Hungry Bellies in Switzerland

Hello again,

So now I am free you will not shut me up :)

For the past week I have changed my environment drastically and went on the train towards the Swiss Alps.

My good friend invited me to cook at the course and it felt too good not to accept it.

It felt strange to be on the road again: the weak shoulders, not ready for the backpack weight, the nose blocked from the 2 months sniffing the fumes of the cars, the eyes still full of glitter.. But an hour or two and I was back in my waters. The waters of unknown.

London felt like a big theatre performance with its always surprising new characters, so many decorations and a lot of drama. It was quite fun to watch it from outside but felt even better once I left.

I have never left UK by train and it felt really amazing. I love train journeys, it is so comfortable to sit and watch the landscapes changing. Just accross the channel and it felt already different. The fields were different, the houses, the structure, the colour of the grass- I knew I entered the land of baguettes.

Paris welcomed me with its rudeness and authority. I felt the dissatisfaction in the air, and countless cops reminded me of the international disease- fear.

Not long I needed to wait and I reached the Swiss land. No trash, no smoke, no joke. 

And then my cooking started. A big big challenge for me- to cook for 50 hungry bellies. It was an amazing experience, a reminder to myself that there is so much space inside me for growing. The appreciation of everybody motivated me and let me really dive into the art of cooking.

I was surrounded by friends and made some new ones. But boy I worked a lot. And it was a real blessing to start the day with morning meditations and chantings together in a big group. It was a pleasure to have that deep sense of tribal belonging.

My time in the mountains flew by and not long after I found myself back in the land of gods. 

I am washing all my sweat away in the sea of Libya and once again starting an affair with my beloved Crete. 

If you are around, let me know, you'll find me mostly in the water these days.

With love and hot wind,

Ligita

Observations by The Sea

Hello my dear friends,

It's been such a long long time since I sat down and put some of my thoughts on this imaginary paper. Life has been very busy and very stressful lately and I could not find any time. 

So what happened since my last post? Well, I left beautiful Portugal and came all the way towards the north. To the country of royal accents, milk in their teas and the weather that makes everybody complain about it. Yes, good old England. 

But this time I didn't come to explore beautiful countryside or visit my beloved friends around, no, this time I came to do something completely random. I came to earn some dollars while doing temporary tattoos, mostly on sugar hyped kids, nervous teenagers and some not so funny adults.

I spent 2 months in the greek winter like weather, pushing the trolley day in and out, spreading glitter all around like some fairy who has no idea about the planet destruction. I spent my days on the street, watching, observing those crazy holidaymakers and trying to grasp what makes people do things. It felt like anthropology degree, just more real, more into your face.

It was hard, I know, I told you already but let me complain a little bit more.

You know that I love UK. I have many friends here and I spent big part of my travelling life living all around. I have a lot of admiration for this so welcoming so diverse nation. However, this summer I saw the destructive part of us, the so called clever apes. I saw that there is so much control, so much anger and aggression. The place where I lived itself had a feel of no hope. And covered in all the artificial amusement it let us all forget that deep inside it us not the stuff we need but the kindness to each other, the joy, the belonging, you know, the big words.

Living on of the street of Skegness with desperate people sinking their sadness in drugs, alcohol or abusement makes me really appreciate my own state. My own personal tools that let me navigate through my life in lows or highs.

It's funny how such place numbs you too, and suddenly the aggressive verbal fight outside of your house becomes just a normal background sound.

Luckily I was not alone to experience and see all this, my dear beautiful boyfriend Rafael was doing exactly the same. It felt like we were two soldiers going through a fight, sometimes in between ourselves but mostly against this desperation. And when it was all over, what a pride I felt. What a companion I got by my side.

This job brought me a love feeling towards children, something I have never felt before (no, I am not pregnant:) ). I could see their innocence, so fragile and already broken by their verbally abusing pushy and shouting parents. I saw in some of their eyes how happy they can be just enjoying a simply small bit of paint and glitter on their skin. And this used to make my days.

Money is earnt, massive bag packed, the insights slowly coming and all this experience slowly digested what's next I hear you asking. 

Time to run away to the mountains and cook some vegan food. Enjoy the traffic, drug dealer free environment.

Switzerland, I'm coming.

With love and a bit of complaints,

Ligita

A Beautiful Gift

 Bom dia!

Life is a gift. I read it everywhere, I hear it everywhere and I totally agree on that. It is such an incredible gift that like with everything I tend to get used to it.

I get used to having a healthy and delicious food in my stomach each day, I get used to living in incredibly stunning nature places, I get used to my strong and healthy body, to the mind that has space to think, to my job that I love. Ohh man, being privileged takes you there.

Human nature is funny, either we remind each day to ourselves how precious life is or we just take everything for granted.

For most of my lived life I often craved for good sensations, for good experiences, for happiness and joy. And it is still there. But these couple of years I have been much more acceptant to live through the not so happy times. To still find a gratitude each day. To learn how to observe and accept the things that didn’t go planned. And man, it’s hard!

I also felt that staying optimistic is very important, but my life went so beautifully fulfilling that to stay optimistic was never too hard. Only when I started to face little struggles, to see the unravelling conditionings of mine, only then I really felt this need of gratitude. It is always much easier to stay happy when the sun shines, but what about when it rains?

Today has been an interesting day. And it inspired me to write a post.

There was a very strong feeling of observation of my mood today. Now, I am this kind of person who often wakes up and smiles with the world. I take it as my strength and I value it. But the mornings I wake up with an absolute irritation is actually- a gift to me from life (which often is hard to see it as a gift!). It’s my reality check, asking me, hey, and so what you gonna choose today-to react and infect others with the shit you deal or choose to observe, smile at it, forgive yourself for having all these trivial little problems and move on with the day. And it’s so fucking hard to choose the second option! But if I don’t, it doesn’t matter how optimistic I can be on my good days. And today I managed to stick with a second option. And what a beautiful gift life can offer.

The moment I started to observe it, I became lighter. Not that the little irritations disappeared but the feeling of compassion appeared-compassion to myself. And that shifted my energy giving me a space to see my mood as a separate entity from my Self. Do you know what I mean?

I guess in short, I feel very grateful and there was a need to share it with you, my dear friends.

And I am still in beautiful Portugal. Summer is here, the heat is coming, the leaves are drying and the sun starts giving me blisters on my lip. I am still cooking for Kristina and Nick, playing with wild ocean from time to time, connecting with people and observing cats. The animals often give me a sense of grounding and the present moment feel.

I will be in Portugal for another month, and then…. A new destination!

Thank you for reading this and being interested in my life,

Enjoy the month of June!

Ligita

healthy breakfast!

budha bowl, or jesus?

tofu salad with spinach crepes

burnt faces!!

no-bake chocolate tart

dancing times

jackfruit tempeh salad

I love the colours!

Palak Tofu Curry

Portugal beaches are stunning!

vegan finger food feast

trying to draw, evil pics?

the view from Sintra

Tofu Balls

black bean sweet potato patties

Berries Cheesecake

Teriyaki Eggplant with garden beans

still trying :)

pan grilled eggplant salad with beetroot mash

Banana Caramel Parfait

vegan twix

re-union with Fraga after 10 years no see! 

banana pancakes!

smoothie bowls

wholegain spelt ravioli with spinach cashew filling

asian style noodles with seitan