Thousand and One night of Your Life’s Choice
2020 started as a swift spin down. Many plans and goals, hopes and visions were forced to be put on hold. Time slipped through our fingers with the speed of waterfall and I know, many of us feel like there is no hope for this year anymore.
Many of us feel like there is nothing we can do about this year; nothing but wait till it ends.
But what about everyday counts and time irretrievability? After all, no one is responsible for your life but you.
Naturally, this challenging time made all of us, people, to, whether intentionally or not, split into two groups: one that adopts to the new time and the other that lets the worst side of the new world order to consume and break them. And though, now, when I am actually thinking about it, it somehow seems too radical and unfair, it’s what it is.
Choose your side wisely
I started from the middle. When the world sunk into panic and the pandemic took a shape of a dragon throwing fire all over the place, I was nether someone who believed there was still hope nor someone who was convinced that hoping was a coward’s way to escape the fear of what was coming next.
Then the lion part of the world was forced in lockdown and the Internet became the only connection to the outside world. And though we all are different and unique in our own way, there were only two kinds of people updating their social media pages daily; the ones who helped to grow the chaos and the others who offered their hand to anyone who needed it.
A few months later, and hundreds and hundreds of apocalyptic tweets and pictures I had to see I decided to join the side that was not advocating the apocalypse. Even though as a writer of dark world who is more than just fond of destructive realities and wild fantasies existing on the pages of countless books, I knew that the real world was not supposed to be like that.
That despite anything, we should not turn into reasonless animals, fighting each other and bringing only more chaos to already messed up world. It’s easy to fall into the trap of fear and turn into a force of discouragement, which this is exactly why we should choose our side wisely.
After all, our choice today affects who we are tomorrow.
Look for opportunities and not for proofs
Interesting, but I received at least 6 letters with detailed, selected ‘proofs’ of how actually hopeless the current situation is. I was mocked for my ‘irrational’ positivity about the future. I was despised for finding more reasons for myself to stay in the light of hope when hundreds of thousands people were dying each day.
Why, they asked, I did not care?
But is it about caring really?
For me it’s about choice.
I look for opportunities and not for proofs because believe me or not this is the only thing we as humans have control over.
Time is all we have in lockdown and it’s your choice on what to spend it.
Which book is your choice today
In one of my previous post I shared a list of great books that each of us could read during the time of quarantine.
I already tweeted about my choice: Life of Pi by Yann Martel. But because of my work where I daily have to read tons and tons of material, search through piles and piles of eBooks to consider for future translation, my experience with Life of Pi is going rather slowly.
Yet, let’s not forget about past several months which I also spent in the company of truly amazing books I am willing to share with you here today.
For those who needs some inspiration for a life change I would sincerely recommend Don’t Keep Your Day Job: How to Turn Your Passion into Your Career by Cathy Heller. Real stories about real people with real experience. I still have the audiobook saved on my playlist for the times when I really need to hear some voice of inspiration.
Another great one is Boundaries by Henry Cloud. If you are like me, having trouble in understanding the power of no and the weakness of yes, then this book should get on your ‘must read’ list right this moment.
I can be crazy in my daily life committing to the things that literally pull me down the bottom and pretend it is for my own good, and this book showed me a great perspective on how important it is to know when to say yes and how to say no.
The last but not the least today is Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis. I don’t think I need to say much about this book here because the title pretty much says it all. Easy read, touching on a deep subject that will not pass by your inner sensors of a human being.
In the addition to this rather conversational blog post, which I hope was not too long to read for you, I want to remind you, my dear reader, about the importance of your life. Your choice today affects who you are tomorrow but it also important to remember that in a long run people are the main power that shapes the world we are living. Always try to be the best version of yourself.
If you find this blog post useful, let me know by clicking on the ‘like’ button or/and leaving a comment below.
My appreciations to each and every of you.
