#the death of ivan ilitch

[winged-cries]

I was going to show off my new edition of the Phantom of the Opera, which here it is if anyone cares:

(Copy of The Death of Ivan Ilitch unrelated but also cool and illustrated.)

But then for some reason I remembered my copy of Raw, the Hannibal fanbook. I'm not sure if I ever showed it to you guys, but it's my one fandom indulgence, though I wish I had the money to buy fanbooks more often. It's so pretty.

I just think it's so nice to collect fanworks like that! There are some pretty nice fics and fanarts in there.

[oiseuxdeproie]

The Death of Ivan Ilitch by Tolstoy.

Together with the “Memories from the Underground” by Dostoyevsky, I understand that Russians invented the feel of Ego Death, the self awareness in relationship with the very human condition. This is almost a warning for us who read it.

[unreadpoppy]

Ooh friend! May I ask the 🐸 and the 🔮

🐸 Describe your aesthetic.

Only god knows what my aesthetic is at this point because it's a weird mix of very flowery and colorful, and black and gothic and also some more childish stuff. Like my god I just looked at my bookshelf and there is a doll doing the silliest face ever next to my copy of "The Death of Ivan Ilitch". If we go by clothes, even though I'm trying to add more color to my wardrobe, I wear waaaaay too much black .

🔮 What’s your dream job?

So, fun fact about me is that i'm go to university for theater, so my dream job is furtheting my acting carrer. I'm saying all this because replying "I want to be an actress" makes me cringe internally.

Thanks so much for asking!

[thecrowntheorypotter]

[lady-stirling]

tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

Thank you @selinascatnip and @undertheknightwing 🥰🥰🥰

~ favorite color: blue, yellow, white and black (green maybe)

~ currently reading: I started The Death of Ivan Ilitch but I stopped weeks ago, because I couldn't read anything, including these amazing fanfics y'all are doing 😔

~ last song: Wolves Without Teeth - Monsters and Men (Titans soundtrack is one of highlights every season 🙌🏾)

~ last series: Titans s03

~ last movie: The Royal Treatment 👉🏾👈🏾

~ sweet/ savory/ spicy: All of them.

~ currently working on: Getting things ready for another beginning of the semester 🤧, trying to draw, trying to live... I guess

~ three ships: DickKory, HourNite and AquaMera

~ first ship ever: JLU Wonderbat 🙈

~ currently consuming: Broccoli 🤡

~ currently craving: Typical foods from my state 😫 It's been a while since I've eaten an abará 😭

tagging: @save-the-sky @wpbianca99 @somin-yin @d-grayson58 @talk3tiv3 @chill-star @julyinklings @ambeauty @42illustratesstuff don't be pressure to do it! 🙌🏾

[lettersfromcarol]

Days of productivity - 7/100 📚

Since it's almost the weekend, I took some pictures of the books I've finished reading during this week:

The Death of Ivan Ilitch by Leo Tolstoy;

Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley;

Notes From The Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

And also one that I have just started:

Grande Sertão: Veredas (known in English as The Devil to Pay in the Backlands) by Guimarães Rosa.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

[dustydolls]

Favorite books? 🎀

Pollyanna (Eleanor H. Porter) // Near To The Wild Heart (Clarice Lispector) // Tess of the D’Ubervilles (Thomas Hardy) // Lord of the Flies (W. Golding) // Letters to Milena, Letter to His Father and The Metamorphosis (Kafka) // Love in the Time of Cholera (G.G. Márquez) // The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath) // The Virgin Suicides (Jeffrey Eugenides) // Edgar Allan Poe Collection // The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) // Anna Karenina and The Death of Ivan Ilitch (Tolstoy) // Demian (Herman Hesse) // Candide (Voltaire) // Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami) // The Sorrows of Young Werther (Goethe)

[cacadoradeartemis]

Books to be read in 2022

Hello! 

I hope you had a lovely Christmas and a wonderful New Year Eve.

Every year I set some reading goals. So far, I have these books on my TBR according to genre.

Fantasy

The Return of the King by J.R.R.Tolkien

Silmarillion by J.R.R.Tolkien

Unfinish Tales by J.R.R.Tolkien

Beren and Luthien by J.R.R.Tolkien

The Last Wish by  Andrzej Sapkowski

The Eye of the World

Written in my own heart’s blood by Diana Gabaldon - since this book has lots of differents elements I never know where to place it in terms of genre.

