E219 Mariana Ostrovska: Philology Student @ NaUKMA

Mariana Ostrovska 0:00 If you are open the world will be open to you. And also opportunities will come to you. Come, come come and you will catch them. So it's easy Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 0:23 this podcast shows that Ukraine is not what foreigners see on television. Together, we will break all the stereotypes about Ukrainian so that when the flag of Ukraine is lifted anywhere in the world, every one was no Ukraine and its unique culture because today, Ukraine has a dynamic new generation that will change the world. Hello, my name is Aziz and I have a deep connection with Ukraine. My grandfather volunteered in 1987, to help liquidate the Chernobyl chemical radiation because he believed in humanity, he was a real hero for me. And even though he struggled with cancer after that, for the rest of his life, he always told me many great things about Ukraine, and its people. Then, from 2018 to 2019. For two years, I began working with UNICEF in Ukraine, to help build orphanages for Ukrainian children. And thank you all so much for the support. More than 215 people participated in this project for Ukraine from the Vice President of the Helen mourning group to the Vice Chancellor of the ugcc church to the president of the Erasmus student network year to the President of the World Trade Center, Kyiv to students from the FLEX program, Ukraine, Global Scholars, Yale University, Harvard and the London School of Economics to the United Nations, to interns at the Ukrainian parliament and the Canadian Parliament to top 1% students in Ukraine. But not only them. This project is for all Ukrainians from all backgrounds. So if you wish to participate, send me a message on Instagram at Azeez dot future and join the telegram channel. Key of future My goal is to make interviews with hundreds of Ukrainians and the world is listening. This podcast is already top 50 In the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and Monaco top 25 In Austria, Germany, Canada, Russia and Poland, top 50 in Australia, Italy, Spain, and Dubai and top 10 In Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore and many other places because this is now officially the number one podcast on Apple about Ukraine. Together we will break the stereotypes. Together, we will help all other countries discover and respect the greatness of Ukrainian people and this good reputation will support the development of Ukraine, creating more opportunities for every Ukrainian to have a better life. So let's begin. My guest today is Mariana Ostroff, CA. Mariana is a philology student specialized in Germanic languages and literature's translation included at National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, born in Kosovo people in the reef near region, Marianna loves playing piano, learning, design, drawing, and reading. She is interested in literature, psychology, philosophy, she enjoys editing, making short videos, taking photos, and she adores learning languages. And public speaking, Marianna received the tech Lea be new, a word in Petro jackyled Ukrainian language international competition, she volunteered in the world's largest eco lesson 2021 She won various school Olympiads, and she participated and won the awards on the regional level in projects organized by the junior Academy of Sciences in Ukraine. Her favorite saying is practice makes perfect so take small steps every day. And the quote she loves is you can if you think you can marry Jana, how are you today? Mariana Ostrovska 5:01 I'm great. Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be here today. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 5:06 I'm excited because I can have this conversation with you. And I want to begin with something a bit more emotional. You Marianna, when you want to feel alive, to forget all troubles and to feel your favorite emotions inside, what is an activity that you like to do to feel exactly like that, Mariana Ostrovska 5:32 to be honest, a lot of activities that make me feel alive. But I always turn to communication, because communication for me is the process that gives me the flow of energy. And after having even a small conversation with someone, I'm always fulfilled with a burning desire to create something, to work on myself, and to become better. But, uh, besides this, I hear devote a lot of my time to play the piano, because for me, instruments is the best way to relax after a hard day or after failure. Or even if you have bad emotions, playing the instruments is the best choice that you can make when you're feeling blue. And I started playing piano when I was about five years old. And I never regret this decision. Because when you're creating a music or just listening to it, it really helps you to reflect, to think about something, and just to recover from something unpleasant. And I remember the moment when I wanted a real piano in my house, but so I decided to cut a piece of paper, drove a piano and started playing. That was a moment when my parents decided that it's time time to buy a real piano, Java house. So I'm really I'm really glad that right now I continue doing this. And for me, music still remains something that gives me energy as communication. