The Zahir - Paulo Coelho

One of my friends told me, when I was complaining about not knowing what to put on this blog , that I should put my comments about the books I read, and I did it once and now I don't know what to say about this book, the plot is not great but it really doesn't matter much , what is great is the way the author describes how a long term relationship like marriage can fall apart and why. There is so much truth in what he is saying that reading it is painful sometimes.
I asked myself "would you read this book again in a few years?" and the answer in "no", but I bought it, because I know a few people who should read it.

You know that daily question "how are you ?" and the answer automaticaly comes "I'm OK" , this is how this book is "OK".

Who's your friend?

It is a saying “tell me who’s your friend and I will tell you who you are”, and I always tend to get into long debates trying to prove that isn’t true, but it is.
It’s like a reflection of what they are on your soul, I look at my friend, and I see her being warm, nice and I think that I am the same and this makes me feel good, but the worst is when your friend is mean, unkind and then following this logic the conclusion is that I am the same and that makes me feel miserable.
If somebody makes you feel bad is not your friend , right?

Reading Saramago's Blindness

Amazing book wrote in a very original Saramago way, a book about "seeing" versus "understanding". Did you ever imagined yourself and all people around you going blind? how life would be then? how things important today when we can "see" can become totally non important when we don't see, how people can terrorize others in any conditions , how life can be like in a horror movie when things are getting out of control. Whatever the answer is I am sure you can't imagine the world described by Saramago in this brilliant fiction book.


I do recommend this book to all of you who read Camus Plaque or Garbriel Garcia Marquez fictions and you liked them, and to all of you who want to understand why we can't see the same shade of white.

"I don't think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see"

EllaBella

Hi , my name is EllaBella and I am a girl, I like to eat chocolate ,strawberries , bread and butter and I love bedtime stories, my mom reads them for me because I am little and I don't know how to read yet. I love those stories, they have good endings, most of them are about little animals having little friends and solving together little problems, and I learned that the problem you have is as big as you are. I have a small problem because I am small too , I had a friend, he was a butterfly, I gave him chocolate and he liked it , I gave him strawberries and he liked it , he even liked bread and butter and he loved my mom's bedtime stories, but one day I couldn't find him anymore, do you know where he is? Did you see by any chance a nice butterfly trying to have a bite out of your chocolate or bread and butter or listening to people stories? If yes, please take care of him now that you know what he likes.

many thanks
EllaBella

Walking back

She was running, she looked down, her feet were stuck tightly to the ground, she closed her eyes and she was running.

In her run she saw her friends but she did not stop "I will be back soon " she was waving and she kept running away, she saw her dad - "wow, I miss you so much" she said, but no reply came and she just kept running, she was passing by houses, buildings, cars, mountains, she could even fly high to the sky is she wanted to, but she didn't want to.

”I have to get there ..., I have to reach that place before I get lost ...", and she kept running , it was cold, dark and raining, and at one moment she just stopped running she FOUND it , she found the place, it was a nice lifeless place , just dark ground , no plants , no flowers ,nothing around. She sat down , looked around , opened her left palm , made a little hole in the ground and put the only thing she was holding in her palm in it , a THOUGHT, she laid back put her hand under her head and waited , watching the sky and waiting , and suddenly the thought bloomed , and everything changed, the place wasn't dark and sterile anymore it transformed itself in a beautiful garden , a white garden , all the flowers were white , she stood up, she cried and start walking back.

The End

Debate on schooling

Poate daca iti scrii parerile o sa fie mai usor de combatut, sau poate mai usor de inteles.

Scoala si de ce e bine sa mergi la scoala

- pentru un copil in primii ani de viata e foarte important sa-ti intareasca sistemul imunitar , ce loc mai buni sa culegi toti microbii din lume decat scoala cunoasteti?

- a face parte dintr-un grup in care toti membrii sunt de varsta ta , toti vorbesc si se poarta ca si tine si care nu iti face observatii de genul 'puneti jerseul mama ca e frig"

- nu e loca mai bun decat scoala sa inveti si sa intelegi diferite culturi , poti citit sute de carti despre cultura chineza, americana sau hindusa dar o sa- intelegi mai bine daca o sa incerci sa-i cunosti

- scoala e miniatura a ceea ce adultii numesc "societate", unde altundeva poti mai bine sa intri in contact si sa stii sa-i recunosti mai tarziu caractere umane ca : mincinosi, ambitiosi , fraieri , lasi , conducatori , condusi ai ocazia sa realizezi ce esti unde vrei sa ajungi

- consider ca daca e sa inveti orice materie e mai bine sa o faci de la un om care a studiat subiectul ani de zile si stie ce vorbeste .


- iti faci prieteni si vorbesc aici de adevarati prieteni pe care ii ai toata viata , si asta pentru ca facand parte din acelasi group/clasa ai aceleasi preocupari aceleasi probleme aceleasi plangeri , inveti cum sa-ti prezinti si sa-ti sustii parerile

Home schooling

- sunt multe cazuri in care asa ceva este necesar, sau e o solutie, ca de exemplu copilul nu poate sa mearga la o scoala din diferite motive , sau parintele are o educatie pedagogica la baza si e capabil sa faca aa ceva , dar in acest debate nu e vorba de cat de bine cineva invata matematica acasa versus matematica la scoala ci e vorba de ce toti copilul ar fi bine sa merga la scoala.