Classics

Dracula

Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

The Death of Ivan Ilitch

Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales

The Great Gatsby

Biography

Mary Stuart by Dumas

A Memoir of Jane Austen

The Life of Charlotte Brontë

Do you set a reading goal every year? If so, tell me :)

[randomlyrandoms]

Celebrity Deaths 2017

JANUARY Francine York - Jan. 6 (Movie Actress) Om Puri - Jan. 6 (Movie Actor) Mario Soares - Jan. 7 (Politician) Roy Innis - Jan. 8 (Civil Rights Leader) Tony Rosato - Jan. 10 (Voice Actor) Buddy Greco - Jan. 10 (Jazz Singer) William Peter Blatty - Jan. 12 (Novelist) Graham Taylor - Jan. 12 (Soccer Coach) Lord Snowdon - Jan. 13 (Royalty) Richard Gautier - Jan. 13 (Movie Actor) Yama Buddha - Jan. 14 (Rapper) Jimmy Snuka - Jan. 15 (Wrestler) Roberta Peters - Jan. 18 (Opera Singer) *Miguel Ferrer - Jan. 19 (Movie Actor) Andy Marte - Jan. 22 (Baseball Player) Gorden Kaye - Jan. 23 (TV Actor) Marvell Thomas - Jan. 23 (Keyboardist) Bimba Bosé - Jan. 23 (Model) Lee O'Denat - Jan. 23 (Entrepreneur) Butch Trucks - Jan. 24 (Drummer) **Mary Tyler Moore - Jan. 25 (TV Actress) Mike Connors - Jan. 26 (TV Actor) Barbara Hale - Jan. 26 (TV Actress) **John Hurt - Jan. 27 (Movie Actor) Emmanuelle Riva - Jan. 27 (Movie Actress) Robert Ellis Miller - Jan. 27 (Film Director)   Geoff Nicholls - Jan. 28 (Musician) Richard Portman - Jan. 28 (Sound Engineer) Bobby Freeman - Jan. 28 (Soul Singer) Rob Stewart - Jan. 31 (Director) Frank Pellegrino - Jan. 31 (Actor) John Wetton - Jan. 31 (Rock Singer)

FEBRUARY Ken Morrison - Feb.1 (Entrepreneur) Alec McOwen - Feb. 6 (Movie Actor) Irwin Corey - Feb. 6 (Stand-Up Comic) Christine Dolce Feb. 6 (Reality Star) Richard Hatch - Feb. 7 (Reality Star) Tara Palmer-Tomkinson - Feb. 8 (TV Show Host) Mike Ilitch - Feb. 10 (Entrepreneur) Fab Melo - Feb 11 (Basketball Player) Al Jarreau - Feb. 12 (Jazz Singer) Seijun Suzuki - Feb. 13 (Director) Trish Doan - Feb. 13 (Bassist) E-Dubble - Feb. 13 (Youtube Star) Stuart Mclean - Feb. 15 (Radio Host)   George Steele - Feb. 16 (Wrestler) Warren Frost - Feb. 17 (TV Actor) Nicole Bass - Feb. 17 (Wrestler) Clyde Stubblefield - Feb. 18 (Drummer) Richard Schickel - Feb. 18 (Historian) Daniel Vickerman - Feb. 18 (Rugby Player) Ivan Koloff - Feb. 18 (Wrestler) Larry Coryell - Feb. 19 (Guitarist) Brian Vigneault - Feb. 19 (Twitch Star) Alan Colmes - Feb. 23 (TV Show Host) **Bill Paxton - Feb. 25 (Movie Actor) Neil Fingleton - Feb. 25 (TV Actor) Judge Joseph Wapner - Feb. 26 (TV Show Host/Former Judge) Trinity Faith Moran - Feb. 28 (Musical.ly Star)

