The new generation
25 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
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I was browsing through facebook when a thought occurred to me. Looking at all my friends and people I know, their stories, thinking about my own life, places I’ve been to and things I’ve done. And how different our generation is from any other in history. We all read enough about globalization, amount of opportunities, unlimited possibilities of traveling… I realized most of the people I know travelled all around the world, we didn’t “see it all”, but certainly saw much more than people our age couple decades ago. We want to go further, be better, we update our locations on facebook, upload pictures of people we meet…an incredible amount of people. I realized I started forgetting facts about my old friends and about their lives – where they grew up, if they have siblings…because there is just so much information about people I keep meeting that whenever somebody is not around for a while, information about them is “archived” to make space for information about new people, places, things. While our social space is getting larger and more complicated, while we are constantly surrounded by incredible amount of information, we have to process and rate their importance, I wonder if capacity of our memory, our brains, is increasing as well?
We want more, we want to give back. “just traveling“ is starting to not be enough. We go further and learn more. But I feel like there was never as much confusion.. About our lives, our work, our priorities. Standing on a fine line between successes, happiness, love, independence, we are afraid to choose a path, picking one means abandoning hundreds. I myself struggled with this for a long time. Being affected by the very typical disease of our generation – the Messiah complex – I search for deep meaning of my life, trying to be useful and help other people. But at the same time I am struggling to convince myself that I don’t want nice things, expensive flight tickets, comfortable life and money that are necessary for all of that. So on one hand we have long office hours, business routine, desk job, stereotypes, which in the end pay for the luxuries of life, maybe a little bit of happiness as well. But on the other hand there is the rest of it… it might include also long hours, desk job….but …a “higher” purpose, less money, less luxuries, but better feeling? Or there are all the other options, the ones I believe in….where the stereotype is included in bearable measure, and the rest is passion, passion that provides all the luxury you want in your life. Passion that makes you jump out of bed in the morning. Passion passion passion.
What gives us, the new generation, that has everything on our reach, passion that brightens our day?
Just a smile away from happiness
25 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
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Today I realized I think about writing much more than I actually write and so many ideas remain forgotten and lost in chaos of my thoughts.
In February I traveled to Jordan and I spent absolutely amazing two weeks in this „promised land“. I could write pages about how beautiful the countryside was, how breathtaking was seeing Petra, how silent, vast and unconquered were deserts of Wadi Rum and how painful but still funny was to get a drop of water from the Dead sea in my eye. But I decided to write about something else. In Jordan I met Mike. Mike is friend of a friend, young American studying Arabic in Amman. He is doing a cool thing I decided to do as well and share it with you. Mike started choosing one challenge each month to broaden his horizons and try things he never tried before. When I was in Jordan he just started his meat-free month and had a month of daily appreciation ahead – during the following month, each day he would write couple things he was grateful for, etc. The idea is to challenge himself, overcome discomforts, find new things, new interests, places and habits he might stick to for the rest of his life.
I think his idea is great. I believe we, people, are too many times limited by ourselves, we blame it on the world around, but it is us, who put our minds and bodies to boxes of stereotypes and beliefs. We wish to do and try things, but mostly the possibilities remain unexplored. Myself, I know how easy is to stick to the CONVENIENT instead of the CHALLENGING.
After coming home from Jordan I was really determined to start my little personal challenge and I did. And since I am getting close to the end of the first month I keep exploring for topics and themes for future months One of the first ideas that came to my mind was – being USEFUL. Every day for one month find ways how to be useful…and then I thought… but HOW CAN ONE BE USEFUL? Not just useful to myself – like going to school, but useful to the society and world around me. It is hard to find new ways how to bring something to people around you each day. How do I do that?
Today I was listening to BBC One Planet – a cool radio show, where they talk about different issues concerning environment, lifestyle, green solutions etc. This particular part started with story about bananas. Each year 15 million tons of bananas are shipped around the globe. Not just any bananas: baby bananas, big bananas, medium-sized bananas – actually there is 80 different kinds of bananas delivered all over the world to satisfy lovers of banana pancakes. By the way I love banana pancakes!
