Friends are forever?..
12 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at 7:15 PM.
I have friends I shared my life with - we lived, worked together; with them I'll feel ever close, doesn't matter how much time we are apart. I'll come for their weddings in any part of the world even on my last money :) And will be always as if our last conversation was just a day ago...
And I have other friends that I met once or several times and felt connected, became comfortable and close. Learned, felt strong emotions and have great memories.
But then a moment comes, when a common for us thing (study, job, AIESEC, whatever), that brought us together and made friends, isn't there anymore. And then what happens with our friendship?..
We see each other once in a couple of years, and write emails (and I'm terrible with writing emails!) But we don’t' have the chance to really spend time and LIVE our friendship.
Sometimes I meet those friends that were so important to me - we exchange news, talk about life, go around. And the worst feeling is when I don't know what to talk about with my dear people… Because we don’t have common life anymore, our interests have changed.
I was very sad when I realized for the first time, that dynamic of friendship changes. But there was one wise friend of mine who told me: "Well that's probably just the flow of life - people come and people go, because the life changes and we change, we value different things. And often people, who were not with us when we were changing, are not able to be as close as before. It's not bad, it just happens. There will be new friends, and there will be a good memory of old times".
Having accepted that, I grew again a bit older...
However I believe we need to keep relations if we feel that some people are important to us. The heart usually tells, and if you don't want to let your friendship go - don't!
I think friendship requires working on it - as any valuable thing in life. Give and you'll be given. We can include our old friends in our new life, ask about what is happening in their life, and find again those common points. May be the simplest of all - just write more! And call with no reason, just to say hi and smile in the phone receiver :)
Here is a wonderful poem about friends, one of best I've read: "Tree of the Friends"
At the end - doesn't matter what happens with people who are your friends, do they remain in your life or go - everyone got once a part of your heart, and the smallest thing you can do for once dear to you people - is to keep a good memory of them.
p.s. I realized now this post was an address to myself… I'm guilty in how I keep even important for me relationships; well in realizing lies the first step to the change!
And I have other friends that I met once or several times and felt connected, became comfortable and close. Learned, felt strong emotions and have great memories.
But then a moment comes, when a common for us thing (study, job, AIESEC, whatever), that brought us together and made friends, isn't there anymore. And then what happens with our friendship?..
We see each other once in a couple of years, and write emails (and I'm terrible with writing emails!) But we don’t' have the chance to really spend time and LIVE our friendship.
Sometimes I meet those friends that were so important to me - we exchange news, talk about life, go around. And the worst feeling is when I don't know what to talk about with my dear people… Because we don’t have common life anymore, our interests have changed.
I was very sad when I realized for the first time, that dynamic of friendship changes. But there was one wise friend of mine who told me: "Well that's probably just the flow of life - people come and people go, because the life changes and we change, we value different things. And often people, who were not with us when we were changing, are not able to be as close as before. It's not bad, it just happens. There will be new friends, and there will be a good memory of old times".
Having accepted that, I grew again a bit older...
However I believe we need to keep relations if we feel that some people are important to us. The heart usually tells, and if you don't want to let your friendship go - don't!
I think friendship requires working on it - as any valuable thing in life. Give and you'll be given. We can include our old friends in our new life, ask about what is happening in their life, and find again those common points. May be the simplest of all - just write more! And call with no reason, just to say hi and smile in the phone receiver :)
Here is a wonderful poem about friends, one of best I've read: "Tree of the Friends"
At the end - doesn't matter what happens with people who are your friends, do they remain in your life or go - everyone got once a part of your heart, and the smallest thing you can do for once dear to you people - is to keep a good memory of them.
p.s. I realized now this post was an address to myself… I'm guilty in how I keep even important for me relationships; well in realizing lies the first step to the change!
Something about Russia
1 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Saturday, November 11, 2006 at 11:53 PM.
Well, generally this topic is for many posts, but there are some thoughts and sayings in various publications, especially abroad, that fuelled my wish to write.
Media in Russia.
There is an agreed intl opinion that there is no independent TV in the country, but situation is better with newspapers, magazines etc. I'd say it's pretty much true, and that means that people have sources of different views if they want to listen to them. Many things should be discussed more, but the problem is not in access to the information. Our problem is that there is no action after the information is given to people. Yes, media wrote about an issue with Sakhalin - but nothing happens until the state has interest to protect. People as a nation do not know/want to do something, if it doesn't concern them personally. The strongest and probably only protest I can remember was about a law on privileges that could potentially make situation of unprotected classes even worse.
The problem is not in having information, this can be solved; the problem is that people don't care much. And that is more important.
Politovskaya's assassination.
I do want this to be solved and cleared, as any crime done to a person. But telling you the truth, vast-vast majority of people, including myself, heard of her for the first time in a news about the assassination itself. Not to be too hard, but too much then to think of a journalist as "consciousness of a nation", if the nation haven't heard of her/him. She was more known in Moscow circles, and this way too far to the rest of the country. I'd call others this title, others that out provocative questions even on TV and question the current by doing some concrete steps.
