5 tips to sell your keychain

(This could be the picture of a keychain. But it is not!)

A keychain exists in your bag. Its weight makes you think that there is an explanation for the way your shoulder hurts. There is no turning back from this. You think about selling. And if you are just a little bit like me, you will go directly from thinking to action.

Step 1
Remove the keys from the chain and put them in a safe place. You might need them. This evening maybe someone will open the door for you, but given the look that the neighbour from the ground floor gave you the other day, I'd say he'd be capable of changing the letter on the block of flats, just to get you confused.

Step 2
Do a quick analysis of the keychain. On the ring there are a pink owl locket (which you know will surely bring you prosperity), a green unicorn locket (to show to the entire world that you are ready for the future as you were ready for the past) and a banana locket (fruits are cool). Should you keep or sell them?! (if so, people might think that you are heartless)

Step 3
Take an admiring look at the soon-to-be-sold keychain. This is how a proud entrepreneur feels like.

Step 4
Take a picture, write an ad and make up your mind upon whether to sell it on your Facebook page. Gelous friends cannot wait to get their hands on your property.

Step 5
You published the ad. Nothing. Not even a like or a lousy comment. It is the time for the heavy artillery. Ask a friend to hit like and share your post. The keychain is as good as sold.

This is a mere exercise. It contains steps for I believe that exercise can do good for the health. Please follow the abovementioned steps only if you have a keychain to sell. 

Surprise

They say that one should look out of the window when one has sore eyes.

I say that one should practice this as a means of relaxation. I was doing that today and if it hadn't been for the frost, I would have thought that people already got ready for Easter.

Zooming in, I could see that there were no Easter Bunny and Easter Egg, joyfully waiting for the Easter, but some plants were courageously facing the weather. 

And when is it our turn to listen?!

I don't know if you have noticed but we are in full epidemic. And not the flue one. Besides the fact that we are in a hurry... Oh, we truly are in a hurry! We do not seem to listen. Or we no longer seem to listen. We focus so much on the answer we want to give or how to turn the discussion around to a subject we consider interesting, that the meaning of the interlocutor's words fly above us without even gently touching our eardrum.

It is alarming. And also because I caught myself turning a deaf ear, while my mind was agitated, waiting for the moment when I could speak. And I was so proud about my unabated attention!

I will not put the blame on the modern era, with all its smartphones and tablets, and neither on the youth's unsteadiness. I am thinking of a new strategy - to carefully listen. And I dare you to it, also. Start from taking a step back from yourself and take one step forward, towards the speaker. Maybe I should warn you about something. The risk of discovering other opinions than yours is high. Have no fear! 

Ana Blandiana - Variations on a given topic

It's impossible not to fall under Ana Blandiana's spell. There is something in the way she gazes and utters the words that lets one know that one is in the presence of someone with extraordinary powers. The spell is cast and one's only wish is for it not to end soon.

When I was 13 years old, my father asked me about Arpagic. I stared at him for a while and then I shrugged my shoulders while letting him know that I had no idea about it. 'But what do they teach you in school?!', he asked concerned. It was then that I had heard for the first time the name of Ana Blandiana. The delight in my father's voice while talking about her stayed with me for a long time. When I first heard about the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and Resistance, I was truly moved by the initiative but did not remember the name of the founders. Years after that, when I went to visit the former political prison in Sighetul Marmației, Ana Blandiana's soft voice greeted me at the entrance and I remembered my fathers sayings.

Today, I did something nice. I read poetry. The volume 'Variations on a given topic' contains poems of rare sensitivity. The secondary subject in all the poems is death, represented as physical absence and not disappearance. The main subjects vary, though. From time to memories, promises and questions about the significance of life.

There is a border between life and death, and no communication channel. But still, some spirits are connected and remain together contrary to the seeming impossibility. We remain united only if we wish to do so. And this union must not be validated by a physical presence.

I truly recommend you to read this collection of poems because you will rediscover how it feels to get goose bumps. You will vibrate, you will smile, you will get sad and you will realize the beauty of the Romanian poetry, but mostly, the beauty of Ana Blandiana's poetry.

Be the person your dog thinks you are!

I am one of those people who believe that wandering (whether the world or just a new station than the one where one usually gets off) does wonders for one's mental sanity. It cleanses off the residues and, moreover, may be inspiring. Because one never knows what one might find on one's way.

The title of this post came from this, from the wandering. It struck me while I was gawking around, one step after the other. 

Being a dog lover, I fancied the quote. Then, I pondered on it, amused. And I discovered that it is by far more profound than I had first considered, for in its folds a couple of meanings hide, such as 'Do no harm!' and 'Be strong!' and 'Be playful!' and 'Cherish the day!'.