Chapter 31 # Enjoy & Create

Today I turn 31 - a very respectable age for a grown woman.))) Hence the appropriately chosen self-portrait.

There are still so many things ahead of me that I haven’t discovered, tried, tasted, or experienced… And at 31, that still excites me, just not quite as much as it used to.

More and more, something inside me is drawn not to excitement or novelty, but to lasting stability, peace, and creation.

Creating something with my own hands - whether it’s a cozy home, a delicious dinner, a painting, a piece of jewelry, a business, or a family…

Who would’ve thought that my twenty-year-old philosophy of life, “to exist and enjoy,” which I somehow picked up from the Hare Krishnas, would eventually transform into “to enjoy and create.”

By the way, I’ve never actually read any of their teachings or the Bhagavad Gita.))) For some reason, I just got the impression that this was how they lived. And back then, that idea really resonated with me.

But this transformation didn’t happen out of nowhere.

For the past couple of years, I’ve actually been searching for a new meaning in life. Because “to exist and enjoy” had stopped resonating with me. It no longer carried the same weight it once did.

Something inside me had shifted over these years.

Maybe it was the war. Maybe the death of someone close to me. Maybe all of it together.

It made me question whether the meaning of life I had once chosen for myself was still actually my meaning.

And I kept searching.

Searching, searching, searching.)))

And now, at 31, I think I’ve finally found it.

And this time, I didn’t simply adopt someone else’s beautiful philosophy or vision of life. I came to this understanding through my own experiences, my own feelings, and the changes I’ve gone through.

Simply existing is no longer enough.))) Although creating things had always been a pleasant bonus. Now it has officially taken first place.

And what’s interesting is that I haven’t stopped loving adventures, traveling, meeting new people, and all those things that used to make my eyes light up. It’s just that I no longer want to build my entire life around them.

I used to want to see as much of the world as possible, try as many new things as I could, and collect as many experiences as possible. But now I find myself thinking less and less about what else I can get from this world, and more about what I can create in it myself.

And I like this change.

I like how completely ordinary things, things I probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to before, are starting to bring me so much pleasure.

How I no longer just want to visit somewhere, but actually stay somewhere. Not just try something new, but learn how to do it myself. Not just enjoy what already exists, but have a hand in creating it.

Sounds very grown-up, of course.))) But I guess I really am growing up.

And I’m enjoying it much more than I ever could have imagined at 20.

And as always, to celebrate my birthday, I’m offering discounts until the end of October - on all collections in my Patreon Shop, as well as monthly and annual memberships.

Consider it a little birthday gift from me to you. ❤️