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 7:24 I love your answer. And if I understood you correctly, communication, even a small conversation and the feeling of exchange of energy, really refills you recharges you and is a wonderful thing that you love, as well as playing instruments. And in your case, piano. It's a way that recharges you and it's passion in your life that started at five years old, and you are so dedicated to it, that even you're playing a phantom piano or an imaginary one, until you got your real one. Did I understand correctly? Yes, exactly. Let's begin with communication. And to understand that first, is it more valuable and impactful to you communicate with people in real life? Or can you get some of that energy, even through text, or virtual communication? Mariana Ostrovska 8:29 To be honest, it's more valuable for me to communicate in real life, because you can see the emotions of a person. So it's not only the information exchange, but the change of emotions and feelings. So I think it's magic that we can share not only our ideas, but our feelings. And unfortunately, we can do this if we are talking via zoom or via Instagram. So that's a pity for me. And I think that Coronavirus made a great impact on our mental health. And saying from my experience, I can say that it's really better to talk in real life, because you can investigate a person only when you see her eyes or his eyes. And unfortunately, you can't do this when you're just texting it. But when it comes to serious deals, and text the word so I know that this is a new term that scientists provided us with because as we know there are extroverts or introverts, but extrovert is a new term. So I would like to say that if we're talking about different deals, I'm an extrovert. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 9:51 Thank you. And let's begin even in a minute detail kind of way when you walk around The city, do you feel the emotions of everyone walking around? It's enough for you to see someone to feel them? Or do you need to have that communication in order to get a sense of their emotions, sensations and energy? To be honest, Mariana Ostrovska 10:19 for me, it's more important to have even a small talk, especially if it's a person, whom I know if it's my friend or my relative. But it's sometimes it's impossible to do when your parents or when your friends are abroad or something. Or they are just Instagram. So for me, it's really important to to share our ideas, even if our conversation lasts for one minute or two. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 10:53 Wonderful, and tell me about emotions. I know this will be an unusual question. But how do you feel emotions? Do you feel them like sensations in your body? Do you feel them like warm or cold energy? The some guests they have here? She said she feels them like colors that she can feel? How do you feel emotions? Mariana Ostrovska 11:20 Actually, it's a very interesting question. And I've never heard it before. Only, but sometimes I hear tried to investigate myself. And I think that psychological, psychological, Kobe questions are the most interesting nowadays. Because if you know yourself, you can understand other people. And this is vital nowadays. So if you can, if we talk about mice, if, if we talk about my emotions, I feel them sometimes, as you said, a scholar's sometimes it may be is of unexpected flow of energy. But sometimes it seems to me that I'm a visual, so I can see like the pictures in my head, or I try to recollect the moments in my head, so they pops up, this was a bulb up in my head brightly, and I can recollect some pleasant moments from my life, it's vital to understand how you feel at a particular moment, to no have to care about yourself. So we have to pay more attention, I think, to our feelings and our emotions, just to be happy, not only now, but in the minutes, in an hour or tomorrow. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 12:40 Thank you. I have so many questions. But I want to begin with in the dictionary of Marianna, what does it mean to be happy? Mariana Ostrovska 12:50 That's a very fascinating question, actually. So thanks for it. I've asked myself this question a lot of times. And then I understood that happiness for me is in little things. So I found it in unexpected calls from old friends, or in wildflowers in loud music, music, in cafes, or just as I said, a lot of times today in simple conversations. So it was a period of time of my life when I really thought that I have to look for happiness. So in every and each corner, but Santa injustice is not the right way to do this. Because after you stop looking for it, you find it. And that's what I think about it. That's why I stopped doing this and just started enjoying every single minute, even if even if it's routine life, especially nowadays during their planting meat area of Coronavirus. We have to be thankful for Oza moments we have even if it's about our morning coffee, or our zoom chat, it doesn't matter. So my happiness is about small moments. