Samstag, 13. März 2021
Stand by me.
Donnerstag, 11. März 2021
Oh, the flow!
Mittwoch, 10. März 2021
I say hello to the nice people.
Hello there, nice people!
Good news: I continued the practice routine (Guitar + singing), and am making progress with the song I chose to sing for singing lessons... ^^ I quickly jotted down the chords for the song, too, so that I could accompany myself when I am practicing. :) With singing lessons, I had my third one this week. I honestly think it is both something I am grateful for and something that challenges me... Singing is one of the things that make me happiest.
I also got to write the second song for my album, so there are still 11 more to go. :) I am looking forward to the rest of them, and to recording them for real... I hope by the time I am done that the pandemic will be over (Stop laughing now, will you!!).
I hope you are all doing fine. :) I also continued taking walks each day, despite it snowing last night and whatnot. It brings me so much joy to get out, breathe in fresh air, move my legs a little, and so on and so on. It is just a win-win situation for me (and for the dog! :D).
What else? I think that's about it. I will now continue with the obvious.
Question No. 6 from the 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind: If happiness was a national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
There are many! :) I think first and foremost, music has to be involved. Whenever I am surrounded by music, when I am practicing or performing, when I am talking about music, when I discover new songs / bands / musicians that I find awesome, etc. That makes me happy. I look up to those who know what they are doing, and also to those who say they don't (but it somehow always works out well :P) musically. I think music is the ultimate form of art for me... It gives me pictures in my mind that move around like a movie, or that stand still like put in a picture frame. It expresses things that cannot be put into words, and when it uses words, most often the poetic language accompanying the pieces is doing what the melody and rhythm do on their own, too. It is fascinating. I think, if somebody gave me all the instruments I wish for (AHEM... There are many. ;)), I would maybe never be found again, unless I feel like performing. I don't mind either, TBH. Just--- music. So yes, I would most likely be making music. ^^ Also, dabbling into other creative endeavors... It just makes me feel rebellious in an odd way, and when feeling rebellious I feel alive, and therefore quite happy. I wouldn't mind these to stay "side projects" though, even though I think it is nice to shake things up every now and then... Also, speaking foreign languages with other people, hopefully their native language. And working with tarot cards, astrology, etc. And some exercises, too (As I said above, walking! And dancing, too!). And travelling.... AND :D... I think this is all.
I know I am not the greatest ever in any of these, but I think this is not the question. I think this is just perfectionist Rina chiming in to say, "You cannot earn anything with any of this, you are not good enough yet!". I think, if people always waited for permission to follow their hearts, the world would never make steps forward. We'd still be stuck with what happened so so so long ago. No progress. We need to find out what matters to us, and I feel this thing that is so dear to us is YEARNING to be expressed. Please don't let it yearn forever...
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Last point for today, five more things that I like about myself (This is so hard to do!):
11) Despite my problems with perfectionism (Which is a long term one!), I don't mind embarrassing myself every now and then (by doing something different). I think I have done quite a lot of things in my life that others would shake their heads over, even though I didn't harm anybody. For example, in summer I once went barefoot through our pedestrian precinct, put my shoes into my trousers (They didn't fall down, thank goodness XDD), and just enjoyed that I could walk over the asphalt feeling the earth below my feet. It was nice. It wasn't the only time I went outside without any shoes or that I removed my shoes in the long run (PUN!), but I think a lot of people just stared at me... I didn't mind, I said back then I wanted to start a new trend. Didn't work, but still, it was fun. :P Don't you blame me.
12) I try to be honest with everybody I get to know, but without hurting their feelings. This is quite a task to do, but usually I manage to do this just fine. I often find the right words in situations when others may need them, and I have been told before that I can really uplift other people... I think this is something like a hidden talent of mine, and I don't acknowledge it enough.