And without the facts it's paranoid to think about "Kremlin hand" in everything; for Kremlin it would be easier if Politkovskaya continued her works, rather then to face public accusations with a threat of trust decrease.
I'd put it in such a way: I want militia to follow all crimes as well as they do in public cases. I want Politkovskaya's assassination to be opened, but not less I want an assassination of a woman in a small town to be opened.
Putin's Russia.
It is naïve to think that Putin is the only one deciding Russia's way now. As naïve as to think, that Lenin was the only reason to the revolution in 1917, that Bush is the only reason of war in Iraq.
Yes, Putin is a face of Russia now; this is what president does. And is the first conscious face after Yeltsin's decade that was an anarchy. I personally think that "West" as we call it here, doesn't like Putin much 'cause he is not the one that was expected after Yeltsin, and not as convenient.
To tell you the secret - majority of Russia's population sincerely supports Putin and would like him to stay for the third term (which he won't do, he'd rather be the head of the opposition then hehe)
Yes, right, many things can be done differently, better, I can name you myself a lot.
But I think there is no magic to turn a communistic country with central-power mentality of centuries into a happy democratic market place in 10 or 15 years. Mind you, in addition the country is the biggest in the world. And if you for example run from your city not to pay taxes, you'll not be found as easily as in France, right? In my opinion, there is no person who can change everything in even 8 years of the term with dozens and centuries of different life behind.
What we need - is a system of living, making our life better and taking people out of world's back garden, and this what can and should be built - fundament should be laid during the given term.
It's being done somehow, but the question what direction it takes. It's not like Europe or US democracy, but who said it's the only right way?
I'd not call modern Russia living in totalitar regime, if you think so, you don't know what real totalitarism is (as our countries learned with Stalin)
However, if even autocracy is needed in transitory times, I don't want to live with it forever, and many problems should be addressed.
I personally think that fight corruption is much more important that to fight Georgia.
But at the end, it's people's choice - and people choose Putin today and would choose him tomorrow. Whatever else the rest of the world thinks.
We, Russians, always think that we must have our own way :)
Media in Russia.
There is an agreed intl opinion that there is no independent TV in the country, but situation is better with newspapers, magazines etc. I'd say it's pretty much true, and that means that people have sources of different views if they want to listen to them. Many things should be discussed more, but the problem is not in access to the information. Our problem is that there is no action after the information is given to people. Yes, media wrote about an issue with Sakhalin - but nothing happens until the state has interest to protect. People as a nation do not know/want to do something, if it doesn't concern them personally. The strongest and probably only protest I can remember was about a law on privileges that could potentially make situation of unprotected classes even worse.
The problem is not in having information, this can be solved; the problem is that people don't care much. And that is more important.
Politovskaya's assassination.
I do want this to be solved and cleared, as any crime done to a person. But telling you the truth, vast-vast majority of people, including myself, heard of her for the first time in a news about the assassination itself. Not to be too hard, but too much then to think of a journalist as "consciousness of a nation", if the nation haven't heard of her/him. She was more known in Moscow circles, and this way too far to the rest of the country. I'd call others this title, others that out provocative questions even on TV and question the current by doing some concrete steps.
And without the facts it's paranoid to think about "Kremlin hand" in everything; for Kremlin it would be easier if Politkovskaya continued her works, rather then to face public accusations with a threat of trust decrease.
I'd put it in such a way: I want militia to follow all crimes as well as they do in public cases. I want Politkovskaya's assassination to be opened, but not less I want an assassination of a woman in a small town to be opened.
Putin's Russia.
It is naïve to think that Putin is the only one deciding Russia's way now. As naïve as to think, that Lenin was the only reason to the revolution in 1917, that Bush is the only reason of war in Iraq.
Yes, Putin is a face of Russia now; this is what president does. And is the first conscious face after Yeltsin's decade that was an anarchy. I personally think that "West" as we call it here, doesn't like Putin much 'cause he is not the one that was expected after Yeltsin, and not as convenient.
To tell you the secret - majority of Russia's population sincerely supports Putin and would like him to stay for the third term (which he won't do, he'd rather be the head of the opposition then hehe)
Yes, right, many things can be done differently, better, I can name you myself a lot.
But I think there is no magic to turn a communistic country with central-power mentality of centuries into a happy democratic market place in 10 or 15 years. Mind you, in addition the country is the biggest in the world. And if you for example run from your city not to pay taxes, you'll not be found as easily as in France, right? In my opinion, there is no person who can change everything in even 8 years of the term with dozens and centuries of different life behind.
What we need - is a system of living, making our life better and taking people out of world's back garden, and this what can and should be built - fundament should be laid during the given term.
It's being done somehow, but the question what direction it takes. It's not like Europe or US democracy, but who said it's the only right way?
I'd not call modern Russia living in totalitar regime, if you think so, you don't know what real totalitarism is (as our countries learned with Stalin)
However, if even autocracy is needed in transitory times, I don't want to live with it forever, and many problems should be addressed.
I personally think that fight corruption is much more important that to fight Georgia.
But at the end, it's people's choice - and people choose Putin today and would choose him tomorrow. Whatever else the rest of the world thinks.