But anywho, further they talked about a very cool initiative promoting local supplies of food. You also must have heard it hundred times – eat locally, its better, healthier, etc. But the problem is that to eat locally is not that easy. This initiative encourages people to try their 30/30 challenge – for thirty days eat only food produced less than 30 miles from where you are. I thought – how cool….but – impossible. Maybe if it was mid-summer and I was back in my village, I could go around and get cherries, peas, young potatoes, black current, radishes or carrots from gardens in neighborhood, because some people still have vegetable and fruit gardens, even though the majority already gave up these activities for convenient supermarkets with unlimited supplies of whatever they need. But in Prague? How long would I have to walk from the center to find a field or green house with tomatoes if there are any nearby at all?
I never really realized all potential dangers that the system we are living in poses. One planet talked about this lorry drivers strike that happened couple years back and that supermarkets were actually three days from having their shelves empty, if the strike went on. Today, the complicated and sophisticated system of transportation and brisk supply management are key for supplying big cities, communities and even the countryside with food brought from the other side of the world. Even food grown in the same country travel long distances to be processed, wrapped and redistributed to storehouses and then supermarkets before they get to our table. What happens if something goes wrong? We run out of oil? The system we all rely on fails? I read somewhere that a regular small balcony if utilized for growing food, provides as much as one third of all food a five-member family needs.
Well…I decided to research more on that. Find if there are any local producers at all and how can I find their products. And maybe I will even plant radishes on my balcony…you never know . If you have any tips or comments, write me! And I will tell you here about my discoveries.
Security – can promises be delivered?
05 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
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Protests in Syria claimed over 5400 lives over the course of less than a year. After the veto of Russia and Syria the representatives of the Security Council were outraged, claiming that any further bloodshed will be on hands of Russia and China. But who is to blame for those 5000 lives wasted already? It has been a year without any action but „condemnation“, while the first month and a half caused a death toll of 1000 people, which is the frontier of most of the monitors to consider the conflict a war.
There is no doubt that the international relations are still influenced by national interests rather than will to create a peaceful world. While we know that the institutions, such as Security Council, which should be a grant of international security and embrace the tools of early warning and prevention of conflicts, is still a playground of national interests, are there any security guarantees then?
It is true that interventions did not prove themselves as being very effective. And while the UN remains the highest instance for spreading its values of peace, development and security, it is being easily ignored in the cases of national interest in danger or it remains powerless, when some of its members decide not to act.
We are being told more often how insecure and dangerous the world around us is. And we are told the international guarantees exist, that we are not alone. However in the end the promises are not delivered. Maybe it’s a good thing after all. Maybe battles for freedom should be fought by those who strive for it, because it seems that given freedom from the outside is not being appreciated. But the problem is that these battles will never be free of outside influence. The fact that „the West“ cannot act because its tight hands does not mean that the loads of arms and support to the Assad regime will stop. Why is it always so much easier to help those in power than help those looking for a better future?
When the Arab spring began last year, I felt a lot of optimism and I thought about Czech Republic and its Velvet revolution. I hoped this revolution will also be Velvet. Non-violent struggle without bloodshed. Power of people overrunning the dreadful regimes. People are very powerful, when given voice against oppression. However they remain powerless, when part of the collision of interests of states around them. How long would the conflict last without ANY foreign involvement? And what would be the result? When help cannot be delivered, could fuelling of the conflict from outside be stopped?
Our society and morality of corruption
19 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
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There have been so many thoughts in my head recently. About myself, the world, the society. I just came back from the cinema; I saw a Cuban movie Ciduad en Rojo. It tells the story about revolutionary struggle of Cubans against the military Batiste regime. In a way it was an inspiring story about people not willing to live their lives bounded and only be able to speak in a low voice and they wanted to change course of things, even restored to violence, because the reality they lived in was unbearable. It could have been a success story, story of Cuban revolution overthrowing oppressive regime. If only one oppression was not succeeded by another one.
