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Last posts

Learning to be happy

Mónica Boixeda Sevillian

Is happiness something that is learned or is it innate? Fears, a pessimistic view of the facts, low self-esteem are some things that are better off rejected. There is only one certainty: happiness depends on you and not from outside sources. This ideal is not unattainable, therefore, take courage! If there were a recipe for happiness, it would have enough ingredients so that we didn’t have any lasting negative feelings. These ingredients are somewhere in the world and they are invaluable. They’re in your own interior. Happiness is not a matter of luck, money, beauty, or laughter even though these are things that can bring us great satisfaction. The general welfare lies in the harmony of oneself. Only by knowing yourself will you get closer to happiness. Therefore, strengthen your self-esteem; take advantage of the pleasures in life, and problems with intelligence. Prefer a fighter’s attitude or an entrepreneurial spirit, and you can be the master of your life. Life is like a black and white photograph: it doesn’t have pure tones but are predominantly grey instead. Unfortunately, you can’t always remove the miseries of life but you can learn from them. Of course we all fall down sometimes – we are only human. Errors aren’t curses, and if we fail at times it doesn’t mean we are complete failures, but you can monitor your thoughts and listen to your own words and that will prevent you relapses, tragedies and crises. And if you don’t like your life, change your way of thinking; check your beliefs and ideas. There is even an international index of happiness! It is seen... read more

Modernity returns to the museums

Mónica Boixeda Barcelonian

There are classical and modern things, traditional and new customs, ancient and future philosophies… It was under this simple dichotomy how a concept that today remains a subject of philosophical reflection and important social begun: What is modernity? Perhaps you remember having discussed this issue during your studies. Or maybe this subject does not inspire you in any way. The truth is that whatever you know about it, this is a very difficult subject to summarize in one sentence, since everyone, most intellectuals and artists, seek a way to express and define what modernity is. To learn more about modernity, visit the “Modernologies” exhibition which occupies one floor of the Contemporary Art of Barcelona Museum (MACBA) until 17th January. Follow the skaters in the Raval district right to the Plaça dels Angels (the MACBA square), where they meet to skate. Discover what the modernity subject means. Is this an international or European concept? Is this artistic or political? And what are the differences with Modernism? History tends to date the events or social concepts, but often this date is the starting point for endless discussions to define a new idea. In the case of modernity, we have not finished discussing it yet! Some people say it began in 1492 with the arrival of Columbus to America, but others place it after the Industrial Revolution in the late nineteenth century, and others date it after the French Revolution. It is not very clear. The concept of modernity did not come from one day to another. Modernity is a whole concept that lasted for years in several countries after many political... read more

Famine, the Third Seal of the Book of the Apocalypse

Mónica Boixeda Budapester

The Book of The Apocalypse is the last book of the New Testament. Without a doubt, this is one of the most important and complex texts of Christianity, which has tried to decipher its metaphors and make it more accessible to its believers. In the Book of The Apocalypse, Seven Seals or prophecies are revealed: the First one, is about the false preachers, the false prophets and the false Christs who try to deceive the masses; the Second one, is about the succession of wars throughout the history of mankind and the Third one, which will be dealt with right now, is about the terrible famine that will devastate the planet. The Third Seal is illustrated by a black horse. In a prophetic and literary context, the black colour symbolizes famine, which has led to the deaths of thousands of millions of people around the world throughout history. But the black colour symbolizes not only hunger, but also all those dark forces and phenomena that cause wars, laziness, waste, destruction, drought, fires, floods and other natural disasters. Therefore, the black horse, the one of the Third Horseman of Apocalypse, is the horse of scarcity, shortage, malnutrition and famine. The history of the Second World War has been one of the most tragic when it comes to people dying from starvation. Approximately seven million people died as prisoners at the hands of the Nazis, and though most died in the horrific gas chambers, hunger was one of the reasons that caused most deaths. In 1945, when the Allied forces liberated the camps, the vast majority of the survivors suffered from... read more