MARCH Paula Fox - March 1  (Memoirist) Tommy Page - March 3 (Pop Singer) Misha Mengelberg - March 3 (Pianist) Robert Osborne - March 6 (Actor) Joni Sledge - March 10 (Pop Singer) James Cotton - March 16 (Blues Singer) Chuck Berry - March 18 (Rock Singer) Miloslav Vlk - March 18 (Religous Leader) Bernie Wrightson - March 18 (Illustrator) Jimmy Breslin - March 19 (Journalist) David Rockefeller - March 20 (Entrepreneur) Chuck Barris - March 21 (TV Show Host) Martin McGuinness - March 21 (Politician) Lola Albright - March 23 (Movie Actress) Dave Steele - March 25 (Race Car Driver) Clay Adler - March 26 (Reality Star) Darlene Cates - March 26 (Movie Actress) Enn Vetemaa - March 28 (Novelist) Donald Harvey - March 30 (Criminal)

APRIL Lonnie Brooks - April 1 (Singer) *Don Rickles - April 6 (Comedian) Tim Pigott-Smith - April 7 (TV Actor) Ben Speer - April 7 (Gospel Singer) Linda Hopkins - April 10 (Stage Actress) Peter Hansen - April 10 (TV Actor) Dorothy Mengering - April 11 (David Letterman's Mother) John Warren Geils Jr. - April 11 (Guitarist) **Charlie Murphy - April 12 (Comedian) Dan Rooney - April 13 (Politcian) Martin Elias Diaz - April 14 (World Music Singer) Allan Holdsworth - April 15 (Guitarist) Emma Morano - April 15 (Supercentenarian) **Cuba Gooding Sr. - April 20 (R&B Singer) Magdalena Abakanowicz - April 21 (Sculptor) **Erin Moran - April 22 (TV Actress) Gustavo Rojo - April 22 (Movie Actor) Michael Mantenuto - April 24 (Actor) Jonathan Demme - April 26 (Director) Vinod Khanna - April 27 (Movie Actor) BTY YoungN - April 29 (Rapper) Jean Stein - April 30 (Author) Ueli Steck - April 30 (Mountain Climber)

MAY Bruce Hampton - May 1 (Musician) Harriet Shelley - May 7 (Family Member/George Shelley's Sister) Curt Lowens - May 8 (Actor) Robert Miles - May 9 (Music Producer) **Christopher 'Big Black' Boykin - May 9 (Reality Star) Michael Parks - May 10 (TV Actor) Mauno Koivisto - May 12 (Politician) Powers Boothe - May 14 (TV Actor) Jean Fritz - May 14 (Children's Author) Brad Grey - May 14 (Entrepreneur) London Dior - May 15 (Rapper) Chris Cornell - May 17 (Rock Singer) Lisa Spoonauer - May 20 (Movie Actress) Dina Merrill - May 22 (Movie Actress) Nicky Hayden - May 22 (Motorcycle Racer) Roger Moore - May 23 (Movie Actor) Cortez Kennedy - May 23 (Football Player) Jared Martin - May 24 (Soap Opera Actor) Denis Johnson - May 25 (Poet) Jim Bunning - May 26 (Baseball Player) Gregg Allman - May 27 (Rock Singer) Frank Deford - May 28 (Novelist) Robert Michael Morris - May 30 (TV Actor) Michael Nance - May 30 (Reality Star)

JUNE Peter Sallis - June 2 (Voice Actor) Roger Smith - June 4 (TV Actor) Cheick Tiote - June 5 (Soccer Player) Glenne Headly - June 8 (Movie Actress) Norro Wilson - June 8 (Singer) *Adam West - June 9 (TV Actor) Julia Perez - June 10 (Movie Actress) Brandon Rogers - June 11 (Pop Singer) Bill Dana - June 15 (Comedian) Robin Twist - June 20 (Harry Style's Step-Father) Michael Nyqvist - June 27 (Movie Actor)

JULY Stevie Ryan - July 1 (TV Actress) Ji-Tu Cumbuka - July 4 (Movie Actor) Joan Lee - July 6 (Family Member/Stan Lee's Wife) Nelsan Ellis - July 8 (TV Actor) Elsa Martinelli - July 8 (Movie Actress) George A. Romero - July 16 (Director) Harvey Atkin - July 17 (Movie Actor) **Chester Bennington - July 20 (Rock Singer) **John Heard - July 21 (Movie Actor) Abby Nicole - July 23 (Singer) Michael Johnson - July 25 (Singer) June Foray - July 26 (Voice Actress) Leonard Landy - July 26 (Actor) Sam Shepard - July 27 (Playwright) D.L. Menard - July 27 (Singer) Marty Sklar - July 27 (Walt Disney Co. Imagineer) Jeanne Moreau - July 31 (Movie Actress) Chuck Loeb - July 31 (Guitarist)

