On Dementors…

Marian D1 Comment

Have you ever almost given up on an ambition of yours just before you finally succeeded? Why were you ready to give up? Who or what got in the way? What would you have missed out on if you had given up?

When aiming towards a goal, some of us are slow and steady, while others charge ahead and bulldoze through everything irrelevant. Both ways work, depending on your personality and risk tolerance. However, one thing we all have in common is facing distractors (or being distractors for others) along the way, especially in the final mile.

You’ve heard that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; I am here to tell you that it also ends with a pessimist with his nose to the sky 9 times out of 10. Even when you ignore the distractors and move on past the finish line, they remain unconvinced.

Read More »

On Faith…

Marian DLeave a comment

Henry Ford is remembered for an innovative idea that revolutionized efficiency. You may also remember him for his foundational message about success: “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, either way you are right.”

Faith is a cornerstone that we cannot overlook when we are aiming for the stars. It is both internal, in holding the firm belief that one will be successful, and external, in holding a firm belief in the existence of a power greater than us: God.

Read More »

On Travel…

Marian DLeave a comment

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust


Image property of Hack: Dream life [Marian D.] ©2018. All rights reserved.

At the time of this writing, there are approximately 7.6 billion people on Earth. How many have you spoken to?

Read More »

On Music…

Marian DLeave a comment

I once met a man who refused to listen to sorrowful or angry music. At the time, I thought he was being a little dramatic.

I put this thought in the back of my mind and continued to listen to the music I loved. Over the years, I recognized that this music evoked more and more painful memories… and they were not even always my own. I was identifying with the people represented in the story of each song in a very profound way.

I still love all my music but, today, I am aware of how much it affects my mood and well-being. I make more of an effort to choose “happy songs.” I find this funny because I am now listening more to the music of my ancestors and my parents. Growing up listening almost exclusively to English music, my favourite songs are now a cultural fusion of languages I might not even understand.

This led to another discovery. Even if I do not understand the lyrics of a song, it still evokes the feeling it’s meant to. Who cries to a song without lyrics? I do. I was intrigued by this and did some more research, thereby discovering a broad array of scientific evidence that the music itself manipulates the very state of the cells in our bodies. See the video below for a visual representation of this.

Read More »

On Debt…

Marian DLeave a comment

Are you in what seems to be an endless cycle of debt that you cannot crawl out of?

Does it feel like the bills keep coming and the salary never rises to match?

The first question you should be asking yourself is: “What kind of debt is it, and how is it serving me?”

If your debt is not serving you strategically, you have fallen into the consumer trap. I’m talking about credit card debt that you’ve collected over the years for purposes that you can’t even recall. I’m talking about home renovation debts or car debts that are out of your means. I’m talking about that student loan that, despite serving its purpose a long time ago, you never got around to paying. I’m talking about your habit to purchase the newest model of that gadget you love annually. If you are seeking to cultivate good luck in your life, these debts need to be snuffed out.

Read More »

On What We Wish We Knew… at 18

Marian DLeave a comment

I set about on a mission to collect some insights for my younger readers who might feel overwhelmed by big decisions for their future.

In the Western world, 18 is the “right of passage” age. We make many of our most fundamental decisions at 18: what to study, where to live, where to work, who to date, how to balance work and play, etc. Of course, we keep making these decisions and many others throughout our adulthood as well.

At 18, I was preparing for launch to University; my parents moved halfway across the world, and I couldn’t go with them. Many of my friends, now in their late 20s to late 30s, faced similarly challenging events around that time. Some moved out. Others went to university or trade school. Others went straight to work. Some had kids. Some got married.

Here are some of the tips they wish someone would have shared with them when they were 18:

Read More »

On Home…

Marian DLeave a comment

They say that home is where your heart is.

They also say that home is all about location, location, location.

What if my heart is floating between the dunes of the Sahara?

Being a Third Culture Kid means that it’s quite natural for people like me to feel divided between all the places they call home and to subsequently struggle when designing a “stable” home for their future. On the other hand, people like my husband who were “born and raised” in one place may face the opposite conflict: if home can only mean one place, how can they possibly leave it to explore the globalized world?

These are two sides of the same coin. In essence, many of us tie our idea of home to a specific place, and this can either contribute to our feeling of eternal displacement, or can cause us to feel tormented by every change that comes along the way.

Read More »

On Reciprocal Kindness…

Marian DLeave a comment

Friendship and love are two-way streets. Without reciprocal kindness and mutual respect, they quickly fall off track.

“When a man is guided by the principles of reciprocity and consciousness, he is not far from the moral law. Whatever you do not wish for yourself, do not do unto others” – Confucius.

Whatever you do wish for yourself, do unto others. Like a mirror, the reflection of your actions will manifest in your own life.

Read More »

On Jealousy…

Marian DLeave a comment

“The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves” – William Penn.

In my culture, jealousy and envy are seen as collaborating sisters who can bring forth the tides of hell. Home entrances are decked out with eye shaped blue ceramics to shield the inhabitants from “the evil eye,” the eyes of the jealous and envious.

In the West, the two are differentiated: the former is seen as a natural product of love, and the latter is perceived as malicious. Those who are jealous feel this way against their better judgment and have good intentions, but those who are envious are guilty of consciously wishing failure and loss upon others. In the East, this differentiation is ignored because jealousy and envy are both expected to bring bad luck. Whether or not the bad luck is intentionally generated is irrelevant.

Read More »