DAY 583

in {and out} Week 18: Big

All the indoors photos of this project are mainly taken inside my house and using items that I already have, so when the time to approach this theme came, I thought I would come out of the challenge well, but I hadn´t thouhgt of something: I don´t like big things.

I do not like sumptuous objects or flamboyant details. I don´t like exaggerated ornaments or personal accessories (except for rings, sun-glasses and handbags). I love all things small. In fact, there are many things that I find too huge for my taste maybe because I feel that little scales and sizes intimidate me less.

This is not only evident regarding house decoration or my personal image, it also becomes obvious when I look at my photos or my collages, even my doodles and the outlines and diagrams I usually give to my students are filled with tiny details. I need to create precise and meticulous compositions and an accurate work. This makes me diligent and methodical but also exigent and –from time to time- maybe too much punctilious.

However when it comes to another kind of things, I don´t feel the same:

I don´t fail to see the big picture (even when I can be focused on details).

I like big stories, big challenges and big emotions. I admire big hearts, big smiles, big trees and big cities. I adore big libraries and book stores.

I like feeling a big fondness for little moments of wonder and a big love for this life. I like having big ideas and knowing more about this big wide world. And those who are big enough to overcome their story, forgive and make the most of their experiences in order to have a meaningful existence.

And of course, I love big cups of tea!, whether in rainy or sunny days.

This entry is part of a project I am developing with my friend Montse Gallardo. We´ll share a photo every week during 2015. Her photos will be always taken outside and my photos will be indoor shots only. We have created a Facebook page: In and Out. 52 weeks where you can see all the photos of the project. 

DAY 574

in {and out} Week 12: Books

Books have been with me since I can remember and reading is no doubt, one of my favorite activities ever. Indeed, once I learned how to do it, I haven´t stopped. Regardless of life circumstances, hectic schedules or overwhelming responsibilities,  I always have books at hand.

I read poetry, essays and novels of different types or on different subjects (just as a hobby) and I guess I have many habits and peculiarities that are typical of avid readers: I am truly faithful to some authors and I think of some characters as they were real persons. I am prone to imagine alternative situations to those which are part of the plot. I adore reading series of books with the same main protagonists and expect anxiously every new installment. I remember their stories, suffer with their conflicts and feel pleased with their successes. I often question the author (or characters) decisions along a novel and I usually discover myself being reluctant to accept some endings or to read the final chapter... in particular, when I have fallen in love with the story.

I could go on and on and on, but I´ll only mention one last thing: when it comes to books themselves, I feel a strong attachment to them as physical objects. The reason why this happens is not only because they allow me to go inside a parallel universe just opening them (this is captivating per se!), but because I find them extremely beautiful. I adore their appearance, their smell, their presence and as a result I love having them around me.

In fact, apart from ejoying the pleasures of reading, I also enjoy very much arranging and rearranging my books in beautiful -yet practical- ways, making them part of the decoration of my house, mixing and matching them creatively. I don´t like the traditional libraries where books seem to be inanimate items put in alphabetical order. On the contrary, I love to display them, creating little altars or still lifes.

Books have been (still are) an important part of my existence, of who I am. I have discovered, laughed and cryed much with them, they have been my wings and my roots, my friends, my solace in sorrow and an endless source of joy... so I cannot help but honor this relationship by making them visible.


This entry is part of a project I am developing with my friend Montse Gallardo. We´ll share a photo every week during 2015. Her photos will be always taken outside and my photos will be indoor shots only. We have created a Facebook page: In and Out. 52 weeks where you can see all the photos of the project. 

DAY 570

in {and out} Week 9: In the morning

Oh, how I would like to getting up at the crack of dawn and do all the things that so many persons do as a way to start their day energetically and with order!. But I am not that kind of morning person. I have never been and I am not sure that I´ll be some day. As a result, my mornings are not made of an ongoing sequence of well planed routines aimed at making me more efficient.

I admire very much those early-birds that have time to follow them before carrying out their daily tasks or duties and seem to be so extremely invigorated. I don´t believe I´ll be able to be so organized some day, I guess that my biological cycles and inner processes don´t help me very much during those hours.

So my mornings tend to be a bit lazy, a bit languid in the best meaning of these words. I am not a sleepy head but I need my mornings to be unhurried. I need my mornings to be quiet and slow. I need my mornings to be a transition between the peace of my house and the hectic pace of the outer world, a rhythmic period of silence between the noises of my professional life. I need my mornings to be gentle...  and I try strenuously to keep them that way. In fact, I postpone all my responsibilities as much as I can in order to enjoy mornings on my own

Since I always have had a mindset oriented to achievement and productivity my mornings has been a sort of guilty secret pleasure but little by little I have come to understand that they are a sacred territory where I explore my inner world, my creativity, the development of my daily practice;  a precious place where I take care of my soul by cultivating awareness and empowering serenity… a priceless moment where I stay with myself and alone in this life of me without fear or rush.

