered the post I'd written back then. I can say that it pretty much sums up every action and every feeling. Well, apart from the fact that we do have internet at home now, so there's no need for me to go seeking for Wi-fi connection from the neighbours; always cautious not to be taken for some kind of psycho wanderer lingering outside people's homes...
So I was staring at my phone’s screen in this pitch black road of ours here in Drousha, trying to get some hint of Wi-fi connection from the neighbourhood while also looking up at the sky at intervals. I’ve always liked gazing at the stars, who doesn’t? Lying under the star-sprinkled sky and talking about life, or just lying silently, always in the company of loved ones. The sky is different here; the stars shine bright and there are millions of them, you can even trace the Milky Way if you look closely… Well, the layer of city pollution definitely disappears up here!
There it was; I looked up and saw a falling star. Must have been the first time I saw one so clearly, a second later and I would have missed it… They say that you have to wish upon a falling star; leave it for later and the Universe won’t grant it… So I did make a wish! But you know how we never know how to phrase things correctly when we’re in a hurry, in that chaos of the moment, always wondering afterwards whether what we said was understandable, or correct even, and whether we should have phrased it in a different manner. What if we’ve missed a word and get something different to what we wanted? After all, they do also say to be careful what you wish for.
It’s funny how in that brief moment you suddenly know what you’ve been hoping for all along. Consciously, or subconsciously, you’ve been wanting something and that something has suddenly surfaced. It’s like having to make a choice and tossing a coin to help you choose. In that brief moment when the coin is in the air, you suddenly know, and the problem has been settled for you regardless of the side on which the coin lands.
If you could wish for something right now, just one wish, what would it be? If you were faced with two choices, which would you choose? It’s not always as hard as we think to realise what we truly want, the difficulty is in actually going after it, I guess.
Original blog post: Falling Star

Sunday 7 August 2016

Something Incommunicable

I am constantly trying to communicate something incommunicable, to explain something inexplicable, to tell about something I only feel in my bones and which can only be experienced in those bones.
~ Franz Kafka

Ever feel this way? No matter what you do, no matter how much you talk or write about things, you always get the feeling that something has been left undone, something has been left unsaid; something you just cannot seem to be able to explain, but which weighs you down from time to time.  It's quite an unsettling feeling; you don't quite know what it is that you want to express but you definitely feel it there. It runs in your bones, it makes you feel frustrated; you keep seeking to find more ways to express that feeling, but nothing really does it. It drains you. Perhaps there is something you ought to be doing but have yet to figure out what it is; perhaps you need to look deeper inside. Who knows...  hopefully you'll find the remedy, hopefully you'll figure it out soon.

Be the blanket for my bones
Be the place that I call home

Friday 22 July 2016

Express, express, express

You ruin your life by desensitizing yourself. We are all afraid to say too much, to feel too deeply, to let people know what they mean to us. Caring is not synonymous with crazy. Expressing to someone how special they are to you will make you vulnerable. There is no denying that. However, that is nothing to be ashamed of. There is something breathtakingly beautiful in the moments of smaller magic that occur when you strip down and are honest with those who are important to you. Let that girl know that she inspires you. Tell your mother you love her in front of your friends. Express, express, express. Open yourself up, do not harden yourself to the world, and be bold in who, and how, you love. There is courage in that.

~ Bianca Sparacino

Tuesday 24 May 2016

Moving Forward

It's been a fast (yet long) 4 years at St Andrews and I can now finally (and happily) say that I have completed my BSc in Computer Science at the University of St Andrews. It's the end of an era, the beginning of a new one, a turning-point. 

On the 21st of May we had what's called a 'Blue Moon'. Perfect timing; a blue moon signifies change and this is exactly what I want and what I've been needing, mostly on a personal level. 

A blue moon is powerful and it is signalling that it is time for us to take control and take the power back from areas of our lives that have been roaming free and taking us down a road that lead to nowhere.

It is an energetic peak which brings about a thirst for adventure, a need to get out of our comfort zone. It is a need to let go of the old and embrace what is to come. It is a time to become reflective and to find truth within us so that we can finally find balance. It is a time of positive change!

Lately I've been feeling this need for change; I'm tired of the old, I'm tired of stagnant situations and relationships that get me nowhere. I'm tired of empty words. I need action, I want to be surrounded by people who help me to keep growing, help me find good balance and peace within, people who are genuine and true. I'm done with words which are not backed up with actions, people who are selfish and self-conscious and who allow their ego to get the best of them. I'm not perfect myself but I don't need people in my life who bring out the worst in me. 

With time, I find myself realising all the more what is good for me and what just isn't. I know what feels right and what just doesn't. What is meant to be, will be; whatever is not meant to be just won't! We should stop getting stuck in old habits. We should make room for new situations, new relationships, new opportunities. 

This new phase has been inspiring me to embrace change in general and I can't help but always feel positive about what life has in store for me :)

With your soul, now you see it; the landscape is infinite.