13) I am passionate. And Biff goes: "Oh là là?" I mean this mostly in the sense of, when I love something, I dive into this deeply. I want to learn everything about it. It excites me, and my full enthusiasm gets absorbed into this one special something. (There is a downside to this, though, but we are not here to talk this much about downsides, eh?)
14) I'm sosososo rebellious. I have always loved stuff that was not seen or heard everywhere. My favourite celebrity growing up was David Bowie (THANK YOU, LABYRINTH!! :D) and I still remember how this younger version of me was like, "I will marry David Bowie when I grow up!" - Well, you can see clearly now, this hasn't worked out (Plus, I wouldn't want to take him away from the love(s) of his life). BUT! With Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King, I found a type of person I really adored. And the more I learned about so-called alternative subcultures (I mainly refer to punk and goth right now), the more I saw people with e. g. tattoos and piercings, the more I felt drawn to the lifestyle. I feel this is something that goes against the norm and expresses some rebellion, BUT I also adore how it looks, I love the music from the genres especially associated with these two categories. I adore androgyny, too (Again, thanks to Bowie!). I also once had a crush on Alice Cooper for a short while when I was eight. Not to the point I would say I wanted to marry him (I was out of that phase by then XD), but I think back then I drew a lot of comics and invented stories with guys called Alice for this simple reason. Yeah... Yeah.
15) I don't take myself too seriously (Despite what others may think!). Sure some things from my past I wouldn't joke about, as these weren't things that I would wish upon anybody else. BUT! I can make jokes about myself, I can really laugh about some stuff I have done, and I can admit openly that I have made mistakes in the past. I think this is something important to do; we all are here to learn, after all. It all depends on the context of course, but usually I can laugh about my own silly events coming into my life!
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And that's that... again. ^^ Have a lovely rest of the day, people out there!!
Freitag, 5. März 2021
Developing routines.
Dienstag, 23. Februar 2021
Nope.
I am feeling seriously depressed right now. :( I made progress with two of my goals at least, namely the one about writing songs for my album (one is written), and the one of taking walks every day. And also the nameless goal. But still, I am feeling really bad, and I think I shouldn't answer nor list anything for this time right now, as it would be way too much pressure that would come with this. I will continue taking walks, singing, and writing songs, as these are my main points of focus right now. I hope you are not mad; I will continue with the rest once I am feeling better again.
*sending hugs to everybody reading this*
Samstag, 20. Februar 2021
We can do what we want, we can go wherever we please~.
Hey!
For some odd reason, I wanted to quote a song from a really great TV series here in the subject line :P. If you can guess which one, I will give you a virtual cookie. *nods*
I actually took a walk this morning with my mother and my dog. ^^ We had a lovely time, even though the duration was not as long as it could have been, apparently. But I am currently feeling a bit ill (physically; though I am very sure it is nothing to worry about!), so walking for too long felt more like torture, and this way, I at least got some fresh air in the meantime.
Today's question - bring it on!
4) When it's all said and done, will you have said more than you've done?
Once again, I feel a bit unsure. I of course can only talk from this very moment (and the past assigned to me) - not the future -, but right now I am feeling more like I would have said more than I've done if I passed away now indeed. And it irks me to say this, but this is something to change, after all. I want to change something about my habits / ways of planning. I rarely ever plan anything, for the reason that I feel overwhelmed so easily by a bunch of tasks to tick off, even if these tasks were just minor ones.
I wish it weren't like this. I know so many people who have no problem with this kind of paralysis towards one's tasks. I now watched a video which also took the side for the Eisenhower Matrix. I have seen this in quite a few books on time management, and I never actually tried it. Maybe it will speak more to me, since it is not as diligently written one after the other, which ironically could make a difference to me. *sighs*
I know, for myself, I cannot plan every minute / second of a day (I would feel like I was a loser if I needed to do one thing for a bit longer than it should have taken), but if I could give myself some kind of routine for this matter, it would help. I think the guy in the video explained it better than I could have ever explained it myself, though. He is called Nathaniel Drew on YT, and the video I meant is called "A Simple Way to Organize Your Life". I highly recommend it.
