When a lockdown opens doors

At first there is panic. 
At first there is fear.
How am I going to cope with the obligation of staying at home basically 24/7?
What if the virus decides to knock at my door? 
What if it pays a visit to my family and friends as well?

Questions. Questions. Questions.
And not many answers. Not from Day 1.

And then you slowly start calming down.
You pause.
You stop and try to think it through.
You decide to figure it out. Somehow. There must be a way. 

You know that there will be sad news on the television every morning and every night.
You know that you will be overfed with information and that it will be exhausting.
You know that you will hear ambulances passing by outside a few times per day.
You know that there will be empty streets in your town.
You know that people will be looking at each other as if we were all enemies.
You know that you will feel like in a “Walking Dead” series if you finally decide to go for that
healthy walk outside.
You know that you will feel isolated at some point, even though you are not alone.
You know that there will be a lot of noise and silence at the same time.

But…
You also know that you don’t have to let it all invade your system and your life.
There are things you have no impact on. And this COVID-19 war is one of them. So just do
your best and relax! 
Enjoy this pause in your hectic life and do things for which you usually don’t have that much
time, if any.
Take a moment and try to see the world around you in different colors.

And maybe only then will you see that…
… life is short, time is precious and the moments lost are to be lost forever
… that message you were meaning to write or a call to make for so long - now is the perfect
time to do that!
… there are people, either close by or far away, who really care about you and will be
checking on you every day
… your significant other is a perfect guy to be with in a lockdown, or rather: he’s perfect
in general, it’s as simple as that! (yeah, you’re definitely in love girl!)
… change of the everyday environment, or rather being in the same one all the time, can be
a great trigger for new conversations, for questions you have never asked before, for ideas
you have never had before
… moving out from your apartment temporarily, with only some clothes and a few every-day
objects that you like, will help you realize that you’ve accumulated so much stuff at your place
which you actually don’t need
… that Chinese game of mahjong, that your boyfriend was trying to convince you to play
for months - that it’s actually pretty cool! And a great intellectual activity for the normally lazy
Sunday afternoons!
… those small details of the daily life you were too busy to see - they actually exist! (yes,
indeed, birds do sing)
… these “strange” times we live in are not some kind of attack on our liberty, but rather a box
of opportunities, an open door which welcomes you in, offering you space and time for your
creativity, your learning and your peace of mind…

It’s only up to you how you will live through these weeks of lockdown. Nobody will live them
for you. So please treat this time well. So that on D-Day, when we will all come out, you will be
able to tell yourself: I made it! And I didn’t waste a second of it!

Be good to yourself and most of all: take a good care of yourself and those around you!

2019 - Thank you! 2020 - I'll do my best not to disappoint you!

I think it’s never too late to write a thank you note to the year that has just passed. Even beginning of March is still acceptable. Don’t you think?

As long as 2015 was one of the hardest, if not THE hardest of all my lived years so far, 2019 was just the exact opposite. Or at least that’s what I thought in the beginning.
… 2019 put me in the place I had been dreaming of for years
… 2019 made me believe that true love doesn’t happen only in books and movies, that I can also write my own love story and make a romantic comedy of my own life
… 2019 helped me to understand that there are people I don’t really need in my life, that there are places I don’t need to go to if I don’t feel like, that there are things I don’t really need to do if I simply don’t want to
… 2019 made me a strong and self-confident woman
… 2019 was a great year, until it was not…

With the Autumn leaves and Winter snowflakes falling, my strength and self-confidence fell dramatically as well. Maybe it was just the usual seasonal disorder, maybe just lack of some vitamins, maybe a burn-out (or almost), or maybe something else. Whatever that was, or I should rather say: whatever that is, as it is still there, I hope 2020 will be the year of me getting back to who I used to be before that Autumn 2019. I hope that with the help of some good human beings, as well from the inside as from the outside of my circle of people, I’ll make it. I’ll listen more carefully to myself, to my needs, my feelings and my desires. I’ll get myself back on my feet, I’ll stand on the solid ground, I’ll have the courage to make some bold decisions and never look back. I’ll fight for myself as long as it will be necessary. Because I don’t really like the person I am today, I miss the “old” Anna and I hope she’ll be back soon.

