A walk in the park..

    A walk in the park. Sometimes it's all we have to escape from reality. I guess every city in this world has a park. Big or small, green or not there must be a central park in every city. Why? I don't know why. What I do know is that a walk in the park is the best way to find what things are really worthy finding in life. Why don't you take a stroll with me.












What is possible to meet while walking in a park?

1) Nature. Parks are usually full of trees and flowers and plants in general. A park can't be called a park without some kind of flora in it. There are parks in the world entirely covered by beautiful and rare plants. And others with just a small part of them. But surely there is nature in every park.

2) Water. Maybe it does not happen in every park but water is an element that beautifies central parks. Fountains,lakes,ponds,rivers or any other kind of water is generously located in many if not all parks.

3) Animals. From squirrels to leased dogs taken out for a walk by their "bosses", parks are alive due to the presence of animals. Bugs, rodents,duck, birds, dogs, cats, domestic or not animals are not an exception in parks along the world.

4) Workers. It's not unusual to find people working in a park. The working class is always working hard. Either they are the caretakers of the park or repairmen the hard working class is not missing from parks.

4) Couples. The parks are an exceptional place for dates. Be it a romantic stroll by the lake or a passionate kiss on a bench, parks are overwhelmed by couples and love. A place where pure love does thrive indeed.

5) Senile people. The third age is a dominant resident of parks. Old people find parks a great place to hang out. There they can find their friends and chat, walk without being rushed or pussed around. It is the place where the can find the tranquility they seek.

6) Bookworms. There you can find students studying lying on the grass or simple readers reading their favorite books in the comfort and the serenity of a bench. Or people reading today's news with their newspapers. Tomorrow's scientists or yesterday's news all meet in the park every day.

7) Children. You will see children playing everywhere in a park. Children are life, the future, the young spirit which moves endlessly. And a park is just the place for that spirit to thrive, to create fantasy worlds or just simply have fun.

8) Artists. Street bands, musicians, painters,dancers. They all benefit in inspiration from a walk or a short stay in the park. For some the park is their stage, and the residents of it are theirs loyal fans. Even in the cases where the fans will have forgotten them, those artists have performed their initial task of forming their inner world out in the open.

9) Amateur athletes. It's most common for some people to start their day training in the local park. Jogging is a great way to begin a healthy day. And we surely see many of this persons in their track suits and earbuds running around in the area of the park. A healthy mind needs to inhabit a healthy body.

10) Monuments. Statues,arcs, landmarks. They all have a special place in parks. Because they are all memories from the past. And parks are places where memories are supposed to be remembered, re-lived and stay intact along the course of time.










What you won't find in a park


1) Imperialistic capitalism. There is no chance at all to see a luxurious "Mercedes" strolling around a park. Nor a wealthy man in his tux cutting through the pathways of park. Wealthy men don't even drive, they are being driven. Let aside in a park. In general, people with a lot of money don't go to parks. They don't need them, even sometimes don't know that parks exist. 


2) Sloth. There is not even a single dull moment in a park. People spending time there are relaxing but not overdoing it. There is no TV or computers screens. And strangely in parks even nowadays, the use of cell phones it surprisingly limited. Spending time in a park is quality time and can't by no means be compared with the "lost" hours spend in front of flickering screens back home.


3) Lust. Parks are a safe haven for love. But lust is being kept away from them. Where nowadays people express their "sexuality" almost in every place they can find, parks are still relatively pure from any form of "sexual" activities. 


4) Anger. No one gets mad, no one gets angry, no ones shouts loud inside a park. Serenity and tranquility are words made for the vicinity of parks, and anger has no place at all in there. 


5) Greed. Being a place where money are only useful to buy a refreshment, parks are also a place where greed and greedy people are afraid to come close to a park. And even when they do, they silently walk buy cause they are really trespassers. After all, no company ever settled to an expensive agreement inside a park. That's why hotels and expensive restaurants are for. 


8) Celebrities. Rock stars, Tv idols and all the famous kind of people never spend time in a park. They spend time by the pool of the hotel or their expensive mansions but never in a park. So do their snob ways of living and judging the others. In any given park, everybody is equal and everybody is treated equally.

    Having read all those things about the "residents" of a park I wonder. If we could use our imagination for a while, isn't life in a park the ideal way of leading a life in the real world? Just add all the values that are described above and put them in your life. Wouldn't that be a very relaxing, beautiful and interesting life? Furthermore take away from your personal life the "bad" things that thankfully don't dwell in a park as described above. Wouldn't that make our lives even more joyful? To me a park is a virtual place where all the good values you can find in life are living altogether. Watching a park in motion is how I would like to see my life in motion. 

Was it worth??

I asked God once.... - "Why did I have to fall in love?"