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And else? I thought I want to start tackling yet another goal (number 90 - "Make a list of 25 things I like about myself"). I will be doing five in each step, I think, so here are some things I like about myself...
1) I am very creative. I love spending my time composing songs, drawing, writing, crafting, making up dance choreographies, whatever. I often have ideas when e. g. listening to music (especially concerning music videos, but also other ideas), and getting into movement in general helps me clear my mind and stay creative. I often feel like a tiger walking from one corner to the next, but it really helps with thinking through ideas.
2) My thoughts run very deep. I am a bit of a philosopher deep down. I like asking questions (not just myself but also other people), and I like provoking other people to think about their own limits... I remember even as a child in first grade, I questioned anything I learned, and tried to find out whether there were any exceptions for the facts we have been presented. This is not to say I didn't enjoy learning (I still do! See number 4!), but I felt like this was a game I could play with myself for hours... Especially maths was a subject I often did this with... I also remember some of the questions I asked back then still didn't get answered to this day. For instance, I was wondering why I felt like I was *myself*, so I asked my then-four-year-old sister what it was like to be her, whether she had this same experience, just from another perspective. I know this isn't easy to answer, especially for children, but it really shaped some ideas for myself (That we all have the same experience, but that I will never know for sure, because we don't have the same soul.).
3) I am quite empathic. Another anecdote from my childhood. I had a favourite plate when I was a child, which was full of fun doodles on its sides. However, this plate only existed once in our home, so I once asked whether one of my parents (I think it was my father) could exchange plates with me. So he gave me my favourite plate, and I gave him the one I was given beforehand. Then I thought, "This was actually really mean towards the plate I already had... Maybe the plate is feeling very sad now that I gave it away.", so I apologised to my "fave plate" and asked my father to please exchange the plates once again. I often felt like, everything could have a soul, no matter whether it moves or not, so I didn't want this plate to feel sad about this. *sighs* I still experience moments like this, maybe not as "dramatic" (I was close to tears back then when I imagined how the first plate would have felt.), but... Let's just say, I avoid huge gatherings of many, many people in most instances, and I usually can understand what other people say without having to add any words to this. I often cry whenever others are sad, or I get angry when others feel this rage, too. I know I could classify as an empath, judging a bunch of other experiences, but I will leave it at this.
4) I love learning new things, and am not afraid to ask questions if I don't understand one thing (or more), as I already said. I think one is never too old to learn something new, and I am curious about the things I don't know yet. I, for this reason, am looking forward to the task concerning Coursera. :) I think this will be an awesome opportunity. I looked through some more courses there, and I am really excited about starting. I just am giving myself a bit of time to save up the money for Coursera Plus.
5) I am really idealistic. I have been a vegetarian ever since I was about ten years old, and am slowly but surely diving more into veganism (as much as possible). I have always seen the nature and its inhabitant animals as my friends. I know that I shouldn't be reckless when coming across an animal, but I also know that, it is mostly up to me how the animal in question will react. I think one should respect these enteties of Earth (Nature, animals, etc.), without any feeling of fear (as in, being scared of anything on this planet). I want to live without as much plastic as I *normally* use. I do not blame those who, for whatever reason, cannot make such commitments (Also for the sake of my own ideals.), but I think that reduction of unnecessary input and focusing on what is important can be an important first step. I also have to say, whenever somebody tries to argue with me why their "ism"s (sexism, racism, and - okay, something not ending in -ism - homo-/transphobia) are absolutely okay in their eyes, I will get really angry. Or when people do harmful things to others (humans, animals, nature) for whatever reason.
I think you got the idea. ^^ I think these are also the reasons why I feel so deeply connected to my MBTI type (INFP)... Aaaand that's about it all for now.