AUGUST Daniel Licht - Aug. 2 (Musician) **Robert Hardy - Aug. 3 (Movie Actor) Ty Hardin - Aug. 3 (TV Actor) Yung Mazi - Aug. 6 (Rapper) Barbara Cook - Aug. 8 (Movie Actress) Yisrael Kristal - Aug. 11 (Supercentenarian) Joseph Bologna - Aug. 13 (TV Actor) Frank Broyles - Aug. 14 (Football Coach) Tom Hawkins - Aug. 16 (Basketball Player) Dick Gregory - Aug. 19 (Comedian) Jerry Lewis - Aug. 20 (Movie Actor) Jay Thomas - Aug. 24 (TV Actor) Rich Piana - Aug. 25 (Bodybuilder) Louise Hay - Aug. 30 (Self-Help Author)

SEPTEMBER Elizabeth Kemp - Sept. 1 (TV Actress) Amos Abplanalp - Sept. 7 (Evie Clair's Father) Troy Gentry - Sept. 8 (Country Singer) Blake Heron - Sept. 8 (Movie Actor) Bobby Heenan - Sept. 17 (TV Show Host) Liliane Bettencourt - Sept. 21 (Entrepreneur) Charles Bradley - Sept. 23 (Soul Singer) Elizabeth Dawn - Sept. 25 (Soap Opera Actress) **Hugh Hefner - Sept. 27 (Entrepreneur)

OCTOBER Tom Petty - Oct. 2 (Rock Singer) Ralphie May - Oct. 6 (Comedian) YA Tittle - Oct. 9 (Football Player) Sean Hughes - Oct. 16 (Comedian) Robert Guillaume - Oct. 24 (TV Actor)

NOVEMBER Hannah Stone - Nov.1 (Younow Star) John Hillerman - Nov. 9 (TV Actor) Lil Peep - Nov. 15 (Rapper) Ann Wedgeworth - Nov. 16 (TV Actress) Charles Manson - Nov. 19 (Criminal) David Cassidy - Nov. 21 (TV Actor) Rodney Bewes - Nov. 21 (TV Actor) Rance Howard - Nov. 25 (TV Actor)

DECEMBER Kevin Robinson - Dec. 9 (BMX Rider)

[beyondnarrative]

One of the most poisonous, most negative emotions of all, is regret. You know, if you take a deep breath in right now and think about what are all the regrets, you might have your own life. I'm sure it'll be a long list and it'll be a disturbing list. Well, Australian Writer, Speaker and Musician Ronnie Ware wrote a Best Selling book called The five regrets of dying people. And in that particular book, she spent over eight years in palliative care, looking after dying people, and she maintained a journal a diary during that period of time and asking this question to These folks, today as you look back into your life, what are your top regrets about life? And she started taking down answers from that interaction.

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay 

About one year into this process, she saw that, all these answers could be categorized, you know that there were a lot of similarities between them. And from these all research and process of taking notes and asking questions and spending time with these people. Her Best Selling book took birth, which was about the five regrets of dying people. And I would like to share those with you today because I believe, perhaps, the secret of the art of living lies in the secret of the art of dying, you know, famous Italian painter, artist reality which he said, as a day well spent, brings happy sleep. So a life well spent brings happiness. The whole idea is to spend your life in a way and to design your life in a way that when you're working Done. You will be empty; you will have given away everything you could have. You're not looking back with a sense of regret. I wish I could have I should have been Why didn't I try? At least I shouldn't have tried, you know, why did I give up and things like that? Those are very disturbing questions, right? So I would like to share with you these five regrets of dying people so that today, you can reflect on this. And I've been quoting Ronnie Ware work with international audiences around the world. And it's resonated with people. The only reason why because today as you'll listen to these five regrets, if you can, you know, resonate if some of these resonate with you, if you can connect with some of them, then it's probably time to pause and reflect and redesign your life. Because after all, you design your wardrobe don't you? You pay a lot of attention to designing your house, don't you the landscaping everything you know, you look after your fitness you look after your retirement. Why not and human beings we are the only species who have this gift that we are able to make changes in our life. We're not animals, we're not trees. If we do Like something, we're in a position to change it. And that's the whole idea here.

