Lebensskizzen E-Book

Olga Pazdnikova

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Deutsch

Seitenzahl: 145

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

«Lebensskizzen» ist das Buch über Dich und mich, über die Menschen. Jede Person ist einzigartig, trotzdem verfügen wir über viele Charakterzüge sowie erleben wir mehrere Emotionen, die uns einig machen. Wir bereichern und helfen einander, jeder auf seine Art und Weise, schöner, vollkommener und glücklicher zu werden. Das ist das Buch für die gute Laune, die reine Freude und das ehrliche Treffen mit sich selber. Das Buch ist mehrsprachig und läuft in 4 Sprachen und besteht aus drei Teilen: Russisch-Englische Novellen, Russisch-Deutsche Novellen und russisch-französische Novellen.

Leseprobe

Lebensskizzen

English novels (Die Geschichten auf Englisch) Temerity or a bit of spice Light breeze of changesDon’t regret about the past – it’s the spilt milkMelting the heartsFailure or step to success?Race or lifeThe dreams come true even if not as you expectedStubborn – to be or not to beWhatever happens, happens for the bestHow a Foreign Language Can Help You Defend your MotherlandDeutsche Novellen Sprechen Sie miteinander!)Lebensabend endet wo Lebensaufgang beginntWinter als WohlfühlenBitte, machen Sie Dummheiten!Besser jetzt als am MontagIch bin kein Roboter – ich bin ein MenschWie ein Mensch zum Vegetarier wird?Durch das Leben mit Humor oder Kleiner DickbauchHauslektüre: ein älter Zopf?Jemandem die Kastanien aus dem Feuer holen oder wovon erzählen uns Volkssprüche?Wovor haben Sie Angst oder das Ungeheuer in meinem ZimmerDas Neujahr bleibt immer das WunderLes nouvelles en français (Die Geschichten auf Französisch) L’homme est une belle peinture!Le thè chaud – comme je t’aime !La plus belle et la plus attiranteLes animaux donnent les léçons aux gensLes reflections sur l’amourLa promenade de vieQuelques oranges, quelques sourires – l’automne en plein cœurDe bonnes questionsBon matin !Aujourd’hui, c’est le meilleur jour !Le bonheur, où tu te cache ?La vraie source de l’amour – c’est vousOlga PazdnikovaSchöne LebensgeschichtenImpressum

English novels (Die Geschichten auf Englisch)Temerity or a bit of spice

‘We cannot solve problems with the same thinking we used when we created them’.

Albert Einstein

Audacity, madness, blindness, foolishness, imprudence – all these words describe temerity. What does it stay for – ‘temerity’? ...How curious and seductive it sounds! It is one simple word but hides lots of mysteries and puzzles. Temerity can be a good thing when we speak about situations in which courage and inventiveness are required. On the contrary, temerity can be the worst thing in the world if we think about all fool and stupid things we’ve ever done in our life. I am sure everyone has some silly things behind him.

However, is it such a bad thing to be deemed as a harum-scarum? If people do not understand the behaviour of another person it doesn’t automatically mean the mode of his life is wrong and should be convicted and sentenced the sooner the better. Perhaps, the person who seems to act irrationally hatches a well-thought-out plan and, in any case, he has his own head on the shoulders. In fact, the anomalies of human nature are endless and for me that point is a great finding. You would hardly ever be bored either with you or with other people.

Sometimes you think to be certain about this or that person, you feel you know him or her really well – from top to toe, nothing can surprise you. As a rule, these are close people for us: friends, relatives, love partners, children, and spouses – somebody you know for a ‘long while’. You say you read him or her like an open book, but what it would be a surprise if one day your ‘all-too-familiar’ friend pulls a trick on you. In two shakes your conventional image of your partner goes upside down. And I am not sure whether your astonishment would be positive or not at all. It is dangerous to attach labels on people – one fine day you might find yourself totally mistaken and rather embarrassed. Instead, it is so exciting to let people reveal their multiple inner traits and unusual faces. It makes a lot of fun and brings fresh air into life. Your relations will never hit a wall.

Of course, not all temerities are equally created. Some can become pretty useful and pleasant, others might bring sorrow and pain. Life never remains stable, it is never a still water, but a constant flowing river with many different currents – weak and strong, tiny and huge – and you could barely predict what happens next. Life is a great master of bringing non-compatible and absurd events, people, situations, all possible sort of things together. That is an enigma and, at the same time, a marvelous miracle ever!

Crazy things should take their pride of place in our lives. Without them life would have become dull and monotonous – same things happen throughout days, weeks, years… the whole life. No, please, God save us! When I get seventy or eighty, I want to have something worth remembering, to have memories which matter – and bull-headed, careless and provocative acts are truly among them, they are ‘must-haves’ of my life programme.