Freitag, 19. Februar 2021
P is for PROGRESS! :D
Heyhey! :)
Hope you all are doing well. I worked on some more goals (Namely the nameless one, and the one featuring the daily walks; I went for a walk twice today.). As for the nameless goal, I will not talk about this matter, but I am feeling really well. As for the walking, I guess this might be an additional reason. I really love taking walks in nature. And my dog enjoys it, too! :)
I also want to answer the third question from the 50 Questions list now:
3) If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don't like and like so many things we don't do?
I think the point is that there is a lot of pressure from other people on individuals in general. Also, we have this saying in German (I am not sure whether it exists in other languages, sorry), going, "First the work, then the pleasure." I always hated this saying, because a) it drew a line between things you have to do to survive and whatever brought you joy... And b) it was not always necessary to keep this up in my eyes?
For example, I remember when I came home from one of the first days of school after the summer holidays when I was roughly 14/15 years old... I wanted to stick to this saying, because I felt like, then I would be allowed to have some free time, and... Guess what, I had to do homework until 10pm to keep up with this. On a daily basis. After the third day in a row of having to do this, also for subjects we didn't have the next day, I started sticking to another schedule, which helped me keep myself away from being completely overwhelmed with homework.
I think, of course, there are some things in life that are not fun at all, that have to be done in order to keep yourself from losing a lot of money unnecessarily (Like doing taxes...). But I also think one should minimise the amount of such tasks for one's own wellbeing to a minimum. If you just work, work, work, without seeing any sense behind it, I feel you may be in danger of developing some other problems. Just my two cents.
However, to get back to the question: I, too, don't do EVERYTHING I love doing on a daily basis, but I am trying to. I will not beat myself up for not completing stuff I wanted to complete e. g. yesterday; I need to show myself some compassion. And it ought to be FUN after all. I am working on this list, too, because I feel this could help with some projects dear to my heart... That's why I chose to do this challenge, after all. :)
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Also, I talked with my mother about something to put into practice once I plant the seeds for my snapdragons and sunflowers. ^^ I just saw today somebody using old toilet paper rolls (term?) as single "pots" to plant seeds into. They put some soil into each of them, and put a seed into this, put the entire bunch of toilet papers into a large flower pot, and now they are growing really well. ❤ I love this idea. So I looked around for some flower pots today... I found some, but ironically, those saying they would send them via mail... ended up saying in the ads: "We won't ship those anywhere, you have to come here to buy them." -__-
You can imagine how I am feeling now... But it is fine, I will get my snapdragons and sunflowers planted! :P I really love both flowers... I am just wondering whether I should put one of the pots (for the snapdragons) infront of my window instead of onto the balcony. Either would have its pros and cons, actually. I hope both will not be poisonous for cats and dogs, though...
Other than that, I have been thinking about which teacher to pick for task number 41 (Write a letter to my favourite teacher). I am thinking of several ones, but unfortunately, I cannot find one of them at all. But! I am thinking maybe my teacher from primary school, who's hopefully still alive. I don't know yet... *hides* I don't even know what exactly to write, but there is this urge to do so.
I hope everybody is having a nice day! :)
Donnerstag, 18. Februar 2021
Consider this (goal 50, 35, and 7)
'ello!
How are you all doing today? I hope you are fine. I have some news concerning the goals mentioned in the subject line... With number 50, I will answer today's question in a moment. Then, I think I am already doing number 7 (taking walks everyday for a week): I went for walks twice today, which was much fun and I enjoyed that a lot! :)
Then, I also narrowed down which courses I'd like to do on Coursera, most of which are specialisations actually. I am considering saving the money to get Coursera Plus actually. ^^ I have recently been receiving some questions about UI/UX Design, and since I had no idea what this had to mean, I looked it up... Sounds quite interesting, so I might be doing this specialisation dedicated to acquiring some grasp of this subject... And two more specialisations in the field of music. Maybe something creative-writing-wise, too. And graphic design sounds interesting, too.
Anyhow, let's get on with number 50, shall we? Today's question is the second in the list:
Which is worse, failing or never trying?