# #Top 5 Regrets Before Dying

As you reflect, see if some of these things are connecting with you. If you see the picture the story of your life in these five regrets, maybe it's time to change things, the topmost regret. The number one regret of dying people, as listed in the book called The five regrets of dying, folks, is  (1)_ I WISH, I HAD THE COURAGE TO LEAD A LIFE TRUE TO MYSELF, you know? And oftentimes, we are so busy living up to the expectations of other people that we forget who we are, who our potential is, what have we capable of doing? Do we get a chance? Do we give it a chance to blossom? Or have we are we just too busy running the race that everybody else's? Do we even spend time figuring out Am I running in the right race or not? Right? What if I win, and then realize it was the wrong race I was running in the right. Similarly, imagine I mean, some people have Very good at the ladder climbing the ladder of success. And I'm sure you are too, right. And we've been equipped with all these things, all these resources, all the information to speed up our journey up the ladder. Imagine if you will, that you're climbing the ladder of success, and then climbing it fast. But what if, when you get to the rooftop, you realize, hey, it's the wrong roof. It's gonna be too late to change them. Well, these folks who brawny were interviewed did not have a chance to rectify things. But you and I do, we're still alive. We still have chances we still can make amends are number one. The number one regret was I wish I had the courage to lead a life true to myself. And I'd like to ask the viewers here of this video. Are you living a life true to yourself? Or are you just busy living up to the expectations of other people? I'm reminded of a famous novel by Leo Tolstoy called the Death of Ivan Village. Ivan Ilitch was a magistrate. He was leading in ordinary life, you know, and you know doing success, you know doing financially well-having everything and, but he wasn't happy. He was not happy with his work. He was not happy with his family. He was not happy with any aspect of his life and one day while hanging up the curtains he falls down, injures himself and the doctor comes in season and says it's terminal you are going to die. Now during the process while he's on the bed, he's anger towards life increases manifold is now even angrier at his wife and his family and his doctor at himself. You know why? Because of one of these sleepless nights, this question started eating in front of them. And the question was, what if my whole life was wrong? What if my whole life was strong? And ladies and gentlemen watching this video, that can be a very painful question, what is the way I've lived my whole life was wrong. Another very important way of designing Life Are you living an authentic life do to yourself is what I've been sharing with audiences across the world is not about getting more stuff is perhaps about letting go of a lot of things which might not be working well for you. I'm reminded of a historical anecdote where the mayor of Sicily, found a huge block of someone brought a huge block of green light to him. And he thought there is only one artist in all of Italy who could create a beautiful, you know, statue out of it. And he thought of Michelangelo. Michelangelo was commissioned for this job and he asked for two years, he shot themselves in a room and for two full years, he worked on this block of gray night. And after two years, he presented the world what is known as the masterpiece of the Renaissance, the statue of David. In his biography, Michelangelo reflects and writes. He says when I first saw that block of gray night, I could already see my angel inside it for the next two years. All I have to do was to chip away, chip away, and remove everything that was not required. And I got what I needed. And I think the same applies to life as well. It's not about adding more stuff. It's not about having more not about doing more. Perhaps it's also about letting go of a lot of things, relationships, circumstances, thought processes, which might be hindering you back. What are yours? I think it's an important question to reflect on to help you design the life where you live in life true to yourself and your authentic life. Now, the second read, as listed in Brony wares best-selling book, The five regrets of dying people will go against everything that you've learned so far about success and achievement. Here's number two. (2)_  I WISH, I HADN'T WORKED SO HARD.  Now, it's important that we put it in the right context, right? In order to truly understand it. The way I look at it is I would say I'm working hard. If I'm not being able to give if I'm going upstream, if I'm struggling against the flow of If I'm not finding my creative voice, if I'm not doing the kind of work, which gives an expression to my higher self, that's when I'll use the term when working hard. And life is difficult. Because when after, I mean, it's been about a decade now, after I've switched my career track, and I picked a line of work that truly satisfies me. And as I reflect back on it, it doesn't seem like work anymore. People have often asked me, you know, so is it a day off today? Or are you working today? And I tell you, the boundaries have merged, you know, it's very hard to distinguish when it's work and when it's free leisure time. And as this beautiful quote, I think puts it best. It says, you know, if you pick a line of work that you if you pick work that you love doing, you won't have to work a single day for the rest of your life because it's merging and you're enjoying what you do. However, having said this, what I feel that these people who had this regret are truly trying to say is this. They were not able to balance work and the rest of their lives. They were not able to enjoy the little things around them, the sunrises, the sunsets, the smiles of their kids are the little things as they were growing up. I'm reminded of a famous author who said, in the hope of reaching the stars, men often fail to appreciate the flowers that blossom at their feet. In the hope of reaching the stars, we fail to appreciate the flowers that blossom around us. Take time today, out of your busy schedules, look away from your smartphones, right, shut it down for a while, and take time to enjoy the little things that life has given you. Because that is the whole that is where the beauty of being alive license right. I know work has its place, working hard as it has its place to in achieving what we want to achieve. But make sure that you're not paying too heavy a price that you regret later on. Make sure the price that you pay is worthwhile and that you are getting enough time. enough opportunities to rejuvenate yourself to refuel yourself, right otherwise You will end up burning up too soon.