- "Cause you had to learn some things about yourself", He replied.

- "Is all the suffering, the torture, the sleepless nights, the lakes of tears, the pain worth of the things I've learned?", I replied.

God stayed silent until today. Either cause it was not worth or because the answer lies in the future.......Whichever the answer is, it always passes through a haunted forest filled with more pain!!!

"I have always been blind"

     It would seem a sunny day for most. But for him it had always been cloudy. As for his state of mind, cloudy would only be a mild description. He took a stroll downtown. It was a special day today but he was not in the mood for special treatment. No one was there for him anyway. He tried to treat this day just like every other of the 365 days of the year. As always, passers-by were indifferent to him. The exotic bright colors in the clothes of the people passing around him were only a shade of grey for his eyes. His disappointment was a veil concealing almost every bright color of the world outside his own. This event never discouraged him though. Used to the sound of his own thoughts that ringed in his mind endlessly, he reached the yellow colored ,due to the autumn leaves, central park of the city. He took a sit on the nearest bench, and stared at the horizon , just like he had been doing for years. Nothing new, nothing promising but always beautiful and breathtaking was the sky. An old lady approached him and sat by him on the bench. She was way too old to walk alone in the park. She was way too old to do anything at all in fact. He did not care. He would continue his admiration for another 5 minutes and then return home. The old lady was in the mood for talking. Old folks never spent their time talking about nonsense. So she would surely say something meaningful. But in this case it was him, who wasn't in the mood for talking. The old lady was determined though. He could not avoid it in the end, and it would be impolite even for him to leave her hanging. The old lady spoke first of course. Her voice was more than reassuring and steady than her age would require. She said with a voice which was sweeter than what her appearance would reveal.


     - "I have a secret to tell you".


     - "I don't even know you. You are an old rugged lady. Probably homeless and hungry. And you approached me to tell me you have a secret for me? You do know I presume, that in this point I should call you crazy. If you want any money just ask. Maybe I could spare some for you. I have done it the past with people less worthy after all", he replied being more sarcastic than he usually was.


     - "Ohh, how many times they have called me crazy. You have no idea", she said confidently again.


     - "I am sure about that. But do I know you? How can I let you reveal to me that secret if I you are a complete stranger to me", he replied with a questioning tone in his voice.


     - "You don't know me. But I know you. In fact you've called my name many times. You shouted at me. You have cursed me many times. You have said many bad things to me and for me. You just don't know my name".

     - "I only know you for less than five minutes. How is it possible that I have done all those things you describe?. I do not even know your name.", he replied with a big question mark floating overhead.


     - "You see people call me with many different names. LIFE,GOD,ANGEL,FATE,FORTUNE,LUCK. There are many more and in hundreds of different languages. The thing is that I don't usually show myself cause no body believes me. But I know you do. Like I said I have a secret for you. It's not a happy one. And this is the reason I will grand you the answers to any three questions you ask me"


     - "So you say,that you are the embodiment of life, you are going to answer any question I want as long as I don't go over the number 3, and in the end you will reveal to me a secret which is sad?"


     - "Yes, that's what I said". she replied, and her voice sounded much younger than an old woman's voice.


     - "I am sure you understand that it really is hard for me to believe. But since you are crazy enough to say it, then I am crazier to listen to your sayings. I might stand up and leave afterwards, but I give you the benefit of the doubt. So let's start from the bad news. What is it?", he said.


     - " Ok. I was never good in lengthy speeches. So here you go. Today you stand exactly in the middle of your lifetime. It's your 24th birthday today so I don't have to do the math for you.", said the old woman.


     - "You call this bad news? I am happy you mentioned it. You would do me a great favor if you told me that my life span was less than another lousy 24 years", he answered. This time his confidence had vanished. He could refrain from showing it but his voice was a mixture of secret disappointment and refreshed relief.


     - " Believe me I know more that you attribute me, and I know how you feel inside. But time is not a luxury of mine, so now is the time for you to ask me any question you want. I will give you the answers you seek", said the woman and her voice became even sweeter, but her way of speaking sharper than a razor blade.


     - " Yeah. I agree. Let's get over with it. It has become very spooky here. So I have three questions. I'll be quick. Why did I have to suffer for a whole lifetime?"


    - " Suffer?? Do you think that's how suffering is?",she said sarcastically and continued. " You've been calling it suffering, so I won't disagree with you. Well, you have been "suffering" because you had to learn from your mistakes".

   - " MISTAKES?? I've always acted by the book. I've always been kind to the people around me. I treated them with dignity,love and understanding. I gave them from my bread when I was starving. I gave my blood, my sweat, my heart and my soul for others. And what did I get in return?? Nothing. They one day turned and walked away from me like I was their enemy. Without a single goodbye. I've been alone for many years. Unloved by everyone. Talking only with myself. What were my mistakes??", he answered furious with rage.


