A birthday surprise

***Warning***

Ranty emo-fest alert. If you are not in the mood for that, skip to the Determined Cat picture. That's where the good stuff starts.

I hate birthdays.

Or rather, I hate my birthday. At least I used to, until this year.

My birthday falls in the middle of the Summer. 
This normally meant that:

1. I was never able to just bring a cake to school.
2. Everyone always forgot about my birthday, because everyone was on holiday on that day.
3. Everyone, that is, except me.

My parents being artists, usually they worked more during the school holidays than during the school year. Yep, that means during my birthday too.
Also, in Sicily it is stupidly hot in August, so someone invented the rule that I couldn't have a birthday cake, because it was too hot to eat it.

Revenant...

'ello everyone!

I have been away (both physically and metaphorically) for a long time.

My last post and subsequent absence made me realise how many more people than I thought are actually reading this little blog.

In the past few weeks since I've been back to the UK and started to do Buddhist activities again, I have had a lot of people expressing concern about my happiness after having read that post. Some people wondered if I had stopped practising, some others thought I had abandoned the blog.

I came back to the blog today and found THREE beautiful comments awaiting my approval.

I feel loved.

I don't want to discuss what happened to me (I will refer to it from now on as That Thing That Happened, or TTTH), people close to me know it well enough and I don't want to dwell on it. Things that happen to us, I believe, are not important in themselves, but only for the relevance and connection they have to our own lives. In other words, it's not what happens that we have to analyse, it's our reaction to it.

No fighting, just trying to find joy...

Right now, the only thing that's keeping me from quitting any and all forms of Buddhist activity (besides chanting alone in front of my Gohonzon) is this piece of guidance:

​It is only natural to feel that our efforts have been worthwhile and be motivated to work harder when we are recognized and praised by those around us. Part of a leader’s responsibility is to acknowledge, commend, and encourage those who are making dedicated, earnest efforts.
​However, even if we are not praised or properly appreciated, it is important that we don’t end up resenting leaders and other members, or lose our enthusiasm. That only erases our benefit and good fortune and causes us to stop growing.
​Buddhist practice is a struggle with the devilish functions within one’s own life. Those devilish functions will use every possible means to sap the enthusiasm and destroy the faith of a person striving sincerely in their Buddhist practice. There may even be times when a person wonders why they keep running into such hardships. But nothing goes unseen by the Gohonzon. In light of the law of cause and effect, the more effort one makes for the Mystic Law, the more good fortune one will accumulate in one’s life. (From the Banner of the Law by Daisaku Ikeda)

I'm trying to chant just to find joy when all I want to do is to cry.

Recently, I achieved amazing victories in different areas of my life.
I should have expected the demons to attack me in the context of my Buddhist practice, but truth is, it never crossed my mind. I've always felt my Buddhist family as one that was judgement-free, drama-free, and where I could actually be myself without fear of being misunderstood.

My mother and my district leader both said to chant to find joy. I'll just do that I guess. And read that guidance.

I'll come back soon with some stuff I've been thinking of writing for a while.

How to chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo?

Hello wonderful people who read my blog!

I am so sorry I have not be able to write recently. I have been really busy and happily engaged in one thing and the other. It is incredible how rich my life has become and I am so grateful.

I don't want the blog to wither and die just because I have no inspiration to write at the moment, so I thought I would share this lovely video I have found on the YouTube. It explains the basic daily practice of Daimoku and Gongyo and gives some basic information on the theory of Buddhism as well.

Enjoy! 

Oh, please, do comment here or anywhere else if you have questions or requests for posts. I am always thrilled when I receive requests as it pushes me into action!

Dancing experience part the third: Videos!!!

Finally, my bellydance video is ready!

The background for this wonderful experience can be found in these two posts:

Dancing experience in-the-making
Dancing experience part two. AKA the One Evil

Now, onto the technical aspects.
The day I stood up and made my rather crazy determination, I actually had no idea how to put it into practice. I mean, of course I had to keep on dancing and learn the choreography, I knew I needed a costume, but I also needed someone to shoot it and a place.