The world I live in

In my world...

1. People matter. They constitute hope for the future. The generations of internet, nuclear equipment, genetic revolution, global warming, terrorism, aids, and other issues that stick to the global agenda for decades. The generations to fight Idiocracy.
   
2. What you give is what you get. Effort equals growth.
3. People do things without expectation of recognition.
4. People understand concepts as Vision and Values. While some spin around them, like bees around flowers, others sit right on top of them. They get fed and thus function.
   
5. Time and space shift values. They pour down the walls in cascades, like thousands "Persistence of Memories", snatched off their expensive frames.
6. There are so many shapes and colors, not even Lijphart could compare and classify.
7. Do at least the effort of understanding the past, while dealing with the present, and building for the future.
8. Everything you are is everything you have. The distance between word and thought, thought and action. Not between the first and last last grade on your graduation sheet.
9. Is comprised of experiences that lead to options. The more options people have, the more their lives are worth living.
10. Intense finds no appropriate Superlative Form. Mistakes are Precious and Failures Successes. Ignorance is constrained to hide it's dirty face.
    

My world is like a war helmet. When I will step out of it, I'll keep the casket and remember what good it has done to me.

Some days ago I realized My world is a Conscious Choice.

I was talking to one of my former high school friends last night, and after displaying his ironic opinion on AIESEC, we were trying to set a date for catching up. When asked about it, I said:

"We could go out for a drink tomorrow". He patronizingly replied :

"Tomorrow night Bestival concerts start. One what world do you live in?"

My Leadership Style

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

From the series: What rock band, beverage drink, pet, poet, and so on ... are you, here comes this one. Gandhi was actually one of my early idols.

(Re) Discovery

The Dickinson Electronic Archives have been updated. It's been quite a while since I looked around. However, not all the articles can be viewed. I was quite interested to read some of Emily's letters to Susan. For those interested (if anyone actually reads this and loves Emily Dickinson), I found the first chapter of Open me Carefully, in a New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/hart-open.html?_r=2&oref=slogin

Enjoy! :)

Meanwhile

When I first thought of creating a Blog, I thought I'd use it to go back in time and see how many things happened and how those things affected me, the way I think and act.I realized today I wasn't doing that much of that, so here I am trying to catch up.

I'm in Bucharest now. One of latest activities on the agenda was the Board of Advisers Meeting. Was quite surprised by the people attending it. I've set meetings and got some pretty good inputs. They were quite nice to spare some of their time for us, and sustainable future. However, there is a limit to their kindness - of course. When eyes look down and noone says a word. I keep noticing different types of people here. Bucharest taught me not to be surprised.

A more pleasant event was the RoPDU Planning. The guyz reminded me of Breakfast Club. In each of the there is a bit of each other they have to explore more. It was one of those moments when I put more than an equal share of my heart and my mind. Hope I'll get some back :)

Some other lesson: It's incredible how people in AIESEC have the same goals and way of thinking. Get to know each other in TMU. It was like my thoughts, experience so far and ideals, signed, by turn, by people around my age all over the world.

(Re) Discovered: Klimt, Fowles, watermelon, working in the office, long distance calls with munchkin, externals, extreme temperatures, agendas, quantity of sent and received mails per days measured in two numbers, fruits, planning.

Quote of the Day: "All men are children, and of one family. The same tale sends them all to bed, and wakes them in the morning."
Henry David Thoreau

Free will

There was a young man who said, 'Damn,
In is borne upon me that I am
A creature that moves
In predestinate grooves--
Not even a bus, but a tram.'


If ever asked if I believe in destiny, I usually can't help a big smile. Not because I consider this amusing in any way, but because the idea of a "superior force" guiding our steps and watching over us is very much against everything I believe in as a person, against every form of freedom I value, but most importantly against freedom of choice.

However, two days ago, as I was getting ready to leave from Bacau to Bucharest, I received a phone call from my friend saying my exams are starting in two days, not in a week, as I was told and as the year structure posted next to the Secretary's door said.

I was unpleasantly surprised, not only because I had only 1 day to study, but mainly because I had a meeting on Monday I did not want to miss. Eventually, the hour of the meeting was changed, and I was to go to Iasi the next day, which was Sunday, then go to the exam on Monday morning at nine, then take the train at 14 and arrive in Bucharest at 21.30, then go to the meeting.

This morning at nine o'clock there was nobody from my year of study around. I was expecting the teacher to be late, but not them. At 9.30 a teacher comes and tells me I'm supposed to come at 16, that's when the exam takes place. :|

As I was coming back from school, I realized some things are beneath our power of choice, that we are conditioned by the perimeters of the systems we are a part of. Direct participation is not only a concept for defining actively engaged citizens in politics or community, but it spreads out to education or NGOs or any form of institution or process that is a system or is part of one.

Of course, the more we express our choices the better thing go for us. Had I decided to join the Student Council or be the Student Year Coordinator, I would have had something to say about it.

What's more, terms such as political clientelism can be easily applied here as well. If I had been in contact with the Student Year Coordinator, making her some small favors, complimenting her, or whatever else polite terms are there to substitute ass kissing, she would have given me the big favor of telling me the exact hour of this exam, and who knows what else.

There is , for sure, a list out there with people who get this information very easy... And I am not a part of it. This, of course in the hypothesis of the Teacher actually consulting someone about it...

Two days ago, my mum asked why I don't find school as attractive as I used to.

The Zen Week

Remember this week.
Ever since January or perhaps last year you've been waiting for it.

It's now surprising to see the changes. What was once avoided has now become interesting or even pleasant. Watching TV, reading History books, cooking, day sleeping, reading casual non urgent mails..or creating a Blog.

However, the best part of it was still being in touch with people and my duties. Then I realized. By far, these have been the most balanced days of my life. Everything was into place. Balance, must surely be, a primordial condition for circles of influence to expand. Beyond any system, numbers or theories, it alone can trigger constant and long term change. Perhaps we should try working on that for the next Leadership Development Seminars.

Balance is the core of Zen philosophy. The human mind, unconsciously balancing the opposites. Sounds pretty easy, doesn't it?

Daily thoughts

Salty waters bathe my feet
- their road is safe and thought of
Nonetheless, formulas are changing
It's two steps forward and one back.
I am not to choose latter destinations -
Was last taken at the market
Mistaken though -
- I am not for trade
And neither are my goods.