Dear 2020,
We still have a long way to go together. I still have a long way in the process of fixing what has gone wrong with me in the last months. But I do hope, I do believe you can be another great year of my life. A lot will depend on me, I know that, as nobody will live my life for me. Fortunately, I’ve been blessed with the people that are with me every day, and who want to see me feeling better as well, so in the end - I think I will be ok!

L'amour

(Ecrit lors de l'atelier d'écriture en juillet 2019)

L’amour…

Qu’est-ce que c’est l’amour? Le vrai?

… C’est le cœur qui se réveille au printemps après le gros sommeil de l’hiver

… C’est une grosse bouffée d’oxygène, après des relations compliquées et étouffantes

… C’est le respect, la confiance et la générosité

… C’est le sourire au petit matin et un rire fou le soir

… C’est le câlin et le parfum laissé sur l’oreiller

… Ce sont les mots qui se croisent, sans prises de tête inutiles

… C’est le “oui” et le “non”, toujours dans la bonne humeur

… C’est le chocolat au lait - la meilleure drogue dont on ne peut pas se passer

… Ce sont les yeux qui pétillent quand on prononce son prénom

… C’est un coin de paradis, l’endroit le plus beau du monde

(Un)Human Relations

(Text originally written in August 2018)

I am sure you will agree with me when I say that we live in the times where we are constantly over-connected digitally and under-connected in our most important relationships. The human relationships. Or at least the ones which are considered human by default. 

The other day I was having lunch alone in a restaurant and I did what I enjoy doing most in these situations: I watched the people sitting at the other tables. What a great spot to observe the humanity! And what a great opportunity to realize that we can easily become the technology slaves... There was a couple at a table in front of me who did something which simply astonished me. I was like: Whaaaat?! Once the waiter brought their big platter with the seafood (it looked pretty amazing though!), they both stood up and each of them made a picture of it with their own phone. I almost fell off my chair, asking myself: why the heck couldn’t they make this photo with just one phone and then send it to each other? I mean, that’s what I would do. I tend to keep my phone away in my bag when I am having a meal with somebody, and I am not crazy about “food porn” either, so I would let the other person do the pic if she really wants to. Well, unless I am on holidays with my best friend and I am the one responsible for capturing all the moments we spend together. That would be different, right?

There were not many people at the restaurant that day, but I did notice another behavior, this one not involving technology though. There was one couple, in their fifties I guess, who would barely talk to each other during the whole meal. At some point I thought: thank God they are there to eat and can at least exchange a bit about each course they are both having. Because, honestly, each time they were waiting for the waiter to bring the food, there was a complete silence at their table. Personally I found that scary! I remember texting a friend, explaining the whole situation, and saying that I would not like to end up my in a couple life like this. I had already known that my future life partner would have to be somebody with whom I would never get bored and could spend hours just talking, but that lunch was a striking confirmation: I DEFINITELY don’t want that kind of life for myself!

Friendship

(Text originally written in summer 2018)

One day I noted in my notebook: “The world has quite the magical way of placing the most random, yet necessary, people in our lives”. I call those people Friends, with big F. 

Friendships come to our lives holding many faces, many ages and many circumstances. We make friends at school and later on at work. Childhood friendships can stick with us till our adult life or they can slowly disappear with time, giving space to the new ones. Friends of our friends can become our friends as well. Sometimes we can be surprised with somebody turning into our “people” when we least expect it from her. And many times, those are the most precious ones…

My first best friend was my Mom. And she actually still is. When I was young, my girlfriends at the time used to get very surprised when I was saying how close I am with my Mom. They would find it odd that I was able to share with her basically everything. So sometimes I would even prefer not to reveal that, cause I didn’t want to be mocked. My girlfriends of today, who are responsible and adult women, tend to be even a little jealous about my so close relationship with the one who gave me life, the greatest gift of all times. My friends today say it is really rare to be able to be so sincere with your Mother, as they themselves never had this kind of relationship with theirs. Those are the moments which make me proud, and I am sure my Mom is proud as well of what she has managed to build with me through all those years, especially that our mother-daughter bond is not exactly the same as she had with her own mother, to say it least.

