What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well

Why do people entertain themselves with scary movies and scary stories? What is that genre’s purpose?? I’ve never understood that.  Especially since the real life offers so many really scary and really depressing tales. Moe told me about a man he had talked to. The man has nothing except for her daughter he doesn’t get to see much, his walls he has to build and a couple of beers in the evening. And that’s quite a lot for some! Yet, I got the same impression as Moe did – he has nothing in his life, nothing to live for. Yet, there was something that made him get up (from where ever he was sleeping, IF that was a bed) and start a new day every single morning…. Then I remembered the documentary I saw about a Russian woman whose mother had sold her to a man for a bottle of vodka(!). She was 14 at the time! She could’ve gone back home, of course, but living with her mother who made her work and took all her money and spent it on drinking with her “companions” that started “touching” the young girl, wasn’t the best outlook. She got married, had children. The man started to beat her. She escaped with the children, they stole food, slept in random places, they had nowhere to go. He found her, beat her more. She escaped and finally got a job in a cow farm. She had 9 or 10 children to feed with that, they were very poor. Her oldest (and only) daughter got married, got pregnant and his husband was put into the jail. Younger children seemed to be bounded to become criminals (their hobby seemed to be get beaten on the streets). What kept her going?

And that’s not even the worst thing that could happen to people. Still, here I am, feeling sad because I cannot see people as much as I’d like to (well one very particular person, as much as I’d like to), the routine at the office makes all days look a like, the weather isn’t as good as it could be… is that small or what?! I have enough food, I get to travel, I my friends and family are fine…

I understand, that just sitting around and worrying about all the worries in the world wouldn’t make much difference.. but there sure is something that would improve many people’s situation.

So I’ve decided to take small steps and quit whining. Right now I don’t know what good can I do to solve all the worlds problems, but I can start by feeling good myself. Enjoying the little things in life. So, I had a plan to go to the “Svjata Vatra“ concert, but the moment I stepped outside, it started raining cats and dogs. I had a thought of not going, but that would’ve givin in and staying in my confort zone. So I took of my shoes to save them from the water and walked to the Stenbock house bare feet in the rain. That was great! It was somehow deliberating. I got there soaking wet, of course, feeling a bit cold. The concert, however, was so good, it took my a while before I noticed I couldn’t move my feet because they were too cold.

Not sure it made me be a better person. Still, helping a homeless-looking woman to collect her empty soda bottles that fell out of her bag when the trolley hit the breaks so fast she couldn’t hold on any more, seems like a perfectly normal thing to do.  And that did make me feel good. Besides, that has been on my conciousness for a long time – not helping strangers when they seem to need help. I’ve done a lot in that regard this week (that doesn’t mean I’m done with that).
But what’s the next step? I’ll figure that out.

Remark: The title of the post comes from a movie by Icíar Bollaín that I saw yesterday. It really got me. I understand the characters, I feel I’ve been there, though, being reasonable, I know I was far from that. Fortunately.