I had a long discussion with a friend, amongst other things also about Czech society and politics. The Czech Republic belongs to one of the most corrupt states in Europe. On the global scale we received the same rating as Saudi Arabia. The news is full of it. There is no single political party without any members involved in corruption affair. People are fed up. But it seems like there are no alternatives. Last elections people were thrilled to see new parties entering the scene with promises of a new transparent politics. It turned out one of them was purely business project aimed to get to power in order to get access to public finances and abuse them. People lost faith in the big old parties, but now even in any new „projects“ . I heard older people saying this might be the first time since Velvet revolution they will not go to vote, because there isn’t anyone to vote for. Affairs of public finances being misused at local, regional or even state level are part of the daily news coverage. Leaders of one party are being called mafia barons, the leaders of the other populist pigs. Time has come to cut budgets and prepare for potential downturn of economy in the light of crisis in Eurozone. There are many criticizing cuts in public budget, most of the politicians criticize because it would limit their access to opportunities to steal, not because of concerns about wellbeing of citizens.
I asked my friend if this will ever change. He said it won’t.
I am a believer, you know that…. What about the young generation? What about the large majority of people being dissatisfied with the current state of things? He said the new generations are sons of their fathers, those who weren’t already trained how to steal efficiently will be corrupted by the power anyway. I couldn’t believe it. There must be a way how to change things? Is it the nature of people? The lack of morality inherent in our characters? Would I, myself, be corrupt if in power?
This brings me back to the Cuban struggle. What is the breaking point in the society, which starts the uprising? BUT!! If people do have guts and fight against the wrongs, what if they end up with something even worse after their fight has been completed?
Is it all a question of morals and ethics? Could moral mind be corrupt or can only be corrupted?
The state of our society and the discontent with it brings my thoughts back to the era of communism. People were not satisfied with the regime. There was corruption and even worse things to hate and fear about it. And some spoke up, as some do today. But for a very long time their voices were lost in the sheep-like silent approval of the masses. How different is to live in the society depriving you from your basic rights and silent you with repressions to the society we live in today? Of course we have access to many more luxuries. But do we have access to democracy? What does that word even mean anymore?
The moral dilemma of going with the flow or turning myself against it always brings me to two important pieces of literature. It is the Kundera’s book The Joke and Havel’s piece The Power of Powerless. Both of them question the human capacity to distinguish good and bad and live your life in the truth. Going back to important parts of our history, I cannot but ask myself, what stand would I take? Would I be the one quietly confirming with the regime and going about my own business or the one printing underground newspapers? And who am I today. I am not printing underground newspapers. I wish there was such a thing.
At the same time the stories of Kundera and Havel are more about the power of personal standards of morality and life in accordance with them rather than struggle in the outer world. But at the same time the real change in a society never happened because there were many people with high morals sitting in their apartments disagreeing with the world. There was always someone, why had the courage to go public, to provide them with the realization that they are not alone. That their silent disagreement is shared across their city and their country.
Will things change? I cannot accept that they won’t. I just wish I knew the way.
Time to contemplate
25 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
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It took me a long time before I was able to sit down and write again. Partially because I felt like there is nothing I can write. The silence of my fingers was overwhelming.
But here am I. Its Christmas, new year is coming and I feel need to contemplate.
This year was probably the most intense, filled with the most random experiences, ranging from absolute happiness to absolute horror.
In this only year I traveled, lived or worked in 11 countries on 4 different continents in my quest for discovery of who I am. And it wasn’t the infinity of Afghan mountains or the Afghan war, it wasn’t the Andes nor Titicaca, it wasn’t the Caribbean sea nor Colombian salsa, it wasn’t the singing of Malagasy lemurs nor the vicious circle of Mauritian politics that gave me the answer. Being on the most beautiful places on the Earth and being on the most dreadful ones had the same effect on my personal journey. The feeling that I have to discover the real me was getting stronger, but also the feeling that in reality I was never so far from the answer.
Years of going further and higher culminated in one moment. In moment I couldn’t be more frighten and more happy at the same time, the moment when real me said: “its time”. I was high in the air. And instead of letting me grow wings sent me to hospital. “Maybe it’s time for you to have a little you time, missie!”