But my Mom is not only the one who knows everything about my life, every little secret, every love story, every break-up (which, I must say, always breaks her heart a bit as well), every success and every failure. She is also the first one I call when something cheerful happens to me, and the first one to hear me crying when I feel sad. She is the one giving me a piece of advice whenever I need it, and I am always astonished at how right she usually is. The eternal power of a mother I suppose? Sometimes we call each other just to say hello, to wish each other “a nice day”, and sometimes just to say “I love you” - words she taught me to say without fear, but with confidence, and always from the bottom of my heart. Each year, for my birthday, she calls me at exactly 11 a.m., that is the hour I was born on a cold winter Friday in January 1984. Each year as well, she calls me on my name’s day in July, and on the Children’s Day in June. Those are our little mommy-and-her-girl routines, but they truly bring joy and make those days special and unforgettable…

So, what is it exactly that makes two people Friends with big F?

Well, the first important ingredient is time. Real  friendship doesn’t happen overnight. It requires months, sometimes years, of hard work, good care, patience and passion. And those need to remain constant, otherwise it is very easy to lose a friend, and that loss can actually happen overnight. 

For the true bonding to happen, there must be trust, honesty, full attention, and a little bit of fun and affection too. It requires being there for your person when she needs it, whether it is to laugh or to cry. It also means being there when your friend does not ask for you, but the strong connection you have gives you the ability to feel when your presence would be mostly appreciated, you just know when you need to get in that car or jump on that subway and listen to her story, hold her hand when she cries, and hold your belly when you both laugh like crazy. Yes my friend, that is what it really takes…

Life goes on and we evolve with the passing time. Those who were still our friends a few years ago - might not be them anymore today. And this is completely normal. Before you used to ride the same train, in the same direction and in the same pace. Then at some point some of your friends got out at one of the stations, and you continued the journey. You might have also got out in the same time as they did, but just to change the train and continue the ride in a different direction. Those few precious ones stayed in touch, sporadically or on a more regular basis. But still, you can feel your relationship is not the same as it used to be. Times change, and people change too. And there is nothing you can do about it. What you can do though is hold on tight to the Friends you have right now, as they are surely not going anywhere for at least a little while... 

Relationships

(Text originally written in Spring 2018)

Human relationships are like chemical compounds: some people, just like chemical elements, go well together, and some - don’t. Just like hydrogen, when linked to oxygen, can turn into water, which is the source of life, a man and a woman, when living in harmony, they can create a new human being. Magic? Maybe just a little bit. But it’s mostly the mother nature who decided the things to be this way. And in the same time, that same nature allows that when you link certain elements together - they can constitute a dangerous compound, a chemical bomb, a killing weapon. It’s not magic anymore, it’s reality.

It is basically impossible to go through life alone. It is inevitable to be dependent on somebody or have somebody depend on us at some point or the other. The world is not a bunch of closed boxes, one box for one person, completely disconnected, with no attachment whatsoever. The environment we live in is a web of complex interconnections, where two people meet, connect, stay together and then separate. And this happens every minute of every day, at every corner of the street in every city in the world. 

The first relationship we ever experience in life is with our parents. They are our first friends, first teachers, first role-models. Or maybe not. Unfortunately, not everybody is lucky to be born into a loving family, where husband and wife respect each other. Maybe your father was an alcoholic and your mother was never there, staying late in the office just to avoid the burden of her wife and mother duties. But still, having experienced that kind of childhood, at least we know what family model we do not want to replicate in our future adult life. We learn the lesson the hard way, but at least we learn it. 