Of course, I would like to answer this with "Never trying is much, much worse", and I agree with the sentiment. In the past, however, I have been terrified of failing at anything. I always had to be on top, and when I didn't happen to be, I would get immensely depressed. This kind of perfectionist attitude actually ruined a lot for me, almost including my love for making music. I think this says it all... I *wish* I had realised this sooner, but actually, I have tried things in the past that didn't work out, and just stood up again, but still developed perfectionism towards anything and everything throughout the process. It sucks, and I am still wrestling with myself to make myself understand that there is nothing bad in failing. I wouldn't even EVER tell anybody else the things I tell myself on a daily basis on this matter.
Because these words would be really cruel, diminishing the light of each person's soul, it would ruin them in the long run. I still tell myself these things everyday, though, and I just don't get it. And I know I could lay blame on my past etc. but it wouldn't help me much in this regard, I feel. I just never wanted to come across as stupid or lazy. *sighs*
So, to the people reading this: If you end up trying something - and you end up failing, please don't think this is happening to punish you. Sometimes the timing or place of something is just wrong, but this doesn't mean your idea in the beginning was. If you can, whenever you can, do get up again, dust yourself off, and show yourself you can be resilient, this can really boost your self-esteem, too. If it is something you deeply believe in, something that you love with all your heart, find another way. If it is something that shouldn't matter in the course of the next five years, then just let it go...
Also, as they say: "You would never find out whether you could have succeeded if you didn't try it at first." And time is valuable, after all. Ask the people who are deemed too old for whatever they want to do by some people out there. I have been in this place. It is so much better to start where you are, and even if you fail, you will learn in the process, and what you learned cannot be taken away from you. ❤
That's all for now. Will update the master list in a moment. Of course, the narrowing down is not really a step in the direction, I feel, but still I thought it would be interesting to mention in here. :)
Have a lovely day!
Mittwoch, 17. Februar 2021
50 Questions that will free your mind (Task 50)
Bonjour, my dears!! ^^
How are you all doing? I am experiencing some highs and lows, depending on what aspect you'd ask me about. Hence the decision to start with task number 50 from my 101/1001 master list. I found out about these questions through the Day Zero Project itself, but I like the idea to free my mind, to get clear in my thoughts and visions again... The list of 50 questions that will free your mind can be found here.
I want to answer one question per post, so this will be my answer to the first question:
1) How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
It varies. Sometimes I *really* feel like a 60-year-old, and I don't even understand why. I can be so, so serious quite often. On other days, I act like a child who is in kindergarten already, but not in school yet. I get really silly (which I don't mind), and end up trying out a gazillion things, and sticking to whatever brings me joy in each moment. All in all, I was asked today, too, whether I tend to decide more from my gut or from my head. Honestly? I always go for what my gut tells me, even if it gets me into trouble...
So, most of the time, I am like a four/five-year-old, I guess? I don't mind that. I don't mind seriousness, either, but it bores me to stay in the latter state for too long... Okay, I am a child apparently. :D Was this so hard to answer? - YES! :P But I don't mind that. It is okay *wipes away tears of joy*.
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ALSO! Finally, I am taking singing lessons again (I didn't specify when this goal (11) is reached?). :) I am so happy, you cannot believe how much it makes me happy...
And I'm making some progress with task number 2 (writing 13 songs for my album), too.
Hope everybody is having a lovely day. I will try to answer the second question from the list asap. Stay tuned!
Sonntag, 14. Februar 2021
Day Zero Project :)
Hello there!
As some of you may know already, I want to knock out some tasks of my 101/1001 list. I created a list of the things I most want to do for the upcoming days, which I will call the "Master List" here. I hope maybe some people will feel inspired to follow their hearts, or just to tackle some tasks that are important to you.
