“I didn’t want to wake up. I was having a much better time asleep. And that’s really sad. It was almost like a reverse nightmare, like when you wake up from a nightmare you’re so relieved. I woke up into a nightmare.” …

The far big mountain Whenever I call myself The green tree whispers … It is spring again I have noticed her dark hair When a bird flew south … My room is messy The neighbors’ cat sits and looks A cloud goes away … “Just friends” she has said To…

Sleep is good, death is better; but of course, the best thing would to have never been born at all. Heinrich Heine “You are so cruel,” she replied angrily. “How dare you to say such a thing!” I tried to calm the young, impassioned woman, who happened to be a…

“Meditation is the preparation for the worst day of your life.” When I first heard this sentence from Sam Harris, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me. When my girlfriend left me, it saved my life. This is the story of how I reached this point. Life wasn’t…

I grew up in an environment where all the men — including my father — smoked cigarettes. But while everyone else smoked in front of their children, my own father did not. He didn’t want to be the reason his children started smoking, which he saw as a “dirty habit.”…

“Until you show some respect, I won’t talk to you!” said the doctor. “I am not obliged to treat you!” he added. Before arriving at that point, I should say that everything had started a long time before, but the beginning of my depression will be a topic for another…

“Can we play something together?” I looked at the young blond man who had asked me this question. He was smiling and carrying his guitar on his back. “Yes, sure!” I replied. Such an interaction could happen on any day for any musician. Music is a social interaction, in the end, playing music with others can be a very special experience and create special bonds. But the context and the later developments of this story are quite special.

“Stop! Don’t move!” I shouted. There were 28 of us, including two children (5 and 9 years old), three teenage siblings, and maybe four or five women. Time: midnight. Place: A rubber boat in the middle of the Aegean Sea. We had a broken engine! “We should keep calm and work together!” I continued shouting…