My first thoughts about Greece

I absolutely cannot claim that I know or have understood all of this country. Not by far!

But I must write this, because there have been some moments in my few experiences here when I really felt there is something special about Greece. Well, there is something special about every place on Earth, but it’s not always easy to put your finger on it, is it? Moreover, I have only been a tourist in Greece, so… my contacts with it have been limited.

Mount Olympus

From a tourist’s experience, however, this place feels like a certain combination of the elements which – I don’t know how I can say this, but it probably feels like ambrosia? You know, the Gods’ drink that humans did not have access to? Well, sometimes when you are really feeling Greece, I think you have a chance to come very close to the Gods. It’s not by chance that some of the most "famous" Gods resided here and not everybody could create such fabulous stories about the Gods like the Greeks did. After all, their mythology became known all over the world.

Almost everywhere you walk around in Greece, you will find some remnants of a temple, a prehistoric site, a mythical creature's story, a monastery... Along with this everlasting presence of the past, there is a modern-day world here: again, an interesting combination of old and new, visible both in the surroundings and among people. A bit like in the Romanian villages, where you see a young man dressed like a rapper and at the next house, an old woman wearing her old skirt and a plain scarf tied to cover her hair.

Nowadays in Thessaloniki

This is to cut a long story short, also because I know there is still so much more to discover here...

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Today I entered the shape of the waves,

I merged with the sea,

I felt the ground beneath my feet

And the air breathe inside me.

There was wind, too, wind howling around the mountain

Where the Gods kept the fire and humans became strong enough to take it,

use it,

keep it.

Yes, humans are strong here, like the rocks,

like the taste of salt in the water,

but sometimes easy like the air...

And sooo beautiful!

Oh, God, some Greek women are the image I have of goddesses

and some of their men I feel I could worship for centuries!

I haven’t even set my food on Mount Olympus yet, but those of you who have can probably say even more about what it feels like to enter the world of the Gods. Have you paid attention? Because to me, being at the sea in Greece feels like always bridging these two worlds: the human and the super-human. It is different on the mainland, but by the sea it’s a unique combination of sounds, tastes, colours, speed(s), soul(s), essences of different worlds. And I don’t mean Heaven and Hell, but something totally different, as if we, the people of the Earth, could for the blink of an eye become something we have only just imagined.

But have we??

The Free Woman * Femeia liberă

The Free Woman; “I am Lilith”

Like everything in this Universe, Freedom has a cost. It does not matter whether you are a man or a woman, in fact, you pay a price to be/feel free (sometimes it is more about being, other times it is more about how you feel). To me, real freedom is really a combination of these two, which in their turn arise from so many layers of self, history, culture etc.

Feeling free is an individual matter, for each of us has her/his own concept of freedom. Is this a continuous state? It can be, I think. Although sometimes our own humanity will render us subject to various beliefs, ideas, concepts, desires etc. Which is beautiful, because it turns the world around and helps us grow and learn! Thus we remember that things are always in movement and change is always happening 😉.

But I am a woman and I carry with me the her-story of women on this planet. It is a painful story sometimes, but it also talks of strength and courage and a certain kind of energy. The energy that flows and brings things together, the energy that gives life and comforts, like a cosy home.

The woman who allows herself to be free and walk the Earth in dignity is likely to have many enemies, for she is able to show her light and dark sides equally. She will probably be rejected and blamed for being so very different, so very Other, for not obeying, for misleading men into sin, for expressing herself as She is, honestly, without restrictions, for sometimes leaving her children unattended… Yes, a woman who has discovered herself and opened up to the World can feel pain and cause pain, sometimes; it can be painful to step into the unknown and leave some part(s) of you behind along the way . It can also hurt others, because this is never an individual process. When you change, the whole world changes with you.

People have called her Lilith, thought she was wild, untamed and they often talked about her as a demon, a witch, the dark side of womanhood, everything we, in our cultured societies, have always been rejecting in women, because it did not help build or keep some social order. And chaos is unbearable, unacceptable. Yet, chaos is part of us and darkness is inside of us together with light.

How many women, during a lifetime on Earth, allow themselves to be this woman? How many women feel free to BE outside of social norms, of the expectations that their families and society have of them? Probably a bit more women nowadays than before, which I personally am happy about. So yes, take this step, girls, you are on your paths and you ARE wonderful!

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Libertatea femeii, sau “Eu sînt Lilith”

Ca orice în acest Univers, totul are un preț, chiar și libertatea. Și nu contează dacă ești femeie sau bărbat, plătești acest preț ca să te simți sau ca să fii liber(ă) – uneori e mai mult despre cum ești și alteori despre cum te simți. Pentru mine, adevărata libertate e o combinație între cele două, care și ele vin din atâtea straturi de sine, istorie, tradiție etc.

Cum fiecare din noi își are propria idee despre libertate, a te simți liber e o chestiune foarte personală. E oare o stare continua? Cred că poate fi, deși uneori faptul că sîntem oameni ne face să devenim supușii atâtor concepte, idei, dorințe etc. Ceea ce e absolut frumos, căci întoarce complet lumea și ne ajută să creștem și să învățăm. Iar astfel ne amintim că lucrurile sînt mereu în mișcare și într-o continua schimbare 😉.  

Dar eu sînt femeie și port cu mine povestea tuturor femeilor de pe această planetă. Uneori e o poveste dureroasă, dar care vorbește totodată despre forță și curaj și despre un anume fel de energie. Energia care curge și aduce lucrurile la un loc, energia care dă viață și liniștește, ca sentimentul de acasă.

Femeia care își permite să fie liberă și să pășească demnă pe Pământ probabil că are mulți dușmani, căci ea își arată atât latura luminoasă cât și pe cea întunecată. Probabil că va fi respinsă și acuzată pentru că e atât de diferită, atât de Altfel, pentru că nu se supune, pentru că îi duce pe bărbați în păcat, pentru că se exprimă așa cum este EA, sincer și fără restricții, sau pentru că uneori nu are destulă grijă de copiii ei… Da, femeia care s-a descoperit pe ea și s-a deschis cu adevărat către Lume poate simți durere și poate să-i rănească pe alții; e dureros să pășești în necunoscut și să lași în urmă părți din tine. Și ceilalți pot suferi, căci acesta nu e niciodată un process individual. Atunci când te schimbi, lumea întreagă se schimbă o data cu tine.

Oamenii i-au spus Lilith, au considerat-o sălbatică și adesea au vorbit despre ea ca despre un demon, o vrăjitoare, latura întunecată a femeii, care întrupează tot ceea ce noi, în societățile noastre culturale, am respins mereu la femei, pentru că nu susținea sau nu construia o anume ordine socială. Iar haosul este greu, imposibil, inacceptabil. Și totuși, haosul e parte din noi, așa cum e și întunericul, alături de lumină.

Câte femei oare, în viața lor pe Pământ, și-au permis să fie această femeie? Câte femei se simt libere să FIE, în afara oricăror norme sociale, a așteptărilor familiilor lor, a societății? Probabil că tot mai multe, de fapt, azi decât ieri, ceea ce pe mine una mă bucură. Așa că: DA, fetelor, faceți acest pas, căci vă duce pe drumul vostru și sînteți minunate!