The key to a peaceful life is taking control of your wishes. One extreme is trying to make all your wishes true. That way you are unfocused, constantly drawn away from important things and in danger of losing what really matters in life, like health or family bliss for example. The other extreme is trying to achieve nirvana or the state without wishes. Nirvana is the minute before dying in your last incarnation, so take it easy – you can have some wishes, just make sure you don’t overdo it. Some things are not meant to be, thus you should let go of some wishes. Another common mistake is having...

This autumn there is an abundance of mushrooms growing in the woods, waiting for us to be picked. I have been encouraged by many people and when finally even a local bus-driver asked me, if I had been to the woods to pick some, I decided to start. My procrastination was due to a fear that was half real (inedible mushrooms are dangerous!), but also half surreal, for there are many experienced mushroom-pickers in the neighborhood who can help. The day the bus-driver asked me about my mushroom-picking activities I was still unsure about whom to ask if she/he could check the specimen I would have...

The other day I decided to walk from one bus stop to another instead of taking the city bus the whole way. Since the next bus stop was right next to a gas station, I popped into the gas station store for my favorite coffee to go: Latte macchiato. I drank my favorite coffee in something you could call semi-company, standing behind a small round counter-high table. Basically I was alone, with a smidgen of young guys added in a safe distance: bus drivers, building contractors, firemen, casually passing by while shopping or paying for gas. The array of their business uniforms performed an excellent...

Why look for a better thing, if you are happy with the one you have got? Day 1: Low Budget Skiing at Senozeta, Bohinj Valley, Slovenia My husband and I arrived at the bottom of the Senozeta ski slope at 11 am, paying only 8 euros instead of 10 for a full day. And guess what – we were the only two skiers for about an hour. We were not surprised for most Slovene skiers tend to spend their winter holidays in foreign ski resorts, deeper into the Alps, where there is more snow and where there are numerous long ski routes – Italy, Austria, France. The snow on the Senozeta ski slope consisting of only...

After a few days of cloudy weather and occasional drizzle we had sunny weather the other day. I went for a walk along my usual path. I took the camera thinking: »What could possibly surprise me today? The hoarfrost is gone and there is no snow yet. The autumn leaves have fallen off of branches.« I was rotating my head and pausing along all the way to no avail. In the end I smiled thinking: »Well, I guess it’s a no-miracle-day today.« Then, towards the end of the part of the path that leads through the forest, approaching the urban finishing part of my usual route, I glimpsed my miracle (see...