I remember I was twelve years old, having just finished my recovery programme after a complicated arm fracture. It was a nice hot summer. And as many kids I spent my school holidays in the countryside in the open air – with my friends, family, books and dolls. After a long period of extremely restricted movements and a lack of physical activities I set my heart on swimming, running, cycling and playing badminton. By contrast, my mom had a different opinion on the subject. She thought it would be harmful and even dangerous (in fact she was pretty right) for me to do a lot of sport. To put it bluntly, any kind of sport was strictly forbidden for me, but it is common knowledge, stolen pleasures are sweetest. And I, with all my independent and free spirit, was, surely, no exception to the rule. It turned out, my friend Mary who had had a birthday just a week earlier and was a year older than me, had got a great modern bicycle as a present.

When I told my mom, I was going to spend the day with Mary I thought: ‘The lesser you know, the better you sleep’. I decided to test the new friend’s bicycle without bringing my beloved mother into unnecessary troubles and concerns which mothers usually experience when they let their kids ‘go for a walk alone’ – so I kept the lid on my cycling plans from her.

The day was perfect for testing the bike – it was a weekday with free roads, and it was warm, sunny and dry outside. The only challenge we had found with the bike was connected with its brakes which didn’t work every time you needed them. Thus, one had to be very careful while riding. For us as light-minded children it was not a problem at all and we decisively climbed on the high hill with a rather steep slope to ‘ride quick as the wind’. Since Mary was a scaredy-cat and I, on the contrary, was always reluctant to show my fear and had a reputation of the braveheart, we agreed I would be the first to go downhill, needless to say, at top speed.

The beginning was really great. I felt excited, frightened, almost flying like a bird, free and happy… until I saw the gate at the end of the road which was usually open, but that time it was closed for whatever reason. I slammed on the brakes, but they didn’t work and at a breakneck speed I was fatally approaching the gate. If I had ridden into the gate I would have definitely finished by breaking my neck, what I didn’t plan on that very day – indeed I thought it would be extremely unfair to die in such a stupid way and at such a tender young age. It is amazing how many weird thoughts come into your mind when you have to take a very quick and critical decision!

There was a barbed wire on the both sides of the road. By all means, it was not the best idea, but I saw no other alternative – I turned aside and crashed into the barbed wire with a wallop. At first, it was all silent and dark, I could hear nothing. I wondered whether I was already dead or not yet. Then a tiny thought crossed my mind: ‘If I still could think than I should be alive’. Thus, my mood turned a little up. When I looked around, I was all in blood with numerous wounds along the whole body (to give credit to the wire it was done thoroughly). I slowly stood up and started to move in home direction to treat my injuries and livid spots. Mary was already near me, heled me step and walked the bike. So, we slowly got under way.

However, the most ironical and bitter thing of the whole story was some village boy who we occasionally met on our way home. Can you what?... When he looked at me – a girl drowned in tears, with arms and legs covered with wounds and hacks, his only question was not about my physical or moral state, not at all, he asked with sincere anxiety and concern in his voice: ‘Hm… girl! Your bike looks horrible! How is it? Is it alive? Or have you ruined it?’ The first thing that popped into my head was to smack that naughty nasty boy upside his head. But at that very moment I felt so exhausted and the only thing I was capable of was to give him a heated look in complete silence. Even now, while writing these lines, I remember my every feeling – profound insult and indignation as if it was yesterday, although today I look back at the complete situation that happened to me numerous years ago with a light smile playing on my lips.

After the accident I had only one dream – to get home, climb on the sofa, close my eyes, hit the hay, and forget about the pain I was suffering. But there was another issue to solve urgently: how to explain my mom my shabby hangdog look. Mary suggested saying that we had been playing catch-up and I, having overlooked a ditch on the road, had fallen into it. For many people, I am sure, this would sound as a very doubtful excuse. However, knowing my unprecedented skill to break whatever in my power is and my incredibly poor attention to objects of the physical world, we decided the explanation was plausible enough. To my great joy, mom didn’t ask a lot of questions, put on a brave face and feigned she believed in my story.

Since I usually avoid lying to people I have finally told the truth to my dear mother, but it happened a year or two after the accident. At that time she was already calm and was easy-going about the whole unpleasant matter. For me it was no longer a bad memory, I laughed at my temerity a lot and even at the scene with all emotions I had experienced while listening to that ‘nasty boy’.

I don’t regret even a bit about the pain I suffered and the scars I still observe on my legs and arms – the wire was really of good quality. It is now a nice and funny experience which I can share with my friends and other people. Moreover, the accident helped me understand that in life a lot can happen, and bad situations pass off and wounds heal up, leaving the space for a smile and memories which matter, give us lessons, define spirit and make us stronger. Temerity, if used ‘in moderate quantity’, may add a bit of spice into our life.

