Ask the Priestess

I often go out for a meal with some friends. In fact, that's our main activity together out of work. True, we do live in other cities and we all work hard. They, in addition, are married / in a partnership, so they have other priorities during their time off. So, we try go grab dinner after work once in a while, before we all go in different directions. Anastasia is the true leader, and she is also the one with the impressive reference list on places to eat and/or drink. She will suggest a place, and we will invariably agree. We know we will always enjoy the food, and, oftentimes, the atmosphere too. My favourites so far are Beyrouth and Portugalia , but I also really like all the others we've been to. I often recommend these places, feeling certain those who follow my suggestions will be pleased. However, I wonder whether I am a good referent. The thing is, I realised something a couple of months ago. I realised, and here I confess, that I don't really care about how uniq...

Sometimes, I am all worded out.  I speak, I listen, all day long as part of my profession. I leave the school building with headset on. Sometimes, I don't even switch on any sound - no radio, no YouTube, no podcast. I just need the space they provide. However, I also often dedicate much of my commute to communicating with friends and family. How to balance that? On the one hand, I don't want to talk to anyone; on the other hand, I want to keep in touch. It is a dilemma, apparently, but there really is quite a simple solution:  I send photos.  Photos are captures of moments I'm struck by a thought. Oftentimes, I'm awed by the strange odds of nature proving its will over that of mankind. In many occasions, it is the marvel of transient beauty: the overwhelming volume of layered clouds; the play of light and darkness, a reflection on a pond... Rarely do I take a photo of an animal, but it can happen: a rabbit near a parking lot; a cat sunning itself on a windowsill; a cran...

I don't work on Saturdays. Actually, I don't work Friday evenings and Saturdays. I keep my version of Shabbat. It started because of my ethno-cultural background, a connection I wanted to reinforce. The Shabbat is the time we ensure we remark upon, celebrate, empower the spiritual and divine in our lives. The idea (in a veeerryyyyy light overview) is not to engage in daily "non divine" activities. Thus, no work, no shopping, no mindless entertainment, ... and, in this modern world, a big key to this is the use of computers.  Again, religious people won't even use electricity, cook, or any of hundreds of rules. From a secular person such as myself, however, I just choose to restrict certain activities rather than completely do away with standard comfort. As I said, I don't work on the Shabbat. I don't use money either. I don't travel (unless I've promised to be there for someone else). I don't use Social Media. I don't watch films and/or ser...

It was a bright point in the dark sky. Then, there were others. And the Moon, nearby. It turns out, we could see 4 planets shine together in our night sky a couple of days ago. I am certain I had read about it, but living in a northern country (yes, I've moved since my last entry. Welcome back!) I must have assumed it would be cloudy.  It wasn't. It was cold, and crisp, and beautifully clear. And the piercing lights stood out, stopping me in my tracks. Not even the Moon, filling up and shedding our shadow, could make them less conspicuous. I wanted to sit down on the grassy bank and just stare.  It is no wonder humans have long been fascinated by the changes in the heavens. I'm even curious whether we ever were not, or whether it was one of the earliest signs of a different mind to that of other hominids and apes. Whether it might also be another branch, a new step, in our evolution: homo habilis, homo erectus, homo sapiens, homo astralis. What I find particularly mesmerisi...

Touch is essential to human beings. Our skin is our largest organ, with its millions of nerve ends connecting its surface to our more innermost centres. Even if we lose any of our senses, touch will remain, may it because we actively touch someone else, or because we are being touched. That may be the reason why we use expressions such as 'it's a very touching story' to imply that our emotional compass has been affected; or 'keep in touch', when what we want is for the other person to remain a part of our tribe, for we care for them and their presence is precious to us; and why most of us relish being caressed, hugged, and so forth. In the last 24 hours, I have experienced all of these three aspects: To begin with, I went for a massage. I do so monthly, to help keep my back in shape despite a sedentary job. I only recently realised that it also helps supply the physical contact humans require to live. I am not particularly keen on being randomly touched, despi...