Costa Petrashka ⁽¹³⁶⁾

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." Gospel according to John 3:8 Having opened a window of your mind for the Gospel, do not forget to also open the window of the heart. Then it will be thoroughly good, and the Spirit will live in you. I figured out a lot here, all because yesterday we were experimenting with ventilation in the car. Even before the trip, I was concerned about whether air from one anti-mosquito window would be enough. It turned out at night that it's not at all enough. It’s unbearable. There’s a window - there's no air. Living (sleeping) is unbearable. We decided, quickly, to make another anti-mosquito window. And then Happiness, Joy, and Fulfillment came into our life. Every other minute, a sea-pine breeze could fly into the window, and it was so inspiring. I could not sleep for a long time, I could not get enough of it, waiting for such visits of the Breeze in my life. In the photo: the sky at 2 o'clock in the night in my…

An important thing for me: to live in the circumstances in which I am. Do not postpone life, do not wait for decisive positive or negative events. And if I wait, then do not stop in this waiting. There will always be something for me to flinch from, and I will not solve all my problems to the end. At least because with each day, the day of my death is approaching. So there’s nothing to wait for from future life. But to breathe, see beauty, love, and all this regardless of circumstances, not postponing for later. How to restrain oneself in the endless solution of problems and give time for…

Acceptance, understanding, and love. These are the three pillars on which my personal world now stands. Every day, I try to think about how much I accepted, understood, and loved others today. And finding these things, they please me and give me hope. Sometimes it doesn’t work out: you don’t accept, don’t understand, don’t love. It's painful of course, but I hold on to the fact that God accepts, understands, and loves me as imperfect, as human, as alive. It’s warm from this. Here the circle is closed. And it's good outside and inside. What are your KPIs of…

Lord... how complicated this life is... but how through all this a person pierces to a person, meetings and partings, fullness and emptiness, warmth and coldness. In the emptiness of a vacuum, one can be deaf if you are alone in it. But if this state meets you, and you are not alone. Then you well hear and see a neighbor, who is with you in the vacuum. The eyebrow movement of children testifies that life is there, it exists, it plays on the strings of the…

The wind blew us from the lake, the waves looked like the sea, children dug trenches, scooped holes, looked for little shells. I almost cried from this moment. Life blew us, we felt the air we breathe. Rules, laws, limitations at this moment gave way to life, gave way to understanding the value of each moment. All this is temporary. Everything can end at any moment. And even if you were to live a full 100 years, it would be too little. Too little for such moments, too little for life. The rustle of a little leaf in the wind moves the clock's hand. This hand brings us closer to the end. How I want to meet again. Again in eternity: And let there be arguments, pain, complaints, and shouting. I will learn to love even that. The wind blows us…

There are moments when people in a family stand on different sides of the border. They choose different countries, different life circumstances, different values. And they have reasons for that. And the distance between them is increasing. The arguments of each half are strong, understandable, related to personal sense. There is nothing to oppose. And here you as an outsider talk to one of the halves. You sit, you agree, you find additional arguments to support the interlocutor. Everything is logical, everything is right. And with every agreement of yours, this distance between the halves is increasing. With each such agreement, a person increasingly chooses himself, not the family. Turns into a stone, which is hard to move from its position, from its vision. The distance is increasing. But if you disagree, find the truth in the arguments and senses of the other half (not the one you are talking to now). This can already give cracks to that stoniness. And the person will ask himself: Where is my desire? Where is my love? What can I do for this love? Can I, sensibly, make a choice against myself, but for this love? And maybe then someone of them will say, “I do not agree with you, it is very difficult for me, but I love you. I will take a step towards you, so that you feel the warmth of my love. Do not be afraid of me, I am not against you. We are different, but I wish you good...." Such acts are worthy of peace, love, acceptance. About such people, we could write books and build monuments to them in their lifetime. Let's not agree with our interlocutors, let's find the truth on the other side as well. Let the stoniness of arguments give a crack. Let love…

We know what to do with meaning, but we don’t know how to reveal it. And reveal it in such a way that it does not fit into a tiny box. In my opinion, it would be good not to limit our meaning, our deep Desire. But to reveal and understand where this desire shines through, shines so that we can understand and describe it for ourselves. There was a good example with a window through which light falls. And what we can really see are the sun’s bunnies. Here they are, what we can describe: One will be round and small on the floor, the other will be elongated on the curtains. But behind all these manifestations will stand something more significant. And this Larger will also shine through other windows if we open them. Those sun bunnies found by us will testify to us about the deepest, our true one. Will help us understand in which dimension this true lies, what is its nature. And this light within us, in every person is his own. "So let your light shine before people, so that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father, who is in heaven." Gospel of Matthew 5:16 Our light is our deep Desire, which gives birth to our true good deeds, which shine in this…