And i was pissed. Well, who wouldn’t be. I mean, if you ask me now, if it was hard, I would be like…no, it wasn’t a biggie. I suffer from this thing…it’s called remembering optimism. Learning to walk was not hard at all, I wasn’t in pain, time passed fast in the hospital…. such things. Only tiny moments of seeing other people with crutches or a sleepless night remembers me of things how they really were. But that is not important, and most importantly it is over.
But the question remains, what is my lesson. I don’t want to be one of the people, who go through major injury or life loss without a change, which only brings the same kind of experience on them over and over again. I want to learn my lesson.
I would love to say, while lying in the hospital, everything clicked, I realized, who I am, what do I want to do, who I want to be with. But it didn’t happen. I am the same mess living my existential crisis of whether work for an NGO or in private sector, whether its time to belive in relations again or give up the nonsense of love altogether, whether I want to be rich and famous or move to Africa and help the poor. If I want to live here or there.
But yes. there is a lesson. Being around the world I realized how much I miss having a home. One place, friends, routine. And how desperately this is what I want right now. Recreating the happy place in my head into an actual happy place on Earth. I don’t think its possible to stop traveling. But so far I underestimated the meaning of my happy place.
So actually I just found a new apartment, applied for couple of jobs, started researching my master thesis and decided to start my personal journey of discovery of the real me right here and right now. From the inside. Because there is no other place that is more appropriate for it. And after all this time, I’ve never been happier and frighten at the same time, because the challenge now is to find the balance and not run away. Because running away was always the safest option.
Lets see how will it go. I don’t have more answers that I used to have. But in words of my favorite philosopher
Isn’t it the moment of most profound doubt that gives birth to new certainties? Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil that nourishes human hope; perhaps one could never find sense in life without first experiencing its absurdity…”
I wish you an amazing Christmas and lets all work towards making the 2012 a year worth remembering.
xox
Goodbye Vaclav
18 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
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He meant so much, not only for our nation and struggle for democracy around the globe. He was a philosopher who lived in the truth. And there is little of those in the today’s politics, I would argue barely anyone. And because of that Vaclav Havel was so crucial. He might not have been right about some things, but he was a visionary and he had a hope for better future. Today people who didn’t give a damn during his life praise him and some others still don’t give a damn. But I do. He was a moral person. I wish I was like him in many aspects. To be able to raise against the injustice of daily lives and foresee a better future and fight for it. Because some things are really not worth fighting for because you know they will end well, but because fight for them is the right thing no matter how they end.
Did we really become so overwhelmed by results, success, road to somewhere, that we forgot that ideals, hope and visions cannot be lived without? For a once I want to stop being preoccupied about future of something and just do it because its right. And we all know what is right. For each of us. There are no compromises. And from time to time we all need to see the truth and love win. And therefore we need people who remind us about it. We just lost one of them. But I hope we all can pick up the little pieces of hope from within and keep fighting his fight. Because its right.
Learn to walk
11 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Stories from the world and me
The previous story was to be continued, so here we go.
I had two – one less and another more successful - operations. They fixed my myspine and reemplaced one vertebra. Now I am full of titan, so my stock price has rosen 
.
After spending 10 days in hospital in Slovakia now it is almost another three weeks in hospital here in Czech Republic. Yes, they transported me here in a helicopter, but after being in Afghanistan that was not even the cool part…although it is true that the landscape was much more beautiful here.
There is nothing nice about hospital life. Because hospitals are for sick people. They smell funny and people are usually not happy. So actually having to be in a hospital is the best motivation for getting better…because that means you can get out of here.
I was lucky to be put in quite a nice rehabilitation, the walls are colourful, there are balls of different sizes and colours everywhere and the staff is nice. That is however not reducing my will to leave this place. but for that I had to get out of my bed. Because of my spine healing I will not be able to sit for at least next month or two. So there are only choices to be in bed or up on my feet. I thought it would be easier than it was. First couple of days here it was tough. Anytime I tried to get up my head just blacked out. Because I spent so much time lying down my brain just shut down from lack of brain whenever I stood up. It took two days of trying but finally I was on my feet and standing for more than a minute. It was time for my first steps.