My 101/1001 list
Feb 14, 2021 - Nov 12, 2023
1) Read 20 books
2) Write 13 songs for my album (4/13)
3) Learn one dance routine from a song of my choice
4) Get my (...) down to ---------- again (*)
5) Create my own tarot deck
6) Create my own oracle cards7) Take walks everyday (for a week) (7/7)
8) Plant snapdragons
9) Plant sunflowers
10) Play a gig (online/offline)
11) Take singing lessons
12) Take guitar lessons
13) Teach myself to sew
14) Teach myself to play the keyboard
15) Take the JLPT N5 test
16) Travel to Japan
17) Travel to Finland
18) Travel to Italy
19) Write ten letters
20) Do a Japanese course
21) Do a Finnish course
22) Do an Italian course
23) Watch a short series in another language
24) Write a piece of fanfiction
25) Get a tattoo
26) Have 10 penpals from 10 different countries
27) See seals in the wild
28) See elephants in the wild
29) Cuddle with pet rats
30) Publish my music album
31) Work as an extra in a series / movie again
32) Learn how to crochet
33) Learn karate
34) Take hiphop dance classes
35) Do an online course (Coursera)
36) Learn how to paint with watercolour
37) Do some volunteer work
38) Make a short film
39) Learn kickboxing
40) Go vegan
41) Write a letter to my favorite teacher
42) Write a book
43) Design a website
44) Sew a piece of clothing
45) Learn how to apply makeup
46) Get a daith piercing
47) Get an industrial piercing
48) Do a photography challenge
49) Do the 365DOPA challenge (that I made up myself)
50) Answer the "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind" (6/50)
51) Compliment someone everyday for 30 days straight
52) Cosplay
53) Go couchsurfing
54) Stay in a hostel again
55) Publish an article about something relevant to me
56) Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find
57) Go to a concert
58) Go on a road trip
59) Meet an online friend in person
60) Go indoor skydiving
61) Take horse riding lessons
62) Join a choir
63) Join a band
64) Find musicians for my own band
65) Go rollerblading
66) Act in a musical
67) Travel to the UK
68) Travel to Estonia
69) Travel to Latvia
70) Travel to Egypt
71) Do something for a person that has made a difference in my life
72) Take a free online class73) Develop a practice routine that I can keep up (7/7)
74) Do the DBT Skills Group
75) Do a HIIT routine
76) Attend a music festival
77) Sing at an open mic night
78) Sing in a karaoke bar
79) Create my own tarot spreads (2 for now)
80) Set up an altar
81) Research Bastet
82) Research Loki
83) Research Freya
84) Research Ganesha
85) Write in a diary each day for a week
86) Make a stop-motion short film
87) Start a YouTube channel
88) Take a photo of a rainbow
89) Learn to knit
90) Make a list of 25 things I like about myself (15/25)
91) Get my driver's license
92) Draw a comic / manga
93) Declutter my bedroom
94) Start a podcast
95) Grow my own tomatoes
96) Learn how to hula-hoop
97) Learn how to dance industrial
98) Fill an art journal / sketchbook
99) Learn about Egyptian, Greek, Norse, and Japanese mythology
100) Draw one tarot card each day for a week
101) Make a new 101/1001 list after the 1001 days are over
(*) This actually is the only goal I will not be blogging about, as it is very personal and also can be a trigger for some people. I hope you understand.
And here is the key to the bolding / striking of tasks:
Task = Not Yet Started
Task = In ProgressTask = Completed
I last reviewed this page on March 20th, 2021. If you have any questions or comments on the challenge, please feel free to comment here. :)
Stand by me.
Hey ho, let's go! Today I wrote the third song for my album. :D The reason behind was / is that I kept playing a riff that came to me ra...
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Hello there! As some of you may know already, I want to knock out some tasks of my 101/1001 list. I created a list of the things I most want...
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Hello there, nice people! Good news: I continued the practice routine (Guitar + singing), and am making progress with the song I chose to si...
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I am feeling seriously depressed right now. :( I made progress with two of my goals at least, namely the one about writing songs for my albu...