     - " You forgot yourself. You left him drowning when you could swim your way to the shore. Maybe there where not many helping hands, but you did not need them after all. You were strong. Your feelings where like quick sand. The more you let them rule your the more you got submerged to them.", said the lady.


     - " But they didn't go to waste. I put a little piece of my feelings,my heart and my soul in thousands of envelopes and mailed them to different people. I helped them. I gave them a shoulder to lean on. But no one gave anything to me. Not even the paper envelopes I had send." he said with his disappointment painted on his face.


     - " What did you expect? Humans are so used to being treated like garbage, so when they see someone caring about them, they are afraid that it might be a trick or a scam scheme." the lady answered reassuringly.


     - " What's the point of holding on to life?. If we have to suffer just to find true happiness. If what we find in the end can be called true happiness. We call it this way, cause we want to believe it was worth while in the end. But it is not. You have to find something colossal. Something that will make you hugely happy. Only then can you say that the whole pain was worth. Do you see anything that big? Do you see anything that significant around? No..It's all a lie. We live among lies. We create lies. And we love lies in the end. We feed from lies. And they feed from our support to lies. So please stop trying to convince me that pain was a way to free me from myself. You can't free something that is already free. You can't enslave what is already confined inside a cage. I've made mistakes. I've long ago forsaken myself. So what? Isn't it the noblest of deeds to sacrifice yourself  "pro bono". For a greater cause. Even for another person. Everybody says know yourself. Love yourself. And they forget to love those who stand by them".


      He had turned red, from all the struggle to hold on to being civilized. He suddenly felt the urge to break anything he would find before him. The old lady made a move to stand up, but she way too old to do it with ease. He saw that and he didn't care. That lady had infuriated him, but in a very peculiar way she had managed to strip him off any restrain. He had uttered things that he had never said to anyone else. Those words had been burning him from the inside all this years. And all this burning had taken its' toll in his whole existence. Yet this fire did not burn him to his embers. The fire had been searing every new wound. The pain of searing is even greater than the pain inflicted by the wound itself. But in the end it leaves the wound clearer. The searing had cleansed his every wound. It made the skin impenetrable. It left the soul purified. Still the scars from every wound were visible. But they were reminders of the former pain. They were the signs that pain had come, and gone and that fighting with pain was successful. They were signs that he could turn pain into memories, and then move on to greater pain, so that he could turn it into more memories. A circle. An eternal circle of struggle and sacrifice.
     For a moment all these thoughts became images in his mind. He had a flashback created by all these images. And in that flashback he could also dig out some beautiful happy moments he had forgotten by time. An unintentional disarming smile was shaped on his face. Memories worked as a painkiller. A reliever from the dark thoughts. This old lady played a game all along. She had it all planned in her mind. She knew what would happen beforehand and all she had to do was lay the cards on the deck in the right order. He chose the right cards in the end just like the old lady had known he would. Back in reality though, the old lady still had trouble standing up from that bench. His anger, his fury, his urge for vengeance had all vanished along with the bad memories. And for the first time for long he could now find unoccupied space in his heart to fill with brighter thoughts. He extended his arm touched the wrinkled weak hand of the old lady and helped her stand up. She turned her head slightly and stared deep in his eyes. It was the first time he had noticed the ladies eyes. Those brown eyes were staring at him with such an "out of this world look". She smiled warmly. And finally spoke back, like she already knew his thoughts.


- "I knew it. I knew you would understand it finally. I wasn't wrong choosing you. You are what I believed you were."


- "What, what do you mean?" he answered troubled by her words.

- " Even when you were mad at me, you finally helped me stand up. This is you. You can't pretend you can change. You can't even pretend to be someone else. So stay exactly what you are. You asked about suffering. You asked me why did you have to suffer. Until now you thought of suffering as something morbid. Tell me. Do you see what you have done with your pain and suffering? You were suffering and that revealed to you what real pain is. You could discriminate the pain in the lives of others. That's why you helped them all. Cause deep inside you, you wanted them to be what you would never be. Happy. Happier at least. You transformed your pain into something colorful. Into something good. You were holding ashes in your hands and you managed to turn them into bright wonderfully scented flowers. Flowers which you offered without asking back anything. Flowers which gave color to the lives of others. If you got back the return you were seeking you would had been drunk by the wine of fulfillment.You see, if you had a normal happy life none of these would have happened. You would never know that pain exist and is real.You asked me why did you have to suffer for a lifetime. You found the answer yourself. From the questioning look in your face I presume not only that you know the answer deep inside you but also that you already feel happy for your choices and the way you were obliged to live your whole life. I can see now that if I offered you the chance to change your life, you would not accept it."


