Timisoara 2- the cathedral

timisoara

eyes wide open

many times we pass through life into growing, into becoming grown-ups as they say and in spite of the "incredible" advantages, there are always some downsides that are often overlooked and undervalued.

Have you ever seen the wonder in a child's eyes? It's incomparable to anything...it is just there. You see a child's eyes full of wonder at the world around them- their eyes wide open and mirroring the reality a lot better than we "grown- ups" do. It is a rather empty mirror where the world sends its reflection, or rather the smooth and calm surface of a lake. Everything is so pure and clear and so true to reality. Later in life our eyes are invaded with the impurities of the world around, and the more we think we know of the world the dirtier and altered our image of it gets. We stop seeing the beauty of the world, the simplicity and wonder surrounding us becomes but an obstacle in our achieving our goals.

And we aspire to become gods- creators of all things around, we see the beauty in the metallic coulours of things around, in the lifeless that surrounds us, after all it is our creation, we couldn't really be ashamed of it...

Yet, in spite of this turmoil I should be happy my eyes can still see the real beauty, they can still go beyond piles of human debris and pettiness in search of the natural beauty that has managed to remain unspoiled. I can still be as amazed as a child, and use this as a shield against unfortunately, the evil, the ugliness and the superficial that we humans so often promote as true values worthwhile admiring and appreciating.

me, you and ....them

This city, like many of our cities is amazing in many ways- it has a beautiful centre with ancient but well preserved and restored buildings, a lot of parks here and there, just to bring more green into our lives, its people are quite friendly and open and its transportation is almost like a Swiss watch. Probably the best example of high standard of living and urban beauty is its Mall which practically dazzles you.

It's like a different dimension, once you step behind its gates it's like you find yourself in an entirely new world where lights, colours, and the sound of money and cheerful chats surround you from everywhere almost drowning you in such a state of well- being. And people seem to revolve around it like moths towards light- they are attracted in spite of turning out to be quite "dangerous" for them in the end, as they will spend all their money.... And, money or no money in your wallet this glamour gets you and performs and aesthetic surgery on your face preserving an almost annoyingly ever smile on your face. Everything seems so well civilized, so well bred and everything seems to be in its right place...

It is like a strategy to make people feel happy despite not having real reasons to feel like that, all the while making them forget about the truly existing reasons that should make them feel a lot less happy. It's like we plant flowers and make parks, yet we cut entire forests, we install air conditioning to make us forget about global warming, we build up modern, spicy and totally cool shops whose shop windows' only purpose is to lure people into buying their way to happiness, and yet behind all this lies the poor, the forgotten and the abandoned, in a way- the less charming truth.

Maybe it is not wrong to live like that, or maybe I am wrong when I say this, and many might disagree with me, and I wouldn't even blame them. All I say is that after my eyes have wondered in amazement through the lights of the glamorous city, I finally ended up in less popular sites- like the stations. I have noticed this about cities- behind the nice looking parts (which are usually in the centre), there lies a darker, less fortunate part usually placed in stations. And seeing the old, the young all of them abandoned and poor, after having seen all that beauty, it's like almost hurting physically your eyes.



















You see old people, tired after having worked all their life, in most cases for nothing, their pride long gone, you see children already tired of life, you see old buildings barely standing, their sad windows looking out at the world passing by and it ain't pretty at all. It hurts you to see them in your way, after all not earlier than an hour ago, you were trying on and buying your latest cool dress and were drinking your cocktail somewhere in a cool refreshing and comfy place. You feel bad to see others suffering for real reasons, when you get so easily upset because your favourite T-shirt is sold out.

And thus we end up sending away such people, hiding them from our sight, not because we are ashamed with them as we would often say, but because seeing them we are ashamed with ourselves.

a different bon appetit...

Just some plates I have discovered in my countryside holiday...

holidays

Just snapshots from my holiday away from the city and into the heart of....