the past and pending

I feel brand new. Everything seems different, somehow altered. The gates to the past cannot be approached or even thought about. Approached, smiled at, noticed. How exactly is everything going to work out right now? I breathe in and just exist. I respond, but not react.

You probably know HONY, launched by Brandon Stanton (a crush of mine, definitely), who is photographing people of New York, including captions below their pictures, giving the readers a little insight into the minds of those people. It's always either an advice, saddest or happiest experience or state that the person is in. I'd say you can learn a lot. If you can't go out yourself, can't talk to those people and try to absorb something from their life experience, well, there's Brandon and Humans of New York. If you hadn't heard of it before, or you had, but did not eventually check it out, I strongly encourage you to do it. 

"It is important to maintain your equanimity. You cannot let yourself get too 'up' or too 'down' based on your circumstances." "Too 'down' I understand. But why not too 'up?'" "Because the higher your mountains are, the deeper your valleys will seem. You should not react to the world. You should respond, but not react. A response is an action based on logic. A reaction is an emotional state. Your reaction will not change the world. Your reaction only changes you. Your response will change the world."

That's one of my favourite quotes at this point in life. Be (act) logical, not too emotional. Along with all the Sputnik Sweetheart quotations, of my beloved Murakami, it basically gives me motivation to get up from my long hot bath in the morning. Life's an adventure. I'm excited to see where it's going to lead me this year. Even if that journey is going to be much more demanding than the first year was. Hugs and kisses, K.

(Pictures come from a little "into the wild" moment I had with my fam right before moving back to Białystok. On the other hand, I'm more than happy to possibly shoot again in the woods this forthcoming weekend.)