- "You are right. I don't think I want to change anymore. My past 24 years forged me into what I really am. Even the slightest change in this and I would probably be someone totally different. I hate to admit it but you definitely are right. No need to say anything else. I finally see what you've been trying to show me for a lifetime.I am glad that all these happened. And I am obliged to you for helping me see all that. So I guess that now that I am finding myself with more will to live you will reveal to my that the fact that I am not exactly halfway in my life. I guess you will tell me it was only a trick to sting my interest", he answered with held-back confidence.


- " I never lie. Whatever I told you is true. I could change that. But today, here in that autumn themed empty park, you discovered one of my greatest secrets. Don't you think you have to pay for what you've learned? Knowing about the future is harder than living the present. This will not let you stray away from what you are. I did not tell you the secret to make you feel blue. I revealed that secret to you so that you will value every single second of the life that is left for you. Believe me, 24 years are is long time to live and thrive. Take advantage of them all", said the old lady who had slowly been walking away from the scene.


     He did not even notice that she had already been away from his side. He was already making plans for the future. He had to catch up with the time he lost all these years. He had to catch up with a life he had left rusting in his attic. He finally noticed that the old lady was walking slowly towards the pathway which would take her outside the park. But something was wrong. She had been walking straight to a low railing on the other side in which the bench they had been sitting on was located. She walked slowly but in a split second she stumbled upon the knee-high railing and fell down with all her weight. He was paralyzed from the strange scene. Such a powerful entity could not even navigate in our real world. He ran towards her and helped that fragile body stand up.


- "Are you all right? Didn't you notice that railing on the ground?", he said but even before he finished his words she stared again deep in his eyes.


- " Don't tell me you did not realize that I am blind?", she said while staring him even deeper. He felt a chill running up his spine. All the pieces of the puzzle were now to their right position. That explained why her eyes had such a very odd but mesmerizing look.


- "I have always been blind" she continued. - "That's why I can judge all of you. Cause I don't see you, but I can sense you"..




    

Οι παλίες αγάπες πάνε στον παράδεισο (Loves that grow old always go to heaven)!!

     Throughout music history there surely have been created some diamonds. Some songs are simply too great, too magical. There are some songs that are accepted by everyone no matter which style or audience they are targeting. There are cases where songs are being universally accepted. And this only happens because there surely are songs which are speak straight to the heart. No need for words, no need for explanation. It's pure, raw magical essence. Of course it always comes to the subjective idea of the listener. But let's admit that it works at least for the bigger percentage of the universal audience. The reason for this whole passage is because today I decided to write something different from my usual stuff. I decided to translate a song here in this very blog. A case like the above is the song I want to translate. It is a Greek song. A Greek love song to be exact. But not like the ones we are used to. It's about pain, desertion. It really is about the true faces of love. The two faces of love. The two sides of the same coin. I can't explain with words what this song means. And obviously the translation will be a bit "stiff" cause it would be impossible to capture the magic and all the real meanings of the Greek language and tradition and translate them completely into English without losing some of the magic. But I will try to do my best, cause in my opinion this is the best Greek song ever written and one of the best love songs ever written on this planet... Enjoy..




Οι παλιές αγάπες πάνε στον παράδεισο (Loves that grow old go to Paradise)



Άγονη πλήξη μιας ζωής, δίχως έρωτα
της ερημιάς μου τέρας,
της πόλης μου θηρίο
μη με φοβάσαι
αλλοπαρμένη έκφραση
οι τοίχοι σου θυμίζουν
τον πρώτο σου έρωτα
οι πιο πολλοι αδιάφορα κενοί,σε λυγίζουν όπου και να 'σαι
στα σκοτεινά δρομάκια
οι σκιές γλιστράνε επικίνδυνα
Στα ηλεκτρισμένα ξενυχτάδικα
οι γυναίκες μισοκρύβονται 

πίσω απ' τη λήθη
Στα κολασμένα παζάρια της λεωφόρου
οι αστυνόμοι οι πλούσιοι επαρχιώτες μηχανόβιοι
μάσκες ακάλυπτες μικρές
στο γύρο του θανάτου 

που τρεμοπαίζουν τον άγγελο ή τον δαίμονα
στις άκρες των δακτύλων τους,
ξημέρωμα Σαββάτου

Για τις παλιές αγάπες μη μιλάς
στα πιο μεγάλα θέλω κάνουν πίσω
δεν άντεξαν μαζί
και χάθηκαν μακριά
κρύφτηκαν στις σπηλιές χαμένων παραδείσων

Ό,τι αξίζει πονάει, κι είναι δύσκολο
για να μην υποφέρεις
φύγε μακριά μου,
κρύψου από μένα
δεν ξέρω αν φεύγεις, τώρα,
για το λίγο μου
ή αν αυτό που νιώθω ήταν πολύ
πολύ για σένα, πολύ για σένα

Για τις παλιές αγάπες μη μιλάς
στα πιο μεγάλα θέλω κάνουν πίσω 

δεν άντεξαν μαζί
και χάθηκαν μακριά
κρύφτηκαν στις σπηλιές χαμένων παραδείσων

Ό,τι αξίζει πονάει, κι είναι δύσκολο 

Infertile boredom of a life without love

The monster of my solitude

The beast of my lonely town

Don't be afraid of me!

