Winter Beauty

By mid-December I will start missing the lush palette of the more colourful seasons, and by late January this becomes a persistent craving. None of that diminishes the beauty of the concomitant grays and browns suddenly brought out of the shadows, with white reigning supremely as the colour of winter. Illustrations of tropical scenery take my breath away, so otherworldly they appear. The photographs in black and white fit the mood perfectly. A splash of colour here and there adds a nice touch of superficiality and creative play - like buying a small carton of raspberries at the market in January. What could be more exulting than being able to hold something so red in the depths of winter?

Did you know that the body produces vitamin D through exposure to the Sun? Of course you knew that. But imagine this amazing ability to produce a chemical by just walking in the Sun, and that compound will in turn help build strong bones, protect skin and tissues, prevent disease. Sure, you could purchase it in a pill, pretty much everything comes in a pill these days, and part of the demand is filled through proper diet, but the best one comes produced in your own factory of life. So forget occasionally to put on your sunscreen on the days you are not on the beach and be an assistant in your own chemistry lab.

2 Rs

Working currently on a project that occupies much of my time and thought, I took stock of the physical demands such commitment entails: I sleep erratically and not sufficiently by any count but wake up rested and eager to go back to work; my appetite is sluggish as I am not hungry, or don't remember to eat; I am in the high kinetic mode and never in a bad mood; I look great and positively radiant…

If I had met someone on the street I haven't seen in years, what would she think? Why, that's obvious: Ivana, you must be in love! And I would laugh out a happy laughter and tell her – no, I am not. But I am full of passion! I don't know why, my enthusiasm may run out tomorrow, nothing may come out of the project – and it doesn't matter. Realizing this – that what makes me move in this incredible way is passion – has brought on unexpectedly a full-blown domino effect. Everything has been leveled and I have my New Year Resolution and pretty much My Life from Now Resolution: I will seek passion from now on, because what else is there at the end of the day but the look back with a satisfied grin: that was well spent.

Passion is honest. Genuine. Fits perfectly. Knows no dissatisfaction. Never falters. Comes undiluted. Appreciates life.

If I could wish someone truly the best, it would be what I would choose for myself – live a passionate life.

And So It Begins

I unabashedly have great hopes for the New Year. These hopes are not specific to a project or idea - they may not even be hopes. They manifest as a not yet fully morphed sense of the right place at the right moment in time. There is wonderful feeling of rightness that follows me around these days. Everything is suffused by a sense of ease.

The year behind was a successful year, with several new products launched and a brand new website – each of these a major feat in its own right. Why does it all feel as just an overture, I don't know. But I am looking forward to discovering the source of my enthusiasm.