I haven't written in a while. Between raising a 1 year old, taking care of the house, and managing my own free time and sanity, I somehow found a mental space to ask myself: "If I were, in this one year away from work, to do something else, something that truly defines me, what would it be?" After ...
About: Maria
Recent Posts by Maria
My Books of 2016
I've been cooking this post in my mind for a while now, since the one from last year was a nice way to say goodbye to the year and look back at what I've learned from books, and also what my main interests were...but since I have a small baby, evenings are not always that ...
Motherhood, changes and the new tools for a good life
So a few months ago, I became a mom. I'm still undecided if posting pictures of babies online is an ok thing to do. So, here's a pic of me with a huge belly just before giving birth. Pregnancy was quite surprisingly easy to bear. I had no nausea, didn't gain much weight, got over my insomnia... But ...
My Happy List
I got some bad news yesterday. Not the "totally bad, no good, terrible" kind of news, but the kind that makes you fret and worry and build scenarios in your mind. After falling into the worry-meets-anxiety-meets-panic-then-depression kind of mode, I realized I was in a downward spiral which felt so familiar and welcoming, but into the ...
A Gratitude Planner
A few months ago I read Martin Seligman's Flourish, and while I knew some of the concepts (he is the founder of the Positive Psychology concept), I hadn't tried actually writing a gratitude list at the end of every day. Turns out, it was one of the happiest and most fulfilled periods of my life. It's also ...
Wanting it all vs letting it go
In the past week I've been confronted with three stories on the conflict between wanting it all vs letting go. I call it the Universe really trying to tell me something. All three of them are successful women, quite career-focused, ambitious and hard-working. However, at one point in time, they all realized that some other things may ...
Dream come true – I’m part of a Coaching School!
I'm so excited that as of this weekend one of my dreams is turning to reality. I'm going to be a co-facilitator in a Coaching School! After having completed the Transformational Coaching School last year, Alis kindly asked me to be part of the (growing) coaches team, and I enthusiastically said yes! It's so important for me ...
My Inspiring Books of 2015
As the year draws to an end and I'm reading an awesome book on Gratitude (and practicing some ideas in it), I realized there are so many books on personal development and inspiration I've come across this year. Some you may have heard of, others may be quite old already, but to me, these books came ...
For the Holidays, BE the Light
The past week, I watched some Christmas movies (any recommendations? I saw Elf and How the Grinch Stole Christmas and absolutely loved them!) and painted some cards, like the one you see above. Some years, I don't really get into the Christmas spirit. Too much agitation, consumerism, gift buying, stress, horrible traffic and general exhaustion. ...
Planning for flexibility
One thing I don't like about myself is the fact that I overplan- a lot. I mostly live in the future - 80% of my brain activity's about "what should I do next", "how to squeeze this appointment next to the other one", "oh god, I'm late with that, when should I do it" and so ...
Daily life, creativity and art
I'm so inspired by this book, lately. I'm re-learning to integrate art in my daily life. This means, reading, looking at art, appreciating the sparks of ideas that sometimes come, and honoring them by turning them into reality. For example, this Dr Seuss quote. Do you know Dr Seuss? He wrote children's books, like The Cat in the ...
I got my ACC!
No, it's not some sort of new virus, nor any type of pills. It's a coach credential by the International Coach Federation, namely Associate Certified Coach. I'm so happy I finally got to apply for it, since it means a lot, as a coach, to earn a certification. Basically it means that the school you got trained as ...
You are your search
A collection of things I love. In the past weeks - no, even months! - frequently I start discussions about trivial or business-related topics with people, then surreptitiously slide into personal, even spiritual topics. There's something in me, that, when asked "So, how are you doing?" keeps wanting to answer 100% honest, brutally even: "Well, you ...
Make time for doing nothing
I started to meditate sometime in my teenage years, and always had the feeling that I'm doing something wrong. Since then, I read several books on the subject, did countless guided and non-guided meditations, went to India and meditated with monks and even in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and reached two ...
A bumpy ride and blog revival
As I'm writing this, I'm in a sun lit room, in a wonderful cafe (I know, the dream of writing your own blog posts on a quiet morning in a cafe :) ) and the song playing in the background is "Morcheeba - Enjoy the ride". Might as well. This year has been full of bumps and ...