With a strange expression

The empty walls remind you

Of your first love

Where most of them indifferent and empty

They finally break you wherever you are

In dark alleys

Shadows slip dangerously

In neon lit bars

Women hide in shame

Behind the veil of oblivion

In the hell bargains of the highway

Policemen and bikers

Little uncovered masks

Run around the circle of death

Playing angel and devil

On their fingertips

Saturday night's sunrise

Don't talk about loves that grew old

They back down to the greatest "wants"

They couldn't stand being together

And so they separated far

Hiding into caves of lost heavens

Whatever is really worth it hurts and it's difficult

If you don't want to suffer

Go away

Hide from me

I don't know if you're leaving now

For what was less

Or what I feel for you

Was way too much for you, 

way too much for you

Don't talk about loves that grew old

They back down to the greatest "wants"

They couldn't stand being together

And so they separated far

Hiding into caves of lost heavens

Whatever is really worth it hurts and it's difficult

The Death Of A Rose

I never thought that I would find.
Something so beautiful like you.
So unexpected. So out of nowhere
And yet so wonderful and true.
I thought you chose me. I was so wrong.
Destiny did. If only I knew
I found it all. And lost it all
Just when I layed my eyes on you.
I wrapped my trembling hands around you
To keep you warm. To keep you near
I used my fingertips to touch you.
To chase away your every fear.
You had a blood red color back then
I sat for countless hours beside
Staring your beauty. Killing my madness
Flooded with feelings I can't hide
I used my time, my energy, my love,
To give you everything you need
I burnt the bridges with my past
I wish I knew where it would lead
You weren't there,always so absent
I knew your smile was not to last
My heart was pounding,giving signals
I watched you grow,you grew so fast
One day my hands reached out to touch you
I would had satisfied your every need
You did not need me , you had everything
Your thorns had grown, they made me bleed.
I did not quit you, never left you
I had nobody, I was alone
My bleeding hands reached out to touch you.
I wanted you to feel like home.
Your thorns grew bigger,the wounds so deep

You were about to make a leap
I left you unprotected,I left you aloneHidden in shadows from the past

But in the end I was so frightened
For I had known it would not last

You had to hate me,lose your sense
The pain grew deep but never blamed you.
Cause it was only your defense.
The time has passed,memories remain
But they come back to haunt me
Just like the cold November rain
I had to witness your dying moments.
I watched you die day by day
You needed me, as much as I did.
When I came close, you moved away
Your body is weak,your thorns still not.
I want to touch you,hold you, hug you.
To reconcile for every thought.


I must be strong and stay away.
To drown the words I need to say.


I watch you wither every day.
Your brightness fades. Your color too.
Your blood red petals turned to gray.
They hit the ground falling from you
I see you cry. I see you die.

I see you fight just to survive.
Don't desert me now my bleeding rose.
I missed you so, I missed a lot.
Don't die.....Cause you are the only one I got
[The death of a Rose]

Feather

     I want to become a feather. To be drifted away. To be carried by the wind. To move to distant places and see different worlds. To glide into the sky or dive back to earth. To move endlessly. Never to stop. Or to be stuck in a place until a strong wind blows. Stronger than before. To take me even further down the road. To land on the sea, on a mountain, on a river, on the desert. Or never land at all. To fly forever and ever ever. To be attached with wax to Icarus, the world's first dreamer.


     I want to become a feather. Free like the birds that it comes from. Gentle in touch, like the hands of a lover touching his girls hands. Or even become a gift from that lover. To be caught in mid air and become a beautiful love gift. To be worn with pride on an Indian's helm.To be worn as an accessory or ornament, to show the world my beautifully shaped colors. To be light. Lighter than almost anything that flies. To move elegantly, to be admired. To be used as a pen so when people stick me into ink will be able to write. To write books,stories,love letters.


    I want to become a feather. A feather from the wings of an eagle to fly high above the clouds. A feather from the beautiful white swan, to be whiter than snow. A feather from the watchful owl, to stand guard each and every night and gaze at the world through the night scope. A feather from the melodic nightingale, to listen to the mesmerizing song every morning,day and night. A feather from the majestic albatross to travel over oceans and seas. A feather from the colorful peacock where my colors will reflect the whole rainbow. A feather from the parrot to listen,learn and reproduce the wisdom of humans.

