Bridge 8 | "Selling" Santa Claus to town

The moment we learn that our red-hat Santa doesn’t exist is the moment we lose our childhood.

It is the moment that the magic world we live in, with all the love-sharing heroes and kind elves comes to an end. It is the moment that fantasy becomes reality and the world around us looks a bit more like the world we know today. That’s why we should cater a lot for the bridge from childhood to adolescence.

These days I am always thinking the way I learnt about Santa Claus. I think my parents did the best work in that and I want to share it with you briefly.

Few years before, I had a fight with my friends in school, where half of us were claiming that Santa was true and the rest claiming that Santa is a totally made up story. I was left aside, a bit of sad, wondering why parents didn’t meet in a conference or something to decide which story to tell to their kids and prepared my words in order to show them that I am not a child and as an adult I demanded the truth I deserved. (:

My mam told me then that unfortunately many many years before Santa did live and was a real giving person. And that was the reason people got inspired and continued his service under the mask of Santa Claus. They asked me sorry for telling that lie to me, but they told that it is important to Santa the kids to believe in him.

P.S. My side effect was to dream to become a Santa on day, but don’t worry, I woke up early!

Selfborder 7 | Something wicked this week comes

Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday and Happy New Year...

Why do in two out of three happy occasions we cherish the day and not the year?

To be honest I cannot find a single (pervert) reason that we do it. But for sure I find it wicked.

Who’s that person haven’t ever heard someone saying: “I don’t do Christmas, every Christmas I get depressed” or “Sorry for not picking up the phone on my Birthday, I was feeling a bit of under the weather”?

Our massive societies and economies are functioning like huge Military Services of Happiness. Anyone who’s not happy gets a strange look in the eyes from the people around or a huge tag as “Depressive” or “Melancholic” in a way that becomes almost discriminative.

If we open our eyes, we will see that people, without even understanding that, are naturally going against this order. Check most selling Hollywood movies and you’ll see that the feelings on sale are fear, excitement and painful tears. Is it happening accidentally that these are the feelings we are hiding when in public?

I am not sure if it is the Marketing Economy that pusses us to “Happiness”.

“Come on it’s your birthday, let’s buy alcohol till getting wasted!”!

Successes and happiness have a lot to celebrate while tears are for private parties.

What I am seeing is that people are in need of Feelings. Check all art pieces around and they scream pain, fear and anxiety. I am not sure if it is because we are trying so immaturely to hide these feelings or because we feel blunt when we do not have them.

What I am trying to say is that it is not important if we do not have a kiss on Christmas, it is not important if we will not party hard on our birthday and it is not at all important to have the most unforgettable New Years’ Eve. The important is our life to have the people, the level of joy and unforgettable experiences we want to.

We should not feel bad for ourselves or for the people who spend their “Big Days” of the year alone. We should feel bad when we/they are spending the whole year alone.

Readers Post 2 | No words from Elena Lambrou

Bridge 7 | 3 Seconds

Some days before I was in a conference that while discussions were held there was a strange rule that made my mind go bright!

Every time a speaker was finishing talking the whole table had to wait and count silently for 3 seconds. After a while, as we were used to that we started thinking about what had the other person really talked about.

It was like a mirracle! I found a small bridge for Selfborder 3 | Our brains have no bluetooth attached.

What if we stopped thinking about what we want to say and waiting for 3 seconds in all of our discussions?

Reader Post 1 | Random Thoughts from Danai Angelopoulou

I started writing this after a conversation I had about family.How important it is in our lives, how much they influence us while growing up, if we will keep the same model for creating our own family even if we know that something didn't work out, if we always seek for a ''family'' when we feel alone and we are away from home...

Thinking about being away from home, made me wonder how important adjustment is. Is it the same easy/difficult for a person to change house/country/language/friends/colleagues? Is it bad when somebody needs more time or even is reluctant to sacrifice his/her coziness and convenience for something better..or not...for something different, for a risk.

Thinking about time and risk. When do we settle down? Is there an age limit where someone should get married, have a permanent job etc. No there isn't, I am sure that is the right answer. Then why do people gossip about you if you don't follow these society norms?

Thinking about society norms. Why do many people give up doing what they want, saying what they think just because the others will criticize them? How strong can we be against the mass? Do we want to be against the mass? How sensitive or fearless are we against the ''rumours''?

Too many questions and random thoughts...

Danai has also posted on her facebook profile: 

«Βιώνουμε μια κρίση διότι χάσαμε την επαφή με την πραγματικότητα. Αντιμετωπίζουμε τους ανθρώπους και τα χρήματα σαν να παίζουμε βιντεο-γκέιμ. Είμαστε πιο ευγενικοί με τους γείτονές μας μέσω της οθόνης του υπολογιστή, παρά όταν τους συναντούμε στο δρόμο»

Translation: "We are experiencing a crisis because we have lost touch with reality. We treat the people and money like playing video games. We are more kind to our neighbors through the computer screen than when they meet on the street"