Then we go to school, and to a university. We make friends, but we also make our first enemies, we learn what it is to collaborate and to compete with each other. We meet our first sweetheart, then the second one, and another, and another one… We keep seeking that one true love until we finally find it. Or we don’t. We might also give up at some point and tell ourselves: the best things in life are the ones you don’t actually look for, but they will surely come when the time is right. And believe me, sooner or later, they do come and hit you by surprise, and then there is no way back. Because actually you do not want to go back where you were anymore.

The moment you enter the workforce, the real-life roller-coaster becomes your daily routine. Whatever you learned back at school about people and relationships, has now grown in power. You are careful in choosing your allies and giving trust, you put filters around you so that nobody comes to harm you. First you are lucky to have a manager who will lead you and make you grow, and then you get a boss who lacks self-confidence and spills all her frustrations on you. And then you thrive and become a leader yourself. A good leader. One that people want to follow and want to learn from. 

Life is a journey… Once we embark on it, we may never know how long it will last. We only know we would like it to continue as long as possible. And at each stage of that journey we get linked to other people. All those relationships shape us, define us, they make us - us. Every person we meet has something to offer, she is there for a reason, and we should accept that gift, whether it is good or bad...

I'm back!

Two years ago I shut down my blog. I simply had to. For reasons which I prefer to keep for myself.

Today I am happy to say that those reasons are no longer valid. What happened in the past, let’s keep it where it belongs - in the past. I am now ready to go back to my writing. To share with you again my thoughts, my experiences, my observations, my joys and my challenges.

The company I work for have recently made my portrait: to present me as their employee, what are exactly my job responsibilities, but also to present me as a person, who I really am, what I like doing outside my working hours. And it is then that I mentioned that I’ve been writing since I was 11 years old. And it made me realize that I haven’t done it for a while, that I let that great passion of mine hide somewhere at the bottom of a drawer. And that it would be probably high time to take it out.

I know that some of you have been missing my texts. But you can be sure that I’ve been missing them even more. Especially that I have a bunch of ideas to put on paper, ideas I’ve been noting down all this time, waiting for the best moment to get them out.

I have already a few texts prepared for you, and even, surprise surprise, a few poems as well. Because even though I was not writing on my blog, I did keep writing for the last two years, just for myself. And I will definitely share with you some of these pages. Maybe not all of them, because some of those texts are rather personal, and I wouldn’t like them to go public. But you will still be well served, no worries about that.

My blog has always been in English, and it will remain as such. But I do have a few texts in French, that I wrote at the “creative writing” workshop last summer, here in Paris, and I would be happy to share them with you, the French-speaking part of my audience.

And so to kick off my blog again, after two years of pause, I would like to propose to you the text in French on “Why I write?”.

Enjoy!

And… it’s really great to be back here!



* Pourquoi vous écrivez?

Mon métier ce sont les chiffres, mais ma passion ce sont les mots. Mon journal intime peut très bien le témoigner. Et ça fait vingt-quatre ans que ça dure. Vingt-quatre ans que je mets les mots sur le papier, ou sur l’écran de l’ordinateur, pour exprimer ce que je n’ose pas dire à haute voix, pour me libérer, pour exprimer ma gratitude pour la journée qui vient de s’écouler.

Et puis, quand j’arrive à retrouver des moments calmes, moments de solitude, de déconnexion complète, j’écris ce que je pense, ce que j’observe autour de moi, ce que je vis au quotidien, ce que j’ai envie de partager. Mes amis me disent que j’ai une plume facile, que ça se lit bien, surtout en anglais, et que mes petits textes leur manquent. En fait, ils me manquent à moi aussi. Me suis-je perdue un peu? Ne serait-il pas temps de dépoussiérer ces notes, dûment sauvegardées dans de petits cahiers, et leur donner enfin une vie?!

What I learned about travelling alone

We all have different reasons for travelling alone, and by travelling here I mean the personal travels, not the business trips for which we are usually obliged to travel solo.
Some of us get inspired by the Elizabeth Gilbert's book: "Eat, Pray, Love" and simply want to live the same experience as she did. Some of us were actually planning to travel with someone, but in the end it turned out that the person couldn't come with us (it was a boyfriend/girlfriend whom we broke up with just before, or it was a friend who had a sudden change of plans). Or... some of us do it just because they want to.

