The family, taking advantage of the father's absence, decided to throw away the old bathtub. The father liked it and didn't want to replace it, but he was away on a business trip, and his wife and some of his buddies organized the removal of the bathtub.
"Where did you want to end up?" the technician asked.
"Well, to work," replied Stephan.
"So early to work?" she asked suspiciously.
For some reason, Stephan felt ashamed, as if going to work early was something wrong. In reality, there was nothing unusual about Stephan going to work early. It was just a habit of his. He entered early and left early. Besides, it was more enjoyable for him to work in the morning.
In our modern world, where consumerism often encourages us to accumulate more, embracing minimalism can feel like a breath of fresh air. Yet, parting with belongings we've grown attached to or deeming unnecessary can be emotionally challenging.
This is a translation and some localization of a Russian article by Alexander Borzenkj and Anna Krasilshik, "20 Facebook Commandments" that was originally published on Br.ru.
When I was translating it, I came to realization that because of certain differences in Russian and US cultures some of the following "norms" can not really be applied. But I decided to translate and present all of them anyway.
Have you ever felt intoxicated by such perfumes as Michael, Marc Jacobs, Flora by Gucci, Fragile By Jean Paul Gaultier? These are some of the sexiest women’s scents on the market, and all of them have something in common – one of their main notes is the tuberose. I believe that tuberose creates an unforgettable strong aroma that may not leave anybody indifferent. It allures, it's irresistible, it's hot, it's enchanting.
Even the most beloved person is just a part of my vast, boundless World. To say that they are the entire World means greatly narrowing this boundless World down to just one beloved person. Firstly, it's a conscious global limitation of oneself, depriving oneself of all the possible riches that the World can offer us.
I gave you sunrises, now you give me sunsets. I don't see them. I always miss them. But sometimes I sneak a glance at the sky and sink into this veil of violet on yellow with bright pink flashes and blue cats chasing blue butterflies.
We strongly concentrate our understanding of love as a process directed towards one person, whereas love is a state that is available to us at any moment because life is love. We are not open enough if we allow ourselves to squeeze out a tiny bit of love for one person when we can open up to the whole world.
Once, a human naively assumed himself to be nothing less than the king of nature. No, enough of that! King! Let him be released into the open field, face to face with the king of beasts, and I believe, to our mutual regret, there will be no boundaries because Mr. Lion will devour the imaginary crown-bearer and leave no bones, the scoundrel.
I envisioned the state in which the majority of bottoms (depression, negativity) find themselves as such "hell" (which is not as frightening as it seems). Negative thoughts, fears, doubts, and uncertainty prevail. There's little positivity, although paradise is close, so sometimes there's a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel or even its gentle touch.