- chiar daca un parinte are posibilitatea si banii sa ofere facilitati mult mai meseriase decat scoala totusi nu poate oferi copilului socialul pe care scoala il ofera ( vezi capitolul anterior :-) )

Free education

- na asta mi se pare de categoria SF, stiu ca aceasta afirmatie o sa-mi aduca multe critici dar sincer acuma , nu vad cum un copil fara sa fie intrumat de cineva o sa ajunga sa aiba un minim de cunostinte cand ajunge la maturitate

- consider totusi ca asa ceva e posibil in perioada in care copilul ajunge la universitate si dupa cateva cursuri realizeaza ca el este interesat in cu totul altceva , renunta la educatia universitara si porneste pe propriul drum , invata pe cont propriu - Bill Gats, Larry Ellison si inca multi altii :)


Personality- is the sum total of what a person is- behaviours, thoughts and feelings- that endures throughout life.

- stau de cateva minute si ma gandesc cum scoala pe care am facut-o mi-a distrus personalitate ? am facut scoala in perioada reposatului intr-o societate in care parerile personale nu erau bine venite deci si scoala era ca si societatea. Scoala nu era curioasa de parerile noastre vroia doar sa ne prezinte parerile ei , asta ar fi trebuit sa ma transforme azi intr-o persoana care nu are nici o parere sau daca are nu e in stare sa si-o spuna (totusi nu cred ca sunt asa ).

Astept pareri , opinii , nu ma deranjeaza polemicile si nu le iau personal , doar ca uneori ma obosesc :)

"never trust anybody who doesn't have an opinian" McEnroe - Rolland Garros 2007


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Octavian Paler – Romanian writer

I remember reading his books as a young teenager (and as an old one too :)); trying to understand his philosophy, looking for deeper meaning in each word he used and when I received the bad news that he passed away this month (May 7 2007) and I started getting emails with “his last interview”, “his last article” … I remembered this poem, I totally forgot about it for a long time. I recall those days when I was trying to understand the “I learned…” part and probably being young and without much life experience I did not understand it :)
Because I did not find any translation of this poem I decided to translate it for you, my friends. Enjoy.

I learned by Octavian Paler

We have time ...
We have time for everything
To sleep, or to be all over the place,
To regret mistakes and do them again,
To judge others and find excuses for ourselves,

We have time to read and write,
To correct our writings, and regret what we wrote,
We have time to make plans and never complete them,
We have time to fantasize about impossible things
and later on to look into the ashes of them.

We have time for ambitions and diseases,
To blame fate and the details,
We have time to watch the clouds, TV commercials and shocking news,
We have time to not answer questions,
To postpone the answers,
We have time to kill a dream and recreate it later
We have time to make friends, and lose them
We have time to get lessons and forget them later on,
We have time to get gifts and not understand them.
We have time for everything.

But we don’t have time for a little kindness.
When one does they are dying.

I learned some important things in my life and I would like to share them with you.
I learned that you can not make somebody love you
All you can do is to be a lovely person
the rest … depends on others.
I learned that it does not matter how much I care
others don’t.
I learned that it takes years to win somebody’s trust
and it takes just a few seconds to lose it.
I learned that doesn’t matter what you HAVE in life
all that matters is with WHOM you have it
I learned that in the first 15 min you can impress somebody by using your charm
after that you have to come up with something smart.
I learned that you don’t have to compare yourself with what other people are best at
you have to find out what is your best
I learned that it does not matter what happens to people
what matters is what I can do to help.

I learned that each episode has two faces
I learned you should part lovingly from those you love
It may be the last time you have the opportunity to see that person


I learned that you can run a long time after you said that you are exhausted
I learned that heroes are people who do the right thing
when it is needed
not caring about the consequences

I learned that there are people that love you
but they do not know how to show it
I learned that when I am upset I have the right to be upset
but I do not have the right to be mean

I learned that you can have long distance friendships
the same applies to love
I learned that if somebody does not love you like you wish
It does not mean he or she does not love you from the bottom of their heart
He or she will occasionally hurt you
And you will forgive it.

I learned that it is not enough to forgive others
sometimes you have to forgive yourself
I learned that regardless how much you are suffering
the world will not stop
I learned that your past can have an impact on your personality
but you are responsible for what you are going to become
I learned that, if two people get into a fight

it does not mean they do not love each other
And the fact that they do not fight does not mean they love each other.
I learned that sometimes you have to put the person first and not their actions
I learned that two people can see different sides of the same incident
I learned that indifferent of the consequences
those who are honest with themselves are the winners in life
I learned that your life can be changed by strangers in a few hours.
I learned that when you think you have nothing to give
your friend can call for help, and you will find the strength to help him

I learned that talking and writing can help to heal your pain.
I learned that you spend too little time with people you love the most…

I learned that is very hard to know when to be nice
so you do not hurt people but you still sustain your opinions

I learned to love so I can be loved in return