Friday 15 April 2016

Being There

Photo by Alice Karayiannis

Something that I've been coming to realise over and over again is that we all live in our own little world most of the time. It's difficult to always keep this in mind when interacting with people and it's so easy to get carried away and affected by your relationships (especially if you're quite the emotional type). We all see things differently; each of us has a different perspective of how things are or how things should be. Everyone has their own problems to worry about, they are preoccupied with their own thoughts and ideas, their own busy schedules. If an action of theirs hurts you it probably has nothing to do with you, so don't take it personally. Unless we realise this, we won't be able to keep our relationships healthy.

But there comes another thing I've had in mind for some time. Of course we all live in a reality of our own, but when we really care we can always go that extra mile to step into the shoes of a loved one. I do distinguish between these kinds of relationships and can obviously say that the most important people in my life are the ones who have been there through the hard times, no matter what. It's easy being there for the good times, but it takes effort to be there for someone when they're going through difficult phases. That's when we step out of our own little world. And I'm not talking about the casual 'being there' kind of thing, I mean BEING THERE. Checking in on them as often as you can (i.e. daily, at least), helping them overcome any issues or problems or worries, always remembering to show them that you care. The truth is that when you've had such people in your life, it's difficult to feel emotionally connected to people who don't do the same and who have never seen these sides of you. 

I've just been feeling really blessed and grateful for these relationships. Without you, I would have struggled to reach where I am now. I just wanted to thank you for that :)

Sunday 13 March 2016

Letting Go

'Never get too attached to something that isn't yours.'

Let's just keep the 'never get too attached to something' part of that quote although, to be fair, it's true that nothing whatsoever belongs to us in general - at best, we are merely borrowers

So back to what happened yesterday. I was on the plane on my way to Cyprus when I decided that I wanted to put some cream on my hands. I casually removed my five rings (yes, I do quite love rings) and placed them on my blouse, at the same time making a mental note not to forget to wear them once I'd be done. As if. Naturally, I forgot to put them back on. Well anyway, the plane eventually landed. Hurray! Home sweet home. I put my coat back on, picked up my bag and the rest of my belongings, and headed for the exit. As I was stepping out, I suddenly heard a series of little clinking noises and saw all five of my rings drop onto the airstair in slow motion... They were rolling everywhere and passengers were trying to leave the aircraft and I was in frenzy running up and down the stairs looking for my rings. Chaos.

I must have re-entered the airplane three times, the air hostesses were ever so friendly. After all the passengers had left (so much for picking seats right by the exit, I left the area last), I ran up and down the stairs several times. My friends stayed behind to help look for my rings and we found four out of five... the whole airplane crew was on the look out for that one last ring; they must have thought I had lost a diamond ring or something. Kind of them.

We never found my fifth ring. What I haven't mentioned was that each of my rings has a personal story behind it and that is why I am sentimentally attached to each one of them. This one had its story too and I didn't want to stop looking for it, I just didn't want to let go. Eventually I had to stop searching, but I guess I got my lesson.

We get so attached to everything we have and everything we do; our ideas, our way of doing things, places, things and the many people that our present in our lives. This post may have been about a ring but the lesson taken refers to people as well, everything really. Any kind of attachment is unhealthy.   We've got to learn to let go. After all, our whole life is an act of letting go. You can love everything without being attached to it :)

Attachment = Suffering


"This is the whole secret of non-attachment: live in the world, but don’t be of the world. Love people, but don’t create attachments. Reflect people, reflect the beauties of the world — and there are so many. But don’t cling. Know, but don’t create knowledge. Love, but don’t create desire. Live, live beautifully, live utterly, abandon yourself in the moment. But don’t look back. This is the art of non-attachment."

~ Osho

Wednesday 24 February 2016

Λίγο ακόμα

Photo by Alice Karayiannis

Λίγο ἀκόμα θὰ ἰδοῦμε
τὶς ἀμυγδαλιὲς ν᾿ ἀνθίζουν.

Λίγο ἀκόμα θὰ ἰδοῦμε
τὰ μάρμαρα νὰ λάμπουν,
νὰ λάμπουν στὸν ἥλιο
κι ἡ θάλασσα νὰ κυματίζει.

Λίγο ἀκόμα, νὰ σηκωθοῦμε
λίγο ψηλότερα.

~ Γιώργος Σεφέρης

Monday 22 February 2016

Το παράπονο

Εδώ στου δρόμου τα μισά
έφτασε η ώρα να το πω
άλλα είναι εκείνα που αγαπώ
γι’ αλλού γι’ αλλού ξεκίνησα.

Στ’ αληθινά στα ψεύτικα
το λέω και τ’ ομολογώ.
Σαν να `μουν άλλος κι όχι εγώ
μες στη ζωή πορεύτηκα.

Όσο κι αν κανείς προσέχει
όσο κι αν το κυνηγά, 
πάντα πάντα θα `ναι αργά
δεύτερη ζωή δεν έχει.


~ Οδυσσέας Ελύτης