what is the art of balance?
to live passionately and to survive rationally.

–  why you struggle at indoor tournaments ?

–  sun is energy. 

 “There is something that makes me even happier than being number one and that is the process, the effort, the path taken to get there.”

“I can’t believe I watched someone win 9th Grand Slam.”  Mats Wilander

i love tennis and play it recreationally since i was a kid. some of my close friends went into professionals and achieved excellent results so i know how much hard work, discipline and sacrifice tennis requires. personally i consider tennis to be the toughest sport there is: you must be an outstanding athlete and a ‘chess genius’ at once. plus it is an individual and not a team sport.

why post on Rafael Nadal?  in my toughest life situations i love to watch his matches and try to learn his way of  ‘not giving up’.

a few weeks ago i wrote about A.I. and how its hard core supporters don’t appreciate fragility and weakness of our biological bodies. unfortunately, the upcoming human nature learns only to see and to desire instant results by having no interest in testing, pushing own physical and mental ‘limits’. yet our ancestors did exactly that: in the absence of marketing and nano-chips, solely the DNA was at their disposal demanding major upgrades.

the human body is a beautiful and an enormous potential that is yet to be discovered by every individual. watching Rafa playing makes me feel as witnessing a great samurai or a gladiator fighting but with a huge important difference > Rafael is not acting and does not have stunts. he is indestructible but also deeply vulnerable. no one would ever say that he is driven by a feeling of inadequacy, yet his motivation still remains a mystery.

i’ve wished he won Roland Garros for the 9th time maybe more than he himself. he entered my dream night before the match and we played some tennis. he was smiling, looking joyous, telling me he’ll win.

as mats said, i’m glad i watched a part of sport history being written. gracias y felicitaciones Rafa!

music composed and conducted by vangelis

“damend is the man who abandons himself.

these six words show that the worse the situation is, never, ever should a man consider it lost”.

raimundo arruda sobrinho

“Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.”

“Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.”

“All suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their own happiness or satisfaction.” 

Dalai Lama XIV

an enigma question started to haunt me as if i’m the last woman standing and is usually posted by (married) men, rarely by married women:

– are you married?
– no
– why?
– i’m waiting to turn 60

i was on a dinner recently where a guy (over 40, married with children) hold me a lecture for an hour in front of everyone present about how i need to give birth to a child till i’m 42. otherwise i might regret it when i’m 50. then he went on explaining how not having a partner is not the issue cause ‘research has found‘ that one parent is enough to raise a child. instead of being in a mine field of potential embarrassment i genuinely laughed at his odysseus monologue cause this was one of those great monthy payton life situations. when he finished his presentation about my reproductive potential i kindly asked him to provide me with phone numbers of some of his married friends. why? he asked. well since i’ll be having a child and raising it by myself, the obligation and responsibility of a future mother is to choose the best sperm there is. ain’t it?

till next post on ray’s singularity,  few links:
– how to for dummies
– short history of marriage: 1 or 2

on commercial lover’s day I admit my love for Aretha Franklin. I fell for her big time as a baby teenager and my three life’s wishes were to see Michelangelo’s David, hear Chick Corea and hear Aretha Franklin live. the first two wishes came true but I really don’t know how to get to Aretha Franklin. hm, I guess I must think of something pretty soon. this is not her song (sorry mr. Sam Cook) but heard it again today on a radio and thought, let’s make a simple post out of it.