Stylish peaches, reflecting on my life in recent months, I realised that the greatest, where sometimes the best, where sometimes the hardest lessons I have learnt are by running our business YVAILO. For the past 7 years, our beloved project has been constantly taking me out of the comfort zone and giving me new knowledge, both for business and for life, but always in the direction of self-improvement.
Therefore, I’ve decided to do a series called SCHOOL OF LIFE, where I will share all the lessons that have changed my life for good during these years, and I hope they will help you in the way they did for me. The first is left to the strongest and most spiritual one: the feeling of being grateful.
The story starts like this:
One sunny marvellous day, towards the very end of our vacation in Bali, we (the three of us-me, Goce and my mum) were travelling to the airport. While being tanned and satisfied with all the beautiful memories we had created, the thought of the long and exhausting flight that awaits us made us moaning and feeling a bit grumpy. We reached the airport fence, where one could clearly see the planes. And there, on that same fence were many couples gathered together, watching the flights taking off and landing to the ground. Amazed by the number of people, we asked our taxi driver what's going on.
He, kind and smiling as usual, replied:
“These young people are daydreaming. They know that they may never be able to get on a plane and fly out of here.” In an instant, like poured with ice cold water, all dissatisfaction on our part regarding the forthcoming flight was steamed down. At that moment, as a total sober up, my world turned around, in the right direction.
I realized how often we take things in life for granted, when in fact they are a gift. How, despite the difficult situation we might be in, there is always a person who would like to be in our place by getting out of even more difficult position. How, in our never-ending thirst for more, we forget to rejoice and be thankful for what we have. How we are eternally unhappy, focusing on what we do not have.
The truth is we can't have everything. And even better because where will our goals go. And if we have everything, are we not going to become endless consumers who are always buying because we never have enough.
I often think of the people in Bali, who although poorer than us, seemed happy. I know now that it’s a matter of switching focus. It is up to us to see and be grateful for the good things in life or to look at what we don’t have and be dissatisfied again.
I admit it is difficult because we are a generation of spoiled consumers: everything is being offered to us, companies are competing on which wishes to satisfy best in order to take our money, which makes us pretentious and unsatisfied, which we then pass on as a habit in our daily lives.
But truth is simple, like most things in life: if we have gratitude, we have everything we need. Even better yet, as Oprah Winfrey said, in order to feel the gift of gratitude, our ego must sit in the back seat. So it even keeps us grounded.
From this magical, unexplainable moment, I am grateful for everything!
For the day I have been given this morning, for the food in front of me, for the car I drive, and for the holiday I am able to afford.
For the money I earn that is enough to meet my most basic needs.
For the chance to travel, even in a crowded plane.
For dinner at our favourite restaurant every now and then.
For my favourite ice cream, I get when I get out of there in the city (we live in a very small village, peaches).
For that cup of hot tea every morning and that piece of chocolate every night.
For our friends and for our meetings.
For the wonderful home we have.
For the garden where we talk with nature about our veggies.
For the hug with my dog Dora and that she always reminds me of unconditional love.
For the sun that makes me smile.
For the headaches and problems, because they take me out of my comfort zone and make me upgrade my level by looking for unknown solutions.
For the chance to work what I love and can do best.
Look around you, peaches and see how many things you can be thankful for!
Of course, as you can imagine, when the time came to make the thank you cards that accompany each purchase from us, we did not wonder at all which word to put in front: GRATEFUL.
We know that the world is full of so many choices and we appreciate every time you chose us! And it is no accident that it is inscribed in gold - to remind me personally, every time I look at it, it must be my golden, my first rule in life.
We made the card in a size that can be framed instead of being thrown away (not fan of waste, as you know). We hung it by the front door. That is how it will always be in front of my eyes, every time before I take the road for the day.
Always devoted to style
Always #feelinggrateful,
Yvailo
xoxo
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