About Wisdom!!

   "Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself"   - Kahlil Gibran - 

     Such a beautiful word. It sounds so nice......WISDOM....What is wisdom I wonder? Who is wise? Is a philosopher wise? A tibetan monk? A song writer? An old man? A scientist? An author? In a strange way all these have the "tag" of being wise, despite the fact that they never claimed this role. It's more than obvious the tendency to call wise, the ones whose occupation is somehow more difficult to achieve. An author who writes "clever" things will be called wise, even if whatever he writes it's stolen. And in a sense popularity is a way of attributing wisdom in people. Attributing. That's the best word to express it. No one doubts that to become an author needs some wits. Some values. Some certain skills.As to become scientist or philosopher. In my mind though, the job you do for a living is not the only factor that will make you wise. 

     What is wisdom after all? They say that getting old provides you wisdom. NO... By getting old you gain experience. You gain knowledge. Maybe you find ways to overcome obstacles easier compared to a younger age. But wisdom is not money. It's not material. It can not be gained,borrowed,absorbed. You either have it or not. Wisdom is a birthmark. You bear it for your whole life. You are born with it. And you die with it. Wisdom cannot be taught in any of the conventional ways. You can teach many things. But not wisdom. Cause it works in levels beyond even our brains and minds. But where wisdom can't be bought or brought in any other way, it can surely be enhanced. The initial wisdom we carry can evolve. In fact we should evolve that wisdom. We have to learn from it, and let it learn from us. Wisdom and knowledge are like the flowing river. Should be constantly moving. Should be constantly making breakthroughs. I can't see wisdom as something that can easily be uttered or explained. Its' unique nature makes it hard to experiment with. But in a strange way wisdom always finds a way through the tiniest cracks to unfold and prevail. In a more free form, wisdom is more like understanding. Sometimes understanding by questioning others by observing and sometimes even just intuition. Maybe after all, the first path to wisdom is understanding or even better coping so that you can understand. 

     Then who is wise and who is not? Everybody has their unique kind of wisdom. Everybody borrows some of the wisdom of the world when they are born. Some of the wisdom the dead ones return back to the world. And everybody is differently equally wise. Being wise does not only mean being clever. Wisdom is part of everyone's individual journey in life. We are given what we can understand. And we understand nothing more beyond what we are given. A key for every keyhole. A mind for every brain. A hunter who waits for his prey day and night is wise. Not because of the years of experience. Because of his ability to sense. Yet he is dependent by his prey. Cause it is part of his wisdom. Without the prey the hunter's wisdom is useless. Another pebble in the river. Everybody is equally wise. The hard thing in a lifetime is to find the outlet, the place that your wisdom can flourish. The place where your wisdom can bloom and become something beautiful or useful or promising or......or.....The possibilities are endless. Wisdom only flourishes when it finds the right outlet. It's not our duty to question whether we are wise or not. We all are. Undoubtedly. The difficult part of our journey is to find where that wisdom can be applied. Where it can become something more than dusty bits in our minds.

     So why do we call upon other peoples' wisdom? Why do we consider others wiser than us? Why do we look up to people who are so called "wise"? Simple.. Because we see in them what we want to be. Or maybe because they have found how to use their wisdom. How to manipulate it,transform and channel it. Those who have found the place where their wisdom has an impact, they have used it. Even for evil deeds. Those cases are still examples of wisdom. It's all about becoming who you were born to become. It's all about understanding where your wisdom lies, instead of being jealous or envy of other peoples' wisdom.All in all, wisdom is an ethereal concept. It's probably an idea. A feeling. A way of thinking. But the roots of everybody's wisdom lie deep within the very existence of us all. There is no true answer to what wisdom is. But there is a way of living it, living with it or even outlive wisdom. Wisdom to the highest extend is simply searching for that wisdom. If we do so, then we surely are on the right track!!!

What shall we fight for ??

     Under the heavy curtain of profanity in life, I have found many questions that bother my troubled mind. They exist only to make my brain a little heavier than it is. Instead of struggling with myself I decide sometimes to write them down. In a way those thoughts grow bigger in meaning when shared with the world. Inevitably one of the questions that arise is as follows. What is really worth fighting for in this life?

     Is it love? Love comes and goes. Some people fall in love once a week, some once in a lifetime, some never.Love elevates, or sends you straight to Hell. Some times even leaves you in the middle, wondering what's going on. Yes, love is a house full of disappointments or joy depending on what you experience out of it. Poets wrote about it, singers sang about it, actors got into love's role... Everywhere you turn you see love.. And yet it's gone far from a feeling and it's been more of a consuming product. So here comes the real question to all those in love out there. Would you fight to death for love? Would you be willing to lose everything in life (money,job,car e.t.c) just to be together with the one you love? Would you sacrifice your well being so that the person you love lives happilly? Would you change if needed so that you could understand and respect the one you love? I guess not. Probably the answer is "no". And most of those who would answer yes, it would be poetic and Shakespearic, but not true.