And that's not the kind of ideal scenario you want to be in the third regret 

as expressed in Brony wares book is 

(3)_ I WISH,  I HAD THE COURAGE TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS Now, this is the second theme when the term courage comes up. So I do believe these five regrets have a lot revolving around letting go of your fears, right. But the third one's quite interesting. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings and from my opinion as a motivational speaker and a life coach over the last decade I believe the most underexpressed emotion of all is appreciation. We take things for granted okay with the I know that guy, guy person, that person in my work team know that I appreciate his work, but we failed to put it into words and guess what people around you do not mind readers. And after this opportunity's gone, you're going to regret it. I wish I could have appreciated that person and you have no idea what it means for the other person. Right. Apologies another area where we fall short off. Did you do something that you know Say something that you regret now to another person, okay? Now's the time, have the courage to walk up to them and say, Hey, you know, I was being a jerk the other day and I saw regret having said what I said and you know, say it, express it, don't bottle it up. When I talk about appreciation, I'm reminded of this model that I've been using sharing in my workshops called perhaps model haps hedge a BBs appreciate and I would like to change the spelling of the word now. So accountants talk about depreciation, and I want to change it from appreciation to appreciation. When you appreciate someone you appreciate who they are, you increase their self-worth, you increase their self-esteem. Perhaps the model is a very interesting model to follow, making it a way of life making appreciation a way of life. hedges for habitually acknowledge people tag people habitually is authentically, right. Don't fake it. Do it from your heart. Say what you really mean be promptly don't wait too long. The next P is proportionately right. And the final the S is specifically specific about, because that's how people really that's how behavior positive behavior is reinforced. Because we are very quick, actually, as a default behavior, to pick out mistakes and other people to pick out what's going wrong around us. It takes conscious effort to spot what is going right and to appreciate it, make it a way of life. And you will be a lifter because I believe people can be broadly divided into two categories, lifters and leaners. If you're in the habit of expressing positive emotions, of acknowledging good stuff that is happening around you, you're a lifter. And so this is the number three, I wish I had the courage to express what I feel at all times. It's Really, really powerful. It's letting go of that fear of embarrassment or that uncertainty how the other person might react. But, you know, express it positively, even if it's something negative, even if it's something that you have not appreciated. that you do not like, try to express it in a constructive way, and go and say to the other person, right, it's no point holding it up. Because I don't know it applies to all relationships, it applies to your family members applies to me. And you know, whether it's kids or parents apply, it applies to your colleagues. Because you never know who's not going to be around, you know whether they're going to move to a different place, or what's going to happen tomorrow, say it, don't miss the opportunity. So the photograph as listed in the book is, (4)_ I WISH, I WOULD HAVE STAYED IN TOUCH WITH MY FRIENDS MORE OFTEN. And I believe that this happens to all of us. And we're living in a digital age in the era of Facebook Likes and you know, looking at what other people are doing, but what we're missing increasingly, is the face to face human connection, right? Where we can exchange ideas where we can reflect back on our lives. And I feel it's really important as you move forward in life and as you achieve them so-called success is that you find time to develop a network where you're able to sit together and reflect back on how far you've come, how far others have come? What are the things that you're doing right and what is there to learn from others? because it would really help if your network is diverse, cultivate a diverse network of friends, and because it is going to get lonely at the top as you climb this ladder, so you need people to give you honest feedback, because you might end up being surrounded with people who are only giving you what you would like to hear. You don't want that happening. You want people who can be honest and straightforward and give you what you really need in order to make the changes in your life. Another very important factor here is that the diversity of ideas. So I am a very big believer. I'm a big believer that your personality is shaped by the time that you spend with the five or six people who are the closest to you. So be very careful who you're spending your time with. And reach out and connect to if you feel the folks who have achieved a lot who build things from scratch. We're doing things that you would like to do Spend more quality time with your friends and family members look up from that gadget which is keeping you busy. Because someday guess what they might not be around anymore. Spend time with friends and family. And I'm sure that you'll be able to relate to the fifth regret that is listed in this book, which is I wish I would have let myself be happier. The keyword here being let I believe we all have the ability to experience bliss. Actually, it's hard to come across depressed babies or infants, right? When we were born in a blissful state, right, and it's as