My reason was very simple: I WANTED to do it! I wanted to try it out and see if I like it or not, especially that I had heard so many positive opinions about it. Another important factor was that it had been quite an intense year for me, both on the professional and the personal side, and I felt I really needed some time off just with myself, to free myself from the daily-life noise, to put some thoughts in order and to simply relax...

This journey of almost 3 weeks, on the East coast of the United States, was definitely one of the best holidays I have had so far, and will most probably remain one of my best travel souvenirs. Not only thanks to the places I could visit and the people I could meet, but also because I learned a few things about myself, I discovered my limits are not actually where I thought they were (I am actually capable of more than I think!), and because I managed to surprise myself at various occasions.

If you're still hesitating whether travelling alone is actually for you, let me share with you some of the key takeaways I brought from my own solo trip this Summer.


1. It might be scary first...
And it's normal if you have fears before embarking on your first travel alone. I had them as well. I was afraid something might not go as planned, I was afraid I would meet some mean people, I thought it might be dangerous to find yourself alone in places you don't know. But most of all - I didn't want to feel too lonely. Although I am used to spending time alone, being alone far from your home was a completely different thing, and completely new.

2. ...but it's really worth it in the end!
Remember all those situations in which you found yourself and where something seemed hard until you actually did it? And when it turned out that the thing wasn't actually so hard to achieve? Well, if you know that feeling - you will most probably experience it again, and travelling solo will be one of them I'm sure! I still recall that precious moment, when I was in the plane back home from Miami, and just before falling asleep I thought: "I DID IT!". I was really proud of myself! I managed to overcome my first fears, I did it just the way I wanted and I had sooo much fun doing it! Some people were telling me: "Waow, you're so courageous to travel alone, to places you don't know!". But for me this was not about courage, it was all about the strong desire to make happen the things you really want.

3. Good planning is key.
As much as I like spontaneous turns of events, for this trip I wanted to have the least possible of unexpected situations happening to me. That is why I made sure I had everything booked before the day I left. I admit that I booked a few things in a really last-minute mode, but at least the moment I got on that plane to NYC - I knew I had everything scheduled and organized.
I don't think I have to remind you that it's good to make copies of all your important documents, in case you lose anything or it gets stolen from your handbag/backpack. I assume you already know that very well!
Another thing I did though was sending the complete schedule of my trip (exact dates and hours of all my flights, the addresses of hotels where I was staying) to my parents and a couple of friends. Just in case something happened - they would know at least where to look for me. Fortunately they didn't have to use it for the initial purpose, but they rather had fun tracking me ;)

4. Me, myself and I.
What I personnally liked most about travelling alone is that I was able to do what, when, how and where I wanted to do it. I was the only decision-maker on that trip, so whether I wanted to spend 4 hours in a museum, wander around with no real goal, sit on a bench and just read or write my journal, look at the sky and observe the world and the people around me - I was doing it. I was eating when I was hungry and not because somebody said: It's noon, we should have lunch! (especially that in US you can basically find something to eat at any time of the day, not like in France where most restaurants serve food only around the lunch and dinner time). I even went 3 times to cinema (in NYC, Washington and in Miami) - who does that on holidays, right?! Well, I did it because I COULD! And nobody was there to tell me not to go ;)

5. Digital detox or not?
When my friends learned about my "big" trip plans, the reaction of most of them was: Send pictures everyday, post them on Facebook! I knew I would make some pictures but my first idea was to actually make them public only when I come back, and during the trip just "cherish the moment" and enjoy it just for myself. But in the end it turned out that being alone on holidays and visiting all these places by myself - I actually wanted to share them with "my" people, as much as I could. So I ended up posting them every day on Facebook or sending them by texts, so that my family and friends can know where I am and what is going on with me.
One important thing I should mention: 3 weeks is quite a long period and I am an only daughter. You're probably guessing already what I will write next... Yes, I bought a US sim-card as soon as I got to NYC. Mostly for my own security, I didn't want to rely only on my French phone (and super high costs of using it if I had to), but also so that my parents can call me and I can call them whenever we want. I can tell you, hearing your parents' voices so far from home, and knowing that it makes them soooo happy to hear you - it's truly priceless! So... as long as you enjoy being alone somewhere out there in the world, please remember that there are still people who might be caring and worrying about you back at home...

