Trees, birds, children, and mornings...

Euro 2024 I hope this first article, which I begin with the justified pride of being a quarter-finalist, brings good luck to our beautiful country and to me.

I do not know if you are among the happy minority who can wake up early in the morning and enjoy the peace of starting a new day accompanied by birdsong, or if you are among the unhappy majority who snooze their alarms every morning and barely manage to throw themselves out onto the street with a mind burdened by a thousand stresses. If you ask me, I am a successful representative of the unhappy majority, except on holidays; however, for the last few days, I have been in the process of crossing over to the side of the happy minority. Before I invite you to this side as well, I will tell you how I took this step, which is a giant leap for me but a rather small one for humanity.

On a hot summer morning when I happened to wake up early, I tried to go back to sleep, and when that was not really possible, I threw myself onto the balcony. The dawn, half-dark and half-light, with drizzling rain, the chirping of birds, and the rustling of trees, was quite romantic! It was an atmosphere ideal for diving into philosophical depths, perhaps reading a line or two, or questioning the meaning of life with the exaggeration of a personal development enthusiast. However, it did not take long for me to make a rapid transition from this romantic atmosphere to the cold waters of realism with the sound of 'Good morning, Mom!' I started the day with the earliness of this rapid transition and the energy of a child who did not want to sleep. But what a start!

The leaves that were rustling in awe just a moment ago were now standing before me like spoiled and mocking children, laughing; the birds were dancing recklessly in the sky, singing cheerful children's songs full of nonsensical words! When this exaggerated joy of nature combined with the explosion of energy in our home, the music playing in the background of my mind, Edvard Grieg's Morning Mood, was replaced by Baby Shark.gives way to; the sun appeared in the sky in all its brilliance, while the clouds applauded it all.

The cat in the garden was shuffling through the fallen leaves; the old dog on the street was chasing away a grumpy crow that was pestering it; a tiny sparrow hidden among the tree branches wanted to sing with its beautiful voice, but was also keeping a cautious eye on its surroundings, afraid of the crow. My son was watching this entire scene, asking me endless questions about nature; he would combine the answers he received with his imagination to invent a story, and then recount it at the top of his lungs to everyone in the house.

Although this story, told dozens of times and never the same twice, created a great sense of weariness among the household, the extraordinary response of trees, birds, and a cheerful morning in the world of a small child reminded me of the little, sweet excitements we lose as we grow older.

On that day, when I was reminded once again of how effortless and how close happiness actually is, I realized that birds, trees, and mornings only have meaning when viewed through the eyes of a child, and that looking at life through a child's eyes is the greatest gift we can give ourselves. Wishing you all the ability to look at life through the eyes of a child and to start the day happily!