we go along, and this journey of life and we collect stuff and behind these expectations and disappointments on this journey, that we start feeling that we start putting up the barricades on our own happiness. So listen to this carefully. (5)_ I WISH I WOULD HAVE LET MYSELF BE HAPPIER, The above statement, which implies that you already have the ability to experience happiness, but we just need to remove the battery Are there. Happiness is not something that you consciously choose. I believe it's a byproduct. I'm reminded of an interesting story by my favorite author, Dr. Wayne Dyer. He says, a little cat came back from happiness workshop. And it was moving around in circles, trying to bite its own tail. So grandpa cat was observing this behavior. And out of curiosity, Grandpa got asked the little cat, what do you been doing? So the little cat replied, see, I went to the happiness workshop and then the happiness workshop. They taught me that happiness lies in my tail. Therefore, I'm running around in circles trying to grab happiness. Grandpa cat had more experience with more wisdom. And he said, Okay, well, they did tell you the right thing. They did tell you that happiness lies in your tail, but you've got the process wrong. You don't have to go around in circles trying to grab your own tail. You just do what you have to do to go about doing the things that you must do. Extremely enjoying life and doing the things that you do, and happiness will follow you everywhere you go. And I believe that's a very powerful story with a very simple message. Happiness is not a destination that you seek. Happiness is a byproduct of the way you live your life. And I also believe that happiness is usually found in the little things. Now psychologists have found out there is a threshold, the amount of happiness and money and material success can add to your life. Two or three things I'd like to share with you about giving permission to yourself experiencing happiness. Number one being take time every day to appreciate what you already have, right? So often we are caught up in achieving this and the next journey and doing that, that we fail to appreciate that the universe has already given us so much. What we have today was probably something that we deeply desired a year ago or some time ago. And now that we have it, we take it for granted and it's no longer adding to the kitty of our happiness. I think that's the wrong way. Take time every day while you're traveling or wherever, wherever there's, you know, time alone with yourself to reflect on what are the gifts that I now have that I really craved for a few years ago. And now have them with me because you know to add to your build your own positive narrative, your own positive story of life, you're right so that you're able to convince yourself that good things are supposed to happen to me. I believe negative folks also have a story to tell they got a victim story, right? I hate my life because of this, this and happy and positive folks also have a story to tell they say I love my life. I'm so thankful so happy because of this, it's important that you look for the right reasons to support your point of view. The second thing I want to share with you to add more bless and happiness to your life is this. I was doing a lot of reading from offshore and I picked this from there. You know, he's inspired this thought. He says become conscious become aware of The negative thoughts that emerge in your mind, don't try to fight them, that you might be fighting a losing battle if you do that, but become conscious of negative thoughts as and when they enter your mind. Right. So just by becoming aware of you being caught up in negative thoughts will help you overcome that will help you to let go of that will help you say hell, okay, there I am going down this road once again there I am getting caught in this web once again, just that awareness, just a consciousness will allow you will give you the strength to move away from that. So appreciate the small things that you have in life. See, bless is there all around you and build the right story. Right? If your story is I'm thankful for this opportunity to be alive. You got to support it the evidence of good things that have already happened in your life. It's been over five years that I've been quoting brawny where's research on the five regrets of dying people. And although she is divided into five different categories with five different statements when I really think about it, and you know, I tried to put my own experiences to it and you know, to correlate it with the life, the lives of other people and my own life. I feel it's all about letting go of fear. It's all about letting go of fears and insecurities. And she's phrased it in different statements. But what I like to ask you is this, how would you live your life? If you were no longer afraid? What would and what are the things you would do? if you would no longer afraid because a lot of fears that hold us back fear of embarrassment, fear of failure for some fear of success for others, fear of the unknown, whatever it is, and these fears, to a large degree dictate the kind of decisions that we make.  And when whenever decisions are being dictated by fears. Those are not some of you know, the decisions that we make are not some of the most powerful ones. They are the more mediocre ones because we're trying to stay within the boundaries. Can we be ever truly free of these regrets? brainy bear has listed in a book. I don't know. Is it worth trying? I feel it is.  I hope that these five regrets and the thoughts that I've shared with you have given you some food for thought and some triggers for self-reflection. If you want to learn this content into deep then Click on this link for getting this Book