6. You will meet people.
There is no doubt about it! Well, maybe you should not expect everybody on the street reaching out to you just because you are alone, but you will still get to meet really nice people, sometimes it requires just a bit of openness and a smile on your face. And then you naturally start a conversation and it just goes by itself. It can be just a waiter, a ticket seller, somebody standing in the queue with you, your Air BnB host or some really nice girls renting a room in the same house as you do - just don't be scared to talk to people, or to reply when they ask a question. Sometimes people might even ask you for directions, and then you're like: "Oh waow, I don't look like a tourist, they took me for one of the locals!". That feels very nice, I can tell you...
To those who have known me for years and who know me very well, it won't be a big surprise if I say that I am a shy person. Well, ok, I am not as shy as I was when I was 5 years old, but I am still somehow shy. The truth is, that trip "unblocked" something inside of me, I find myself more open today than I was before the holidays, I am able to talk to people (as funny as it may sound, I think you know what I mean by that), I feel more self-confident, and that is probably because when you find yourself alone in places, and when you need to ask for something because there's nobody to do that for you - you just do that! And once you do it a few times - it becomes natural, it becomes part of you, your "new" you.

7. Eating alone.
Ok, I admit, that is something I was dreading most. Sitting alone in a restaurant, with that empty seat in front of me, with nobody to actually talk to, and all those people at the tables around me just looking at me and probably feeling pity. Well, that was the image I had in my mind before the trip. What do I think now? OMG, eating alone can be really cool! First of all, you have no trouble in getting a seat, and I really enjoyed replying "Just one!" when asked "How many are you?" by the waitress. Second of all, usually you are not the only person eating alone, so in the end it's not that big of a deal, nothing extraordinary actually. And most of all - if you're a good observer, you get to observe A LOT the other people's behaviours: the families, the couples, the tourists, the locals... You see things you wouldn't probably see if you were sitting with somebody, because you would be mostly occupied talking to your dinner company.
Although in US you are mostly expected to eat quickly and go (not like in France where you can sit at a table for hours and the waiter will not be making "strange" faces to you, just waiting for you to pay and leave), and I kind of followed that cultural "obligation", I still sometimes managed to take out my journal and write, mostly while waiting for my meal. And the funny thing is - I think they sometimes thought that I can be some restaurant critic so they became suddenly  very nice with me. Especially if I mentioned just before that I'm from Paris. Haha! See how much fun you can have travelling and eating alone?


I am conscious that travelling alone is not for everyone, I truly am. But what I also know is that I wasn't sure I could do it until I actually did it. My Mom has always taught me: "Don't say you don't like something before you even try it". Well, that was mostly about food and when I was a small girl, but I think it perfectly fits many aspects of our life. Everything might seem scary before it is actually done. I believe that once you have a strong desire to do something (a bit of courage might be helpful of course), then just go and do it!

Be bold, follow your dreams and get yourself out there to the world! It's waiting just for YOU!!!

Call me CLO

You see CLO and you probably think Chief Learning Officer, right?
Well, that could be an option, but no -  I have not changed the job. I did something even better: I got a proposal to become a Chief Lego Officer for one day, and I accepted that offer with a great pleasure and big smile!

And here's how the story goes...
One day my friend Neli asks me if I would like to play as a support in one of her Good Morning Creativity's projects: a creativity room at the Station F - an amazing "nest" for innovative start-ups in Paris. I replied: of course! I'd love to! (actually I very rarely say "no" to Neli...). So I took a day off on 9th June and there I was!

