So, it's that time of the year again.
When I look back and think about 2014, I feel happy. This year has seen some ups and downs and also a lot of goals accomplished. But let us start the countdown for 2015 in another way.

As a little girl I used to enjoy Christmas more than any other time of the year. This Christmas spirit is one of the things I hope I never lose, so I'll have to interrupt my Istanbul & Turkey travel diary to write a few words about my favorite time of the year.

 Last night I was reading a wonderful short story written by Czech journalist and writer Zdeněk Karel Slabý. "About a little man who made the Prague Clock Tower stop" tells the story of the little man who falls in love with a porcelain doll, only to find out that it was impossible for them to be together, since the store owner where the doll was on display also had feelings for it and wanted to keep it for himself.

 The story goes on telling the struggles that the little man suffers in order to be with his loved one. Among them, the fact that he was really small and everyone ignored him and his problems. On a desperate attempt to get some advice, he opened his umbrella during Christmas day and got carried away by the cold breeze, until he landed inside the Prague Astronomical Clock, mounted on the wall of the Old City Hall in the Old Town Square.

He received some advice of the 12 Apostles, who stopped the clockwork hourly show that every inhabitant of this city knows so well.
The Apostles remained hours and hours giving the little man advice, while people waited impatiently for the next show. Some even wondered if there was something wrong with the beloved clock, a symbol of the city.

One of my favorite Christmas postcards: the Old Town Square of Prague with the Týn church.

 Long story short, the little man was told that if he desired with all his heart that the doll came to him, a Christmas miracle would happen.

I hate to ruin you the end of this story, but it helps me to explain the point of what I'm trying to say here. In the end, the little man and the porcelain doll are reunited, because of the strong desire of the puppet to be with him.

The thing is, sometimes we focus so much on problems  that divert our attention to the real Christmas miracles happening all around us the whole year round. Sure, this time of the year is special, but if we desire to see the  world with a much more positive approach, I think we would see the special and blissful events of our cotidianity.

 As for example what happened to me yesterday.

I took the bus to meet my mother after work in one of Panama City's huge shopping malls. You should know that this time of the year is huge for Panamanians, who love to do their holiday shopping during almost the entire month!
To sum it up, the city was chaos: traffic jams everywhere, upset drivers honking non-stop and the faces of the people inside the bus were also a bit worried and troubled.

Near the bus station of Cinco de Mayo, a young guy hopped in the bus carrying nothing but a guitar. Smiling and raising a little bit his voice he said he wanted to play music that he learned  during his travels all over Latinamerica. And that's what he did. He started playing a joropo, a kind of music that is typical in the southern Llanos region of Venezuela.

He carried on with his repertoire and I noticed how the faces inside the bus changed as we were approaching the mall. The message that his guy, who by the way was travelling from Argentina, was trying to give us, was that yes, there is so much to be worried about, but when you have music and when you can be happy for the moment and enjoy the company of the people you're with, then nothing's really that bad.

Argentinian guy singing inside a MetroBus in Panama City.

 I was smiling from ear to ear by the time I got off the bus. Smiles are truly contagious, since my mom started smiling the moment I told her about this guy.

This is how I perceive Christmas: a journey to the heart.
This one journey lasts for a lifetime and it is perhaps the most joyful and difficult one we will undertake. But if there's one thing I'm sure of, is that there's no better one.



I wish you a safe trip to your heart!
Merry Christmas!

Astrid.

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