Light breeze of changes

‘Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end’. Robin Sharma

Usually we prefer planning our days and sticking to our plans – sometimes for a month ahead, sometimes for a week, a day or, at least, several hours. The majority of people like to be on solid ground. That’s more than understandable and reasonable. In our conditions of permanent changes – political, economic, professional and even intimate – we need to have something we could rely on. In fact, it is not of high importance what the thing is – it should be something that gives you certainty about your life and your existence in general. For me, such a role is fulfilled by the morning ritual of making coffee and listening to French songs, giving a smile to myself and my nearest and dearest – mom and dad. These are the milestones or the backbone on which basis I can already arrange my day to come and the whole life as well.

However, we tend to surround ourselves with more and more permanent things which give us the feeling of confidence and stability. And then, when something unexpected happens and the well-planned idea cannot be implemented anymore, we feel like a fish out of the water. In fact, it is good to have things, people, habits and rituals which are able to support you in daily life, but from time to time it might turn to be useful to see what lies beyond them – perhaps, there is some new and interesting stuff on the horizon which was hidden from your view because of all the numerous comfortable things piling up around.

Each person needs his or her area of comfort as a ‘safe harbor’ where you may always find a shelter. However, we are not the oysters who spend all their lives in their shells. The world is so enormous and abundant on opportunities, it would be a pity to view it only through a foolproof shuck. By saying this I don’t want you to forget all your previous life and to commit something crazy and stupid, but to extend a little the bounds of comfort. It is only when we feel constant tension in our muscles we can step by step get down into a split. With each training a sportsman extends his limits and tries to stretch more, and finally succeeds. The same can be applied to our life. Drink tee instead of coffee in the morning, take a different way to work, go to the theater if you a movie fan just to break the monotony down – once or twice a month is pretty fine. I am sure you’ll feel sort of discomfort while implementing these minuscule changes. On the other hand, they’ll bring you fresh air into life and lend variety to daily routine. As a bonus, you’ll experience more freedom, more control over your habits and desires – you are the person who takes a final decision, you are at the wheel taking right or left turn or moving straightforward.

Of course, starting something new, even introducing slight changes into life always gives the heebie-jeebies at the very first moment. But as a famous proverb says, ‘what the eyes fear, the hands do’, so when the first step is taken, nothing looks as scaring as it appeared to be even a minute ago, and the second step is easier to take and the third one you already enjoy…

I remember well that trembling feeling when you begin a new activity and you are not certain about the process itself, not to speak of the result, this irritating sentiment I experience every time I alter or add anything in my life. Many times I have told myself: ‘Olga, you have had so many similar situations behind you, calm down, everything will be alright’. And I have no doubts about ‘everything going alright’, nevertheless, I cannot help but having butterflies in my stomach… might be it is within our human nature – once bitten, twice shy.

It was just two weeks ago when I had to moderate an English discussion club at Belinskogo Library for the first time. As its member I was there plenty of times, but as its leader – it was my premiere. I gave a lot of public speeches within the last ten years – at national and international conferences, conducted countless foreign language lessons and seminars on various topics, interpreted both in a consecutive and simultaneous order at top meetings, etc. Nothing should have caused anxiety in me… however I was unable to withstand that agitation and unrest inside me. You know, it is like you have your first exam in life and you entirely forget that you’ve already passed a lot of tests before. So then, I felt a bit nervous, but, to be honest, now I am able to enjoy this feeling of ‘rattled nerves’ and uncertainty. It makes me feel alive and not acting as a dead-hearted machine. So, I completed all necessary preparations for the club and ‘got under headway’.

For me it is always the same – the very first minutes I am thrilled, but as soon as I get started I forget about all my fears and thoughts like ‘what if…’ and savour the process, the topic and the people. That evening it went exactly the same way. The club was good, the participants also had a nice time and fun. Finally, everybody was pleased and happy. For me it was a wonderful exercise to avoid getting stuck in routine, to extend my horizons and to bring some lovely fresh air into life. And if there is such an opportunity in future I will definitely conduct the club more times. It is really a pleasure to see the different views of people on things and to discuss them in an open and sincere atmosphere, moreover, in a foreign language. The greatest reward is the understanding that you are the person who created that coziness and encouraged the members to talk and reveal a part of their inner world which is so precious, vulnerable and unique.

And today instead of my normal ‘Celine Dion’ music which I greatly adore and display every morning while doing my yoga exercises I’ve switched on some French songs from cartoons which I’d never heard earlier – as a soft breeze of changes to make my life sound a little differently each morning. One fine day, you would surprisingly find out how great it is to swap the roles you’ve been playing for many years. Life is a theater. It makes fun to put on a different hat and to see, might be even to your deepest astonishment, what a multifaceted, creative and talented person you are!

Don’t regret about the past – it’s the spilt milk

‘Do not anxiously hope for that which is not yet come; do not vainly regret what is already past’.

Chinese Proverb