Now I praise my chaotic and wondering mornings where I make pauses and waste time and experience the grace of doing nothing or at least, nothing (from the viewpoint of the rest of the world) very important or big or transcendent just only mere trifles that -to tell you the truth- I find awe-inspiring. 


This entry is part of a project I am developing with my friend Montse Gallardo. We´ll share a photo every week during 2015. Her photos will be always taken outside and my photos will be indoor shots only. We have created a Facebook page: In and Out. 52 weeks where you can see all the photos of the project. 

DAY 365+121

shared nap

I am learning to rest more and make less. This is being a great challenge to me because planning things, assuming responsibilities and achieving goals is the way I assess my merits. As I am writing this, I am realizing that maybe it makes you think I have an hectic schedule that doesn´t allow me to enjoy things, undertake relaxing activities or devote time to myself. And that´s not true. Sure enough, I have a busy schedule but I also manage to keep on with my job, my inner work, develop creative tasks, or having quality time with my family and friends. It is a matter of priorities. 

I usually find time to do everything I am determined to do, even appreciating the ordinary moments. The secret is simple: I don´t do things that I don´t consider important in a given moment and I don´t stop. In fact, I move from one activity to another following an endless program which is not always explicit (it´s in my mind) and includes many levels, areas and tasks and I have not time to get bored.

Don´t get me wrong, I am an inquisitive and introspective person and once I learned that I have to deal with my self-demanding attitude, this never-ending agenda pleases me and gives me a sense of fulfillment. But even so, I am learning to rest more and make less.

And rest, in this context, means making room for having unplanned moments, moments where I permit myself to be set adrift, following the pace of the day without duties and even without wishes or dreams, without expectations at all. Just listening what life has to tell me, just observing what comes to meet me, the hidden chances… and what is more important, feeling myself and noticing my body and all the sensorial information that I have been ignoring till now.

It is not being that easy. To be honest, it is being tough. However I continue to try it. Let me tell you why:

I find that those “blank moments” -where I don´t check my (real or mental) lists, where I am not concerned about being productive (in de widest and nicest sense of the word), where I only feel challenged to be and breath-  allow all the things I consider sacred to settle down and to be even more present in my life, and this makes me preserve the strength and the focus, feel more grounded and balanced.

So here I am. Learning to rest more and make less. Starting to keep in step with life.

DAY 356

at home

where love doesn´t need to wear full dress

where rooms don´t have to look like a decoration magazine´s vignette

where you can find odd cushions made by hand

where some objects don´t go very well with other but have a place anyway

where colors are vibrant and not always complementary

where not all the pictures are signed, but are significant

where books are everywhere and there are childish hearts decorating the walls

where an unfinished dollhouse is awaiting

where candles blink and raise my prayers to heaven

where crystals and mirrors are not always perfectly clean

where there are many teapots for a sole tea drinker

where a Christmas village remains on display all year long

where the bed is not made every single day

where there are not two lamps to match

where dishes get mixed up without rhyme or reason

where a pitcher can be a vase


at home, my work in progress, where an old t-shirt makes me feel all dressed up, where angels and kitties share the shelves and my heart brims with joy


at home

DAY 268

a simple joy

One of the things I love best is giving presents. And it´s not due  only to the giving fact itself, but also to the joy I feel in advance of the moment and mainly due to preparations. I adore looking for the right gift, something meaningful and heartfelt and wrapping it up. Indeed, I am the type of person that always answers NO! when a shop assistant says: Should I gift wrap it?

I remember as a child thinking of a present for weeks, making it with my own two hands and taking a lot of time to make the cutest packages. When I grew up I kept this habit, most of my family members are fond of giving and receiving presents so it was not difficult to do it : there is always a special occasion, a birthday or just a meeting where we usually exchanges gifts

However, a few years ago when my siblings, relatives and friends seemed to have everything you could think about and some of them were maybe a bit too keen on name brand merchandise or expected expensive presents, most of my fun was ruined. Giving presents still was important to me, but became a more trivial and monotonous task than before

But from some time now, there is a growing trend towards accepting that a good gift doesn´t depend on money, but on wit, it is not a matter of cost, is a mater of appreciation

Of course, the main reason why this is happening is the current economic crisis, even when this need to simplify is also related to a new conscious that tries to be less materialistic, more respectful  and is focused on what really matters and not on consumerism

I am not going to say that little things made with much love are the best because it sounds not very sincere when the words economic crisis and gifts are written in the same paragraph. And I am not going to say that complicated situations can hold unexpected benefits because it sounds not only like a cliché but somehow unfair...

But I will say that having the opportunity to play again when I have to give a gift is utterly delightful