New year wish!

All families can pass through hard periods from time to time. It is no exception from this the european family. A families real strength is measured in problematic times. This can be an opportunity for it’s members to test their convictions, their determination and fidelity towards the other members of their family. Sometimes even with the sacrifice of their own interests for the common benefit of all the members of the family. But we have to be sure, that our sacrifice is not going in vane, and there will be a guarantee that the family will benefit from it, and after we pass the critical period, we can all follow our growth together.

In the current economic context, when the sword of Damocles of the economic crisis is shaking the fundaments of the values and beliefs of the european people, there is a strong need for such guarantees. In the past, it was the monarchy who represented a sign of continuity of the long term plans of a nation. Nowadays it seems that the population is paying less and less confidence in the politicians and their decisions. Maybe because there is not enough precedent (excepting Iceland) of politicians being made accountable for their wrong decisions.

Maybe sometimes politicians are doing too much politics and too little policies. And it’s hard to think for a long term project, which results are going to be seen maybe in decades, when the goal is to be re-elected after 4 or 5 years for a new mandate...

James Freeman Clarke said that „a politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation”. People are looking for stability, for guarantees that they can trust their governments. This economic crisis is also a crisis of trust. A crisis of peoples expectations and politicians offers. Who is trustworthy enough to reestablish the global order? Is it the time for a new global order?

I wish that this new year, we will free ourselves from the weaknesses of the past, and that we will have the courage to take our destiny in our own hands, and the courage to build a more sustainable, fair and human friendly world.

Docens per ludum

Regarding the previous post, I will quote a very dear person I’ve had the honour and pleasure to meet here, and who's supportive words gave me so much courage in this past period. So, the maastrichtians are more than “good hosts” they are “warm host” (because in the previous post I said the term “good host” doesn’t sounds good enough for me to describe them).

I discovered yesterday the importance of the “returning to innocence”. And by this I mean the returning to the stage of the most active learning we had in our entire life: a 3 years old child stage. And this of course, in a very specific way. A 3 years old child is doing only the things he wants to do and it’s rejecting any imposed obligations made by others. He is continuously learning, discovering a new world, enjoying and finding the pleasure in what he is actually doing.

I grew up all my childhood with the idea that “life is hard, no matter what we do”, that “we have to do things we don’t like, because that’s how life should be”, but nobody told me that you should do things that makes you happy. You should try crazy stuff because you learn from them. All the experiences we get could be enriching if we choose to learn from them.

It is a consequence of a maturity to realise that you are the only one responsible for your own growth, for your personal and professional development; responsible for  choices you make in your path because you were gifted with all the necessary tools you needed to achieve happiness and personal and professional fulfillment.

I wish to dedicate this posting to my dear friends Daniela, Ioana and Dragos because they understand very well all this principles and inspire people around them to discover them.

A new day has come

 

I decided to start writing my posts in English, as I’m going to live in Maastricht for one year and this way it would be the easiest for all my new friends to read my postings.

I would like to share with you my first experiences in this lovely city. The first thing what comes to my mind regarding the people of Maastricht (or maastrichtians ) is the “good host”. In Romanian we have a nice word for this, which I feel much warmer: “gazda buna”. And indeed they are.

After walking a whole day on the old streets down town, it could happen that you wake up in a busy intersection, trying to find on your map, where exactly you are, and how to get to your destination. It is not the end of the world… but you’re in a foreign country, far away from home, and sometimes you may feel a little bit lost. It’s not the case in Maastricht. You don’t have to bother asking someone for help. You don’t have the chance, because the maastrichtians are coming to you warmly and smiling, asking you if they can help you. They anticipate your problem, and offer themselves voluntarily to help you. How welcoming is that?

Since I got here I strongly feel a very positive karma everywhere. I feel very lucky and a deep gratitude for all those who helped me to get here. I’m looking forward to start effectively the studies in Maastricht University in the middle of all this good hosts or “gazde bune”. I take my hat off in front of all the maastrichtians!