We, Russians, always think that we must have our own way :)
The best recent reading - GapingVoid
0 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Monday, November 06, 2006 at 11:40 PM.
It's amazing-amazing-amazing!!!
I found a guide by Hugh "HOW TO BE CREATIVE", on GapingVoid.com
(courtesy to Tom through whose blog I got the link to it; and see a badge on the side of my blog)
Despite the name "How to be creative", this piece of thoughts is much broader - about life so much!.. A bit of an extract for a taste:
The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to change the world.
If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.
Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
The best way to get approval is not to need it.
Power is never given. Power is taken.
All those points have a picture and some lines about it, some phrases that caught me - below
The only people who can change the world are people who want to. And not everybody does.
To me, it's about what YOU are going to do with the short time you have left on this earth
It was the fact that somehow while playing around with something new, suddenly they found themselves able to put their entire selves into it.
Put your whole self into it, and you will find your true voice. Hold back and you won't. It's that simple
You can't love a crowd the same way you can love a person. And a crowd can't love you the way a single person can love you.
Suddenly it's no longer about "becoming". Suddenly it's about "doing".
"How to be creative" resembles some very much useful answers on the purpose, mission and what to do with that :)
Some of points are those that you told to yourself, but it's good to read them in a well-put manner; some - that you could argue with; other thoughts are like discovery - "Evrika, that's true!!!" And the whole writing/guide for me is one of best collections of thoughts I've ever read, I feel similar about so many things!..
Good to keep "HTC" on a work table to get back to once in a while :) One of those cases when a guy helps much more people than he thinks... Thanks Hugh!
I found a guide by Hugh "HOW TO BE CREATIVE", on GapingVoid.com
(courtesy to Tom through whose blog I got the link to it; and see a badge on the side of my blog)
Despite the name "How to be creative", this piece of thoughts is much broader - about life so much!.. A bit of an extract for a taste:
The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to change the world.
If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.
Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
The best way to get approval is not to need it.
Power is never given. Power is taken.
All those points have a picture and some lines about it, some phrases that caught me - below
The only people who can change the world are people who want to. And not everybody does.
To me, it's about what YOU are going to do with the short time you have left on this earth
It was the fact that somehow while playing around with something new, suddenly they found themselves able to put their entire selves into it.
Put your whole self into it, and you will find your true voice. Hold back and you won't. It's that simple
You can't love a crowd the same way you can love a person. And a crowd can't love you the way a single person can love you.
Suddenly it's no longer about "becoming". Suddenly it's about "doing".
"How to be creative" resembles some very much useful answers on the purpose, mission and what to do with that :)
Some of points are those that you told to yourself, but it's good to read them in a well-put manner; some - that you could argue with; other thoughts are like discovery - "Evrika, that's true!!!" And the whole writing/guide for me is one of best collections of thoughts I've ever read, I feel similar about so many things!..
Good to keep "HTC" on a work table to get back to once in a while :) One of those cases when a guy helps much more people than he thinks... Thanks Hugh!
Winter is coming... To check in 27 years!
3 Comments Published by Svetlana Zhukova on Saturday, November 04, 2006 at 7:01 PM.
It's sooooo cold now here, in Belarus!
Well, may be not too cold as it gets really in winter (then it will be -20 and sharp wind with small cutting snow, brrrr!)
But it seems after a year in Netherlands with quite mild climate in comparing to my places, and traveling all year round to warm countries, I became non-tolerant to the cold.
It's snowing and windy outside, with -3 or even lower temperature; and I'm going out of my house once in 5 days (good if even that!). Just look:
What will I do when it gets to REAL winter…
I should definitely spend my life somewhere in Mediterranean, seriously - and I can come home for New Year, 'cause there should be snow for a real New Year… I'd be well off with 2 weeks of winter and snow I think :)
(when I'm about 50, I should come back to this post and leave a comment on what's actually happening and where I'm living :))))
You know what helps people in our places (Belarus, Russia and other countries with similar climate) survive those months of cold winter?
The feeling that there will be spring :)
It would be too boring to live without changing seasons...
How, do you say, is the weather in Mediterranean? :)
Well, may be not too cold as it gets really in winter (then it will be -20 and sharp wind with small cutting snow, brrrr!)
But it seems after a year in Netherlands with quite mild climate in comparing to my places, and traveling all year round to warm countries, I became non-tolerant to the cold.
It's snowing and windy outside, with -3 or even lower temperature; and I'm going out of my house once in 5 days (good if even that!). Just look:
What will I do when it gets to REAL winter…
I should definitely spend my life somewhere in Mediterranean, seriously - and I can come home for New Year, 'cause there should be snow for a real New Year… I'd be well off with 2 weeks of winter and snow I think :)
(when I'm about 50, I should come back to this post and leave a comment on what's actually happening and where I'm living :))))
You know what helps people in our places (Belarus, Russia and other countries with similar climate) survive those months of cold winter?
The feeling that there will be spring :)
It would be too boring to live without changing seasons...
How, do you say, is the weather in Mediterranean? :)