There are people who radiate light, but do not grasp it, instead clinging to various dirty trifles of their life. Like the blind, they run past their light, denying its existence. They suffer from imperfection, only looking at the dark sides of themselves, while demeaning their bright sides with words to deceit, manipulation, and so on. It’s hard for them to accept themselves as good, as bright. Someone once denied them this right. They don't allow it themselves. Great fear falls upon them. They are left only to hope that they are such. Bathe me in the past, and let me bathe you now. You are good, bright, filled with love. Correct…

Today I began taking a course on Coursera "Finding Purpose and Meaning In Life: Living for What Matters Most." And as strange as it may be, the goal of seeking meaning is set to things quite close and daily to us. To seek the sense of our life and follow it to sleep better, work better, lose weight, have better relationships, etc. It seems like such nonsense. It’s like meeting God in your life just to get an 8 on the exam or to request a promotion at work. But I, too, began my journey with the same goal. Wanted to find the sense of life, my deep desire, to work more efficiently. And where is that work now? It simply faded before the silhouettes of meaning, desire, and depth. So let it be, let people be enticed to seek meaning for something close and…

On the horizon, certain issues are emerging. They make me somewhat shaky. Thoughts are running in circles. I’m assessing the risks. I don’t want them to come true. I feel a tension that does not subside. It seems like something hurts in the heart area. I understand that I am worrying. How to stop worrying? The matter is such that it is not worth strong anxiety, especially for trivialities. And here I decided to express to myself what I am really afraid of. And start with the most important. I repeated: I am afraid of death, afraid of death, afraid of death, afraid of serious illnesses, afraid of serious illnesses, afraid of being guilty... and so on. And you know, it let go. Because many fears reflect my helplessness in this life. Helplessness in small things, and that small flows into the most important - helplessness in the face of the creature of death. There is nowhere to escape from this helplessness and it is very difficult to accept…

Here we begin, life is born, reveals its secrets, one wishes to be alone, wishes to be filled with the sense of life, its beauty. Feel oneself in all this. Start seeing life as it is, start seeing oneself. ...Then various things happen... And here are the moments when the sun hides behind a fir tree. When children come out of the shower, and against their desire, are tucked into bed. Games quiet down. And we begin to read. We immerse ourselves in a fairy tale story, in the lives of other people and ourselves. This is the prism of the day, the prism of our life. The meanings, relationships, feelings, and dreams are revealed. And then under the insistent "Please, read more," comes the promise to continue tomorrow. Lullabies are turned on (until today they were Belarusian lullabies). And one can see how the children, immersed in their thoughts, are approaching sleep. And I am writing this text, or another one. Precious time, precious life, meaning flies in the air, depth is revealed in…

The boundaries of humanity? What is humanity? To give a person the right to be, to be as they are. To accept a person as they are. Through all the prickliness, complexity, prejudice, agony, anger, difference, foolishness - to see in them a person who does not want to be rejected, does not want to be alone. For this, many perform the prescribed social mission. Puts a lot of effort. To have the Right to Be. To be accepted. And every person on the one hand requires this acceptance, on the other can give it to other people. And here we get a closed loop: Desiring acceptance, a person makes a lot of effort. And this process becomes a law for him. He and other people begin to accept, only when they make efforts and successes. However, this circle can be broken. Start accepting people unconditionally. Even when they do not match our expectations. Accepting one, then another... We will feel that unspeakable joy for ourselves. And we can be accepted, just because we are us. This will be our support, our depth. The foundation on which true scenes of creativity and activity can be…

You know, sometimes it happens, you go on a journey, you are there for a couple of days. And already the past, your home, life circumstances, everything seems to be in a fog. It's as if you have always lived here, in the place where you have been for only a few days. Not to mention a week. Today our day combined a morning swim in Greece, it was so natural and usual. I asked myself: "What does our dwelling in Poland look like?" and could not adequately answer this. Yet, on the same day, we returned home. And now I am writing this text with the feeling as if I never went anywhere. And the past memories are acutely fogged as if a dream. Could this be one of the symptoms of living in the…

I am waiting for a dawn in the dark sea The wind lifts me like a twig I would like to leave already, something holds I wait, I wait for dawn in the darkness I am waiting for a dawn in the light sea Here it is, soon, for it is already light But I have concealed myself, I persist-wait Though I know what it looks like I was going to go and snuggle in bed To cuddle myself on the warm bedding Now, I am not waiting for dawn But for the sun, which will allow me to fall home Well, what are you here for! Sun! You are taking too long! I no longer want to look at you I want you to come out quickly And like a bird Fly me to my bed To get a little sleep .... here it comes out.... And no need for bed In vain, you, I resisted the dawn You have filled with meaning My morning today Warmed with beauty My…

This icon appeared to me about a year ago. It is closer to my soul than anything…