     Is it money? Is money and career that one should fight in life? Well, at least fighting to become rich and wealthy and famous is not something you pretend. It's true. Money brings happiness. Maybe not the real happiness, but they surely can bring a substantial, iconic and yet lasting kind of happiness. You can surely buy love with money, and way more than that. You can accomplish in a week goals that you would otherwise need years of hard work. Let's not listen to preachers. Money is a very good start, heading for happiness. Is money really worth the true fight in life? Well, it's complicated...That's true..

     Is it family? Family would be a great thing to fight for in life. The goal of everyone in earth. The continuation of the species. The ultimate act of love. The ultimate sacrifice. Maybe it's not far from truth. Raising a family is a noble cause. It's a privilege that everyone in this planet has. No matter how clever or dumb, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly. Everybody could or should be given the chance to raise a family. But is really a family worth fighting for? If the true nature of family could be applied, then definitely yes. But what kind of families do we see today? Divorces,abused wives, abused children, children raised by TV or Xbox and the list goes on.. Is that the true meaning of family? I don't think so. And what about the past years when families were not like today. Let's say 200 years ago. A 10 person family, with 7 of the children being born because of the sexual urges of the father, and all of them working in the fields. That could not be called family. More than a guilt created for survival. Times change, people change but one thing remains the same. The motives for a family remain the same. For most of the cases at least. I really can't deny that there have been bright examples of great families. But I guess those families had to suffer the cruelty of the world.

     Is it ideals? Where are the ideals really? Friendship, dignity, God? Humans never had ideals. At least those who presented their ideals were only actors, who would get a paycheck as soon as the curtain fell. Let's not fool ourselves. Nobody bought food with ideals. And those who opposed society with their high ideals, they were killed, hunted,mocked,being called lunatics,humiliated and so many more great inventions of mankind. Those who had ideals and presented them lost something. Those who had them and kept them for themselves, they surely crossed a path in their life that understood that their ideals who get them nowhere. And at that point it's better to burn you alive and being called a hero than never burn you and then have to kill your ideals for a place in the sun. Ideals live only in our minds. And when we get to make something greater out of them, they only turn into ashes that spread in the wind and get our hands dirty...

     Is it dreams? Oh yeah. Dreams!! Dreams!! The bridge that connects the real world with our fantasy world. It would be nice to fight for your dreams. Yes...Fight to become an astronaut, an actor, a rock star, an artist, a world ruler, an author. Fight to become what you imagine. But dreams tend to fall into oblivion when the real world takes over. Like a book which is great reading it through, anticipating the ending, and then turn only to find that the last pages are just blank....white pages. Yes, there are certain people who can write those pages themselves. Those who get to see their dreams fulfilled. But to all the others, they will always remain white,blank pages. Dreams tend to live into oblivion. They are like a childhood's imaginary friend. They fade with the years. Who dares to dream forever? I wish I knew..


     So in the end, what is is worth fighting with all your strength in such a short lifetime??? I think I know a thing. It's worth fighting for humans and humanity. Cause that's what we all are. Humans. It's worth sacrificing yourself for someone else. It's worth fighting for a smile. For a kiss. For another soul. Maybe it is poetic and extravagant. But it is worth dying to save someone.

The mirror......

     The mirror. The eternal symbol. The powerful bearer of reflections. The mighty governor of feelings. A conveyor of truth. Or a deceiver. A friend, a colleague. An enemy. The everlasting symbol of vanity. The weapon against profanity. An advisor. A consultant. A traitor. A bringer of hatred.


     The mirror. A place to confess. Confess sins. Confess love. A place to cry upon. Or pour derision. A holder of illusions. A holder of horrors. The place where beauty is admired. The place where beauty is desired. A place where beauty is idolized. Idealized. Or a place where beauty is cursed. Where beauty turns to vanity.

   The mirror. A refuge. A sanctuary. A lighted to room where we hide our dreams.Or a dark cave to dig in our fears. A messenger delivering good news. A harbinger. Or a monarch. A ruler. A dictator. A sovereign. A king. And a kingdom. A realm of serenity. Or a battlefield of emotions. Heaven and hell bound in one single object.




   The mirror. An alter ego. The x-ray that can see inside you. Escapism. A personality full of twisted playthings. An obsession. A djinni that grands so many wishes. The mirror. It lives, it breaths, it holds and lets go. The mirror. Always judging. Never judged. The eternal judge. Unbiased, uneducated, relentless judge. 