And... it was awesome!
We were 5 in total: motivated, energetic and dreamy people, willing to create something for others, build it for all the generations of people who will be working in this place in the next years. We just wanted to have an impact, as simple as that.
Each of us had a different role, different tasks assigned - that's how Dream Teams work!
I helped arranging the furniture, I worked with wood (I didn't know how skilled I can be before that day!), and brought some good humour and positive attitude. But what I liked most of all was making sure all the Lego pieces are in their place and well organized in the room. Lego elements which would then facilitate the creative process & work of the teams. And I had soooo much fun!!!

By the way, did you know that you can even have Lego money??

All in all, what I wanted to say is: it is important to have some side projects in life. Your job is important, it pays your rent, your bills and makes sure your fridge is not empty. But... leaving the office for a day or two from time to time - it can only do you good. Whether you get out of the city, or help your friends with their projects, or even better - if you have some projects on your own - just do it! Life's too short to hesitate to do something cool ;)

Enjoy your life!!!

Slavery Today

When I started getting inspired for this article, at first I wanted to entitle it "Modern Slavery". And then one day I typed that phrase into Google and realized I should not use it because... actually the slavery we've known from the history books, tv and movies - it does still exist, and there are still millions of people worldwide suffering, being used for different lucrative purposes. Lucrative for their masters of course, but not for them. And this is actually not the type of slavery I wanted to write about today...

My first inspiration came when I was reading a book written by a former slave Frederick Douglass: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave". We've all seen those scenes in the movies already, but reading it from a "first-hand" source - it's a different kind of experience I think. And believe me, what you cannot see in the movie is the actual thoughts, feelings, sufferings, the real impact the slavery has on their victims, forever...

Reading about the "physical" slavery suddenly made me think of the "mental" one that we often experience in the modern times. The trap, or the traps we are put in, or that we actually sometimes put ourselves in. I think there are many of them. And each of us could think of the ones he/she is in. Today I will share with you about a few I've noticed around me.

Work.
As long as you are not an entrepreneur, working only for your own account and reporting only to yourself - you somehow remain in the master-slave relationship with your employer. And this is mostly felt in the big corporations, when people in the bottom of the hierarchy have no decision power, they are there just to respond to the orders, to meet the requirements, they're just one of the many pieces in the whole corporate machine. Sometimes you might feel like changing it, changing the world almost, you're trying to propose something new and then you just hit the wall made of people for whom changes are not good, not necessary, cause the "old" is still good and enough.

Relationships
You choose him/her - with your heart, not your reason.
You fall in love - too quickly.
You make plans for the future - so fast?
You move in together - too early.
And then you realize you're in a trap. You're in the chains of that person's love, or whatever that is. Because if you feel more like a prisoner than a happy person - that it cannot be love. And then it gets hard to get out of it, to liberate yourself. You're having mixed feelings, you don't feel courageous enough, you don't feel strong enough. That's normal. We all have to get weak in order to get stronger when the D-Day comes. And that day will finally come. And you will be able to start a new life. Yes, really, you can trust me on that.

Rules
A friend of mine once told me: "I feel like a prisoner of our society".
Who made up all those rules we need to obey every day? All those laws, regulations, prescriptions and prohibitions? Who decided there would be borders between the countries? Who said we all need to have passports and even visas, cause otherwise there's no way we can travel around the world? The World which was created billions of years ago, created free and for free. And when you see it today... It's incredible how some people turned everything upside down, how they disrespected the Mother Nature and all the treasures she has so kindly offered us...

Thoughts
And last but not least - we do easily get trapped in and by our minds. We overthink. We overanalyze. We worry too much. We predict something bad will happen, although we have usually no solid reason to think that. We basically let our thoughts eat us from the inside. We let them put us in bed for the whole day (or days) just to watch the ceiling in the bedroom and separate us from the outside world, family and friends.

So...
Now that we can do basically whatever we want, are we not slaves anymore...?