There is a long corridor on this floor connecting all the rooms. This was my first road to travel. Step by step I was discovering world behind walls of our room. And there were people I didn’t know and there was so much to see 
yes, one gets crazy when locked to a bed for so long.
From then I am able to walk more and more every day. It is still a long way to the marathon… but it will happen. My legs are still shaky and it seems like if all my muscles decided to just disappear. So it takes so much work to put everything back in place.
But I am so excited to progress. It is such a huge change. From traveling the world and being such an independent person I became so dependent and limited. But it opened another serie of challenges for me. Challenges I never thought I would have to face. Those moments, couple tens of minutes I can spend walking per day are the light of my days now. Escaping my bed is worth all the pain.
Sometimes world tells you to slow down. In my case it shouted it on me. So here I am. Hey!
To tell the story is part of the healing
07 Oct 2011 3 Comments
in Stories from the world and me
So what happened? It is time to tell the story. Writing in hospital bed is not one of the easiest ones, but I will do it. To tell the story is part of the healing process.
So I was traveling Latin America. And it was awesome. Three ladies on the road working for women empowerment. I didn’t keep up writing this blog because well it was not right time.
Ok….where was I… oh yes. I am on the airport in Lima, Peru. You know the airports, you taste all the free chocolate covered nuts, spray some perfumes on and try to find something to read. And there it was. Born to run. AMAZING book. That is what Lindsay told me. And she is amazing. So I got the book and read it before we landed in Madrid. Suddenly I knew I was born to run, deep down there I was one of the running people, small tribe lost in Mexican mountains, who are among the last people still holding up to traditions based on the very nature of human kind. Well. This is not THAT important for the story, but you should REALLY REALLY read the book.
So I get stuck in Madrid, delays, blah blah blah. The important thing is why am I going home. I was gone almost 5 months in Latin America after another 14 months I was in Afghanistan. There were roads to be traveled, but I felt like going home, after being gone for so long. The most important thing is that me and Kristyna really wanted to go paragliding. I did a tandem flight in Medellin, Colombia. And….well… I was FLYING. You know….like really. And I wanted to do it again. So I decided to go home earlier to make it to the last paragliding course of the season.
I am not going to lie, I am a crazy person. I little bit for sure. I came home and after not more than 24 hours I was in a car going to Slovakia for a week of paragliding. Yes. Not only has Slovakia absolutely amazing cheese, but the mountains. It is my childhood. I walked those trails up and down since I was 3 but have not come back for many many years. And here I was again. Cows hanging out on green fields, mountain tops and flying.
You know the movie Arizona Dream? The reason I love it is not just because of Johnny Depp, even though there are things in the world I would love just because of Johnny Depp. It is because of a dream to fly and foolishness with which it’s accomplished. The first time I flied it was hysterical, crazy, dreamy and just right. My hidden wings spread out and my feet left the ground. And then I did it again, and again, running up that small unimportant hill until my legs hurt like hell to experience the best sensation ever, fly. Well…not saying in was no problemo all the time, there were some bushes I saw thoroughly while taking off and some trees I missed just from the right distance. But then clouds came and I was able to catch thermals and spend my first tens of minutes just cruising the air back and forth. I was in love. Because this was it, you know there were some broken hearts. Sports that amazed me and then I found myself being dragged through sea weed, being strangled by kite and hit by surf (seriously, how can you possibly manage so many elements at the time while kite surfing? And I just cannot handle all that salty water in my eyes).But this? Hiking, mountains, views, flying, cute mountain chalets with jummy food, running down a hill with your hands spread open?…this was me.
But you know the story of love. You find him, he is cute and funny, you flirt and dance a night away, go to movies, hold hands, kiss the first time, spend weeks f*cking your brains out and then…. you get your heart broken….or your back….