Women VS Guitars (Round 1)

     Being a guitarist myself I often call my favorite guitar “My Love”. It might seem funny to most, but a guitarist (as much as everyone who plays an instrument) is usually in love with his favorite instrument. The reason? Simple. We get to accumulate a certain bond with them. They are the instruments of our inspiration. The extension of our limbs. The extension of our own existence and soul. Guitarists though have another reason. Guitars resemble to Women awfully a lot. Many will call that statement unorthodox. But take a closer look and you will see that there are many reasons that justify these “unjustified” words. Let’s take a closer look .


     a) The shape of a guitar, and especially the shape of electric guitars is pretty much alike the woman body. Curvy on the bottom. Thin as you rise. You can almost picture a beautiful woman as you stare at a guitar. Even variable woman bodies as well. In a funny way, throughout the evolution of the image of the perfect woman, the past 60 decades mainly, have changed the shape and even sound of guitars. From the fat-bottomed “Gibsons” of mid 50’s, to the more elegant and sophisticated “Fenders” of the 70’s, to the more rebellious and hardcore “Ibanez-es” of the 80’s. Guitars evolved in accordance to the kind of the ideal woman body of the era they were created. And strangely even the sound of them changed dramatically, following the general attitude of the women of that time. From bass driven voices, to beautifully weeping ,to elegantly melodically expressing , independently screaming. Yeah. Guitars surely had their special connection with women idols over those past decades.


    b) Not many women are known for their performance as guitar heroes. Furthermore there is only a handful of women known for their guitar playing and style (especially when it comes to electric guitars). Women today are privileged to music more than any other time. I could confidently say that the number of women who begin learning music (mostly classical) is increasing rapidly, and furthermore is closer to the numbers of their male “adversaries” than ever. But why haven’t we seen many women playing electric guitars? It is quite strange yet justifiable to the bone. Guitars have a gender and it is a “female” one. That’s why mostly men get to play with them. Guitars are being seen like their women, their girlfriends, their lovers. It’s a relationship. A guitarist has to spend hours with his guitar. He has to take care of her. Polish it. Re-string it. Change it’s broken parts. They get to spend a great deal of time together. So they become one after a while. The guitarist inevitably falls in love with the guitar. Just as he falls in love with his woman.

     c) Guitars are like women in character too. If you push your guitar to the limits, sometimes the sounds gets distorted. Push it further and you get a broken string. Aren’t women like that. You push them to the limit and they break. Cause they are as fragile as a guitar string. Of course on mens’ defence, we never want to see our women and our guitars “broken”. It’s only that we can take the best of our women and our guitars, only when we push them to their limits.


     d) Take every guitarist of the world (that being a famous Rock star or the boy who plays for fun downtown). If you ask them, how well do they know their guitar, in most of the cases you’ll get the same answer. “I still have much to learn”. And it is true. Cause guitarists (and all the performers as well) learn each day a new thing. They progressively become masters but there is always a place for them to get better. Always. Ironic though it might seem, women are not much different. Like we all men say, “We’ll never completely understand women”. So, we too, progressively get to know women. But we’ll never know everything about them just like we do with our guitars.


     e) Many guitarists use the same guitar over the course of years (and for some of them we are talking even for decades). Not always the same brand and model, but in many cases the very same guitar they used to play years ago. Two grand paradigms are BB King and his “Lucile” and U2’s Edge with his infamous “Gibson Explorer”. On the other hand there are player who change their guitars according to the color of their shoes. There are shows where guitarists would change guitar in every single song. Well, just rule out the word “guitar” and put the word “woman” in it’s place and what you get is the two stereotypical kind of men. One the one hand the typical family guy (the guitarists who has settled to one tune and sound and does not go in search of extravagant things), and on the other the man-hunter seeking new company every other day (the pompous guitarist who is everlastingly in search of new sounds and shapes and colors in his guitar). And just like real life, we either find once the woman of our lives and stick with her forever, or we remain in search of a new experience every day (meaning sometimes we end up with nothing but substitutes).


     f) Love at first sight. It happens. And it happens a lot. We watch a guitar on the showcase, and we fall in love with it. On first and only glance. Not caring for the sound or the way they play. It’s pure magic love at first sight. Well, the other place we can only find pure love at first sight are the eyes of a woman. No need for more explanations.


     g) How can we also rule out the fact that we feel safe, happy and reassured when we have in our lap our guitar or our girl. It’s the same exact feeling.


     h) Lastly, there are times where we don’t know why we love our guitars. No reason. No justification. We just do, just so. Like it was meant to be. Same there with women too. Sometimes we don’t know why we love them. We just do. Without any reason at all.