Stop Regretting and Start Dreaming

[thestagthatlovedthewolf]

Books that Exceeded your Expectations (Day 6 of “Seven Days of Top 7″)

Today, 9th of December is the sixth day of “Seven Days of Top 7″ - a week organized by Book Roast on Youtube - here’s her video today [x]. (Also the link to her video announcing the week if you want to join in [x])

So today, I bring you books that exceeded your expectations, in no particular order:

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, I was expecting this book to be okay, for me to like it, I hadn’t expected it to become one of favorite books. The writing is so smart and hilarious – there are multiple things I think about daily. Everyone who loved the Disney movie as kid, go read this now!! It’s excellent!! This is definitely the book that most exceeded my expectations!!

The Boxer : The True Story of Holocaust Survivor Harry Haft by Reinhard Kleist, I just honestly wasn’t expecting this to become one of my favorite comics – I thought it would be good, powerful and interesting, but I didn’t really think it would make my thought

“The Lunar Chronicles” by Marrisa Meyer, I had expected this series to be too YA cliché, too much love drama, but no, the love is only the cute type of thing, and then what I LOVE the most is that this story goes besides one place. It’s not an American dystopian like always, but you see most continents and when you don’t see it, you know how it’s holding politically. And it’s also very interesting how they play with the traditional fairy tales.

The Death of Ivan Ilitch by Leo Tolstoi, I had to read this for a class and having heard about Tolstoi I thought this would be a super hard book to read, but the writing is AMAZING, it reads really easily. It became my favorite classic when I read it (since then I’ve read Peter Pan and Animal Farm, that have surpassed it, but it’s still my third favorite classic) 

Landline by Rainbow Rowell, again I was expecting to like it, but this was one of her books I was less looking forward too, and that’s probably because I never really knew what it was about – because it checks my favorite things, magic and male-female friendships (honestly I had mentioned how I love writing about these two things in a oral presentation in a creative writing class like two weeks before I read the book). But honestly I believe it’s her best book, it terms of what I like the most, it’s still really close to Fangirl, because of what it means to me.  

Baltasar and Blimunda by José Saramago, this one was a novel I read for school in 12th grade, and while I liked the plays I read for school, I had never really liked a mandatory reading novel. And this is not easy to read, and the title English sounds so much more interesting that in Portuguese, but the book was really GOOD!! Multiple stories that are connected, with a very beautiful love story, but also a great historical setting… Even if by the end I really thought that shouldn’t be mandatory reading – that ending… 

House of Rejoicing by Libbie Hawker, maybe because this was the first book I read that I got off free from Google Play through the BookBub page, I wasn’t expecting much. So I was pleasantly surprised when this book was truly good and so interesting, and I’ve been lucky to have found a few more surprises for free on Google Play.

Day 1 [x]

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[unreadpoppy]

What I told myself I would do: Finish The Death of Ivan Ilitch

What I ended up doing: Read the entirety of Jinrou Game: Villagers Side manga

[lettersfromcarol]

📗 Days of productivity - 2/100 📗

Catching up on some readings for my research in Discourse Analysis with books about Bakhtin's theories. Plus, I'm already in the middle of The Death of Ivan Ilitch, so I believe I'll finish it tomorrow.

[lettersfromcarol]

🍎 Days of productivity - 1/100 🍎

Currently reading The Death of Ivan Ilitch by Lev Tolstói while drinking some black coffee with a side apple. Besides this, I'm also finishing my final report on my Discourse Analysis' research.