A Problem or a Motivation to Act? Part 2.

I was trying to remember some example from my life to illustrate the idea raised in “A Problem or a Motivation to Act?” It turned out to be quite a hard task for me as what was a problem for me in the past stopped being it in the present.

When we bought our village house 2 years ago, all the weekends, from morning till night, were devoted to its cleaning and repairing. For example, we spent three weekends repairing the borehole and trying to fit the electric pump there. And finally, by the end of Sunday, everything had been done! There was so much joy when we saw water pouring from the hose without any breaks! We send water off into the air enjoying the rainbow, splashed, watered blackcurrant bushes growing near the house. In a word, we poured water from the bottom of our hearts…
And suddenly something strange happened. The bricks with which the wall of the 2-meter pit (for the borehole and pump) was faced started first slowly and then quicker to go down into the bottom of the pit. In a word, it was a catastrophe! The water, which we had been pouring near the house, went into the ground and the swelled ground began to push the bricks carefully laid by the previous owners of the house out into the pit. Then the soil followed after the bricks. Naturally, we stopped the stream of the water. And it seemed that the process of brick-falling also stopped. But it started raining…

So, what do you think about this problem which happened to us at the end of Sunday after two previous days filled with work? No way could we leave everything as it was as it meant that there was a wide hole leading into our house from outside. We collected all our will and not thinking about the difficulty of the situation and supported by the “second breath” we started digging the ground in the place it collapsed (i.e. outside, near the house). On the depth of 0,5 meter we put metal sheets which we had found in the house and some soil above them. We also made major repairs in the pit. The next weekend my husband made a canopy starting right from the roof for the rain water to fall down at some distance from the house.

Already in a few days we appreciated the true value of the situation we had faced. Heavy rains started then and they could lead to the same situation. And as we were not in the village on the working days, nobody knows what it could have ended up with. And besides, due to the idea to make a canopy, we can make shishkebab when it is raining now. Moreover, my husband and I were so proud of each other for the shown patience, hardiness and determination when repairing the wall of the pit.

So, there is always a ray of light in any situation, isn’t it?

Thought of the idea: “Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today. Don’t make the other do what you can do yourself” (Thomas Jefferson).

photo by the author

The Wedding. Interesting Traditions

True marriages are said to be made in Heavens. But the earthly wedding plays an important role as well: it is a kind of acknowledgement of the new family from the part of society (which is a very important psychological moment for the newly married). And especially it is so nice when no rude traditions (like excessive drinking or fighting) spoil the wedding. One gets such a pleasant feeling when everything happing at the wedding is pure (by the way, in the West the white color of the bride’s dress is meant to highlight purity).

I have visited many weddings (as a guest and as a photographer) but only at the wedding of my friends last Friday I saw what I had never expected to see – an unknown to many wedding tradition.

Buddha’s Spiritual Seeking

 Buddha Jayanti (also known as Buddha Purnima because it is celebrated on the full moon) is the most sacred festival to Buddhists, marking Lord Buddha’s birthday, enlightenment and entrance into Nirvana. It is also known as Vesak (derived from the Sanskrit name for the month in which it falls – Vaisakha) in Sri Lanka and other Buddhist countries.

This year Buddha’s birthday is celebrated on May 2.

Till the time I read “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse I had known nothing about Buddha except for his name, nationality and the fact that his spiritual seeking had led him to the Truth and that is why there are lots of Buddhists nowadays who are seeking the same but, because of some reason, do not find it.

And the fact that Buddha has found the Truth inspired my respect to him.

I remember that when in the university we discussed the Buddha’s teaching. But from that seminar I grasped, frankly speaking, nothing except for the impression that nobody, including the teacher herself, completely understood what exactly Buddha had realized when he got the enlightenment.

We have recently watched the film “Little Buddha” with Keanu Reeves playing Buddha. In general, the film is quite dull but the scene of the Spirit’s fight with everything alien and the further enlightenment is very beautiful and attractive. There are three main ideas in the film:

Easter. Its Symbolism.

It is either sunny or snowy behind the window. And sometimes the snow is falling in the bright sunshine.

– Jesus has resurrected!

– Verily he has!

People in orthodox countries tell and write each other. But do many realize what is behind these words?