Agatha Seymour's

I believe that life, by giving us free will, expects us to create beauty on this planet. Joyful things that are pleasing to the eye, that bring a smile to our faces, that awaken in us the sense of delight in life—the very feeling with which life (energy) created us. It urges us to realize things that require time, energy, and attention to bring into existence, accompanied by the intention to make the world a better place. It expects from us the ecstasy of beauty, from which every human being was breathed into the world. It asks us to remember! To remember who we are and why we are here! To find the courageous self that resides within us and to receive with an open heart the opportunities life places in our path. To grasp our individual truths, take our destiny into our own hands, and be conscious creators of our lives, our art, our thoughts, and our spiritual journey. To see both our outer and inner beauty, and to accept who we are! “All these things have you said of beauty. Yet...

Back then, when we decided we would have two kittens, we were thinking of one boy and one girl. Picasso’s name was never in question! We thought we would name the little girl Françoise—after Pablo Picasso’s partner, the painter Françoise Gilot. After a long search, it turned out that we were expecting two little male kittens from a Lithuanian breeder. We named the other little boy Matisse, because of his lifelong friendship with Picasso. Françoise was no longer mentioned. When this autumn I started looking for a kitten to keep Picasso company, it never even crossed my mind to look for a female. Strangely enough, despite all my efforts, I kept missing out on the kittens I had chosen. Many breeders live in the countryside, and I had to plan when I could travel to see the little ones. After a while, I decided to let go of my expectations—let the cat come who Life intends for us! Françoise surpasses all our dreams! We didn’t know it, but she was exactly who was missing from our lives...

As usual, I was listening to a lecture on YouTube when a well-known French song drifted in through the open window, and in an instant I traveled back in time. I was sitting in a café by the Danube during my French class. Autumn, scented with earth and rain, rested in the air, and we were chatting and learning wrapped in blankets. My goodness, how wonderful it was! – I sighed to myself – in a way that isn’t typical of me, because I’m not the most romantic person in the world, and yet… Then it occurred to me how many great hobbies I’ve had over the past years, how many exciting adventures, human connections, and most of all, how many kinds of resources I’ve created for myself—things I can actually access anytime. And looking back, this was one of the best, most useful ways I could have spent my time. Because although human relationships are important to me, life often pulls us apart. We start different kinds of lives, we move away, we choose different paths—whatever the reason, we often ...