After first four cuddling days we were ready for a big step. I was ready to be taken up to the biggest mountain, as high as the birds fly. And it was perfect. Scary, but something like being on a carousel. You scream because its fun, but you want more. So we hit it of. The whole day, hot air allowed me to spin 360s high under the clouds, see across mountain summits, dams, towns and people looking like ants. We did our turns on the dance-floor, training figures and landing spotlessly. It was our honeymoon. I was sold that day. Not only am I from the tribe of running people. My wings were out, not to be hidden again.
And then there was the last day. Just couple more figures and I was a pilot. Everything was perfect. Love was fulfilled. So this last flight was just for me. And the thermals were great. I was spinning 360 together with a guy across me and went up even faster than he did, and he was not even a beginner. But I didn’t put my gloves on this time. And it was cold. So I decided not to get sassy about how great it went for me and flew to landing field. The air was just a liiitle rough and it didn’t feel quite right spinning and descending. I thought I should check in though walkie-talkie, but I didn’t. I did this so many times without any trouble. Why should this time be different? So I just kept flying smoothly to the wind sock. But I saw how it just flickers in the wind in so many directions, it kept changing every second. The wind was getting stronger so I almost stood in place and decided to do one more turn which took me to different place than I thought. I was trying to get closer to the wind sock flying just above the tree tops. All of the sudden my glider asymmetrically collapsed. A figure we trained earlier that day. A figure that occurs from time to time and it’s perfectly safe…if you are couple hundred meters above the ground (it’s a paradox, but paragliding is safer higher you are). But I was too low and before the glider blew up again…
Well you know the dreams about falling down. I remember I was having this dream a lot. Dream in which I was hanging in some high place, like a bridge, tree, big gate….something Dali would paint. So I am hanging up there and I know I have to jump down or I will fall anyway. And I know that it is too high even for cats with 70 lives. I am not sure what happens after I fall in that dream.
So now was the time of heart-breaking. I am falling down 20 meters to the ground. I remember it very well and lively. There is the tree on the side and in the millisecond I thought how should I land to fix this. Legs first? Well there is this back protector on my but…. And I hit the ground. Incredible pain shoots through my back and my legs. And than there is nothing. No legs. I am lying there in nicely smelling golden grass that shivers in the air. OK. I live. And I don’t feel my legs. Fucking paragliding. I should have stayed in Peru. Nobody is calling me so I check in….I need help. It takes a couple of minutes before they find me. A second takes century. Maybe you should call the ambulance straight away. I don’t feel my legs. And here they are. Faces saying it will be ok. But it hurts. It hurts like hell and if something ever didn’t feel OK, this was it. Please let it be ok, please let it be ok. I don’t pray very often. Now I did. Minutes before the ambulance followed by helicopter arrives take forever. Please let it be ok. Everybody says I will be fine. The red men are here. But they don’t say anything. Why would they not say it will be ok? It’s a spine? Yes. It’s a spine. And that’s it.
About warriors
07 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in Stories from the world and me Tags: joga, Veronika Jemelikova, warrior
I thought about yoga and its asanas. Position of warrior represents calmness, focus and determination. There is nothing that resembles fighting in this warrior. It is expression of internal strength.
I didn’t like to be called warrior, it is thing of internal critique everybody has for themselves, and I do to. But today when I thought about yoga I realized there is another aspect to it. Something that could inspire me to go further. Internal strength.
I feel miserable….like most of the time. But I am trying to hang on there because i still feel grateful for my life, to survive. But sometimes being grateful just for that is very hard. Especially when it is raining outside and I really want to run, feel wind in my face and jump into puddles. But I cannot. So you do it. Because you never know if you will be able to do it when it rains next time.
I always want to go faster, further and become better. But when your mind goes faster and further than your body can, it is very frustrating. Mind has no limitations. You can do whatever you can with it. Cross all boundaries, because they only exist in your mind. But body has limitations. It has pain and it takes much more time to recover than you want. I wish it was different, but I cannot change it. But i decided to avoid being helpless. Every inch costs me fortune with my body, but it just has to happen. Because life is bitch, but fucking beautiful one. And I have to make it my bitch again.
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