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 14:16 I love your answer. I want to say I'm very similar. And I want to ask then a bit more. If I understood you correctly, when we chase something escapes. So if we're trying to pursue happiness in an active way, maybe we don't find it. But if we allow ourselves to feel the moment and be grateful and appreciate the potential for happiness in small things that affects our psychology, and it shows us the happiness or as psychologists would call it, priming our brain for that but in a different way to us specifically So when it's unexpected, therefore it's natural. And when it's in simple things, you that's where you find the things that you can have give the meanings that give you happiness. Did I understand you correctly? Yes, I think yes. If someone is listening, and they don't understand how to do that, they think, okay, in my Zoom call, I feel bored, or I feel unhappy. How can I find some happiness there? Or they say, I wake up in the morning, I blame myself for drinking coffee. I'm like an addict. So I cannot find happiness there. How do you think? How does your brain function in order to allow you to find happiness in simple things? And if it's unexpected, it means it's more of a receptive attitude, rather than an active attitude. But tell me how it is for you. Mariana Ostrovska 16:02 I think that our mindset defines what we see. So if you're, if there's thinking about only about the positive things, you will see your routine life from the anatomy perspective. So you will not see us say that you had a bad morning because of the spilt coffee, you will say that you had a great morning because of the breathtaking sands, sunrise, and whatever. But you said about unexpected things. That yes, it's something that we can't control, unfortunately. But if we can control it, we don't have to worry about it. Because it's not our power. We don't have power over it. So we don't have to spend our valuable time on these things. And it's better to focus on little jokes or morals, panoramas, I think, but it's only for me, because sometimes I hear I think that I'm an aesthetic lover. That's why it's easy for me to find something that will put a smile on my face. But even if I asked myself a simple question about happiness, I always come back to the same answer. So communication, as I've said before, and working on myself and love to the world are the things because of reach as a little dimples on my blushing face appear. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 17:36 I like how visually descriptive you are. So you're not internally, visual only, but externally. And your mindset reminds me of the philosophy of stoicism, which I embrace, or that serenity prayer that we ask for serenity, to accept the things we cannot change, for the courage to change the things we can change and for the wisdom to know the difference. So the hill with things that make you blush and show them falls, etc. I will ask you then in a different way, it seems to me that you choose to live in the moment, because the past we cannot change it. Yes, we can extract lessons from it. But it should be done in a positive way. The future, yes, we can have intention and goals, but we cannot control what will happen. So if we live escaping to the future, we forget that now, if we live thinking about the past, to we, we make the now polluted, but if we're purely in the now, then we can feel and those emotions and the exchanges of energy. That is where the power and the meaning and the love is that I understand you correctly. Mariana Ostrovska 18:58 Yes, that's what I was talking about. So I like to analyze my past, but I don't want to make it my, my now. Because when you're constantly thinking only about past events, you're concentrating on the past and then doesn't make you move. And I want to move and I think that all of the people in the world want to become successful. They want to, to have the future they want to have. So that's why he thinks that we have to concentrate on our on the moment we have, but not the future and the past, as you said, yes. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 19:40 Thank you. And therefore I feel like asking you a metaphysical question. Do you believe in destiny, do you believe? Like, what do you believe is our purpose here? I know that's a really big one. And do you believe it's up to us 100 percent to become successful and achieve our goals. Or it's as the ancient Venetians used to say, when they pray to the Goddess Fortuna and ask her to to spend her wheel, they say that success is 50% good fortune and give the 50% hard work. I don't know what you feel about that. Your thoughts about destiny, about freewill, about our place in the universe, but you're smart. So I enjoy having these deeper conversations with you. Mariana Ostrovska 20:34 Thank you, you know, it's quite a difficult question. So I really hope that you're not expecting an accurate answer for me from me. But what can I say that, yes, I believe in destiny. And I believe in luck. So even if you're trying your best you're put your effort in, do you want to achieve success and it doesn't matter that you will achieve it because there are a lot of external factors that also influence your decisions, and your past. So it doesn't mean that every single beat and every single go as smoothly as you predict as and as you want it to be. So I think that we have to make our best, we have to try so hard. And but we have to keep in mind that sometimes not everything is as we wanted. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 21:35 I love that that is so wise. I agree with you. And I find that it's really stressful to believe that we control everything and to blame ourselves for everything. But a lot of people have that attitude. And I am more and more thinking that real success isn't really an external thing that you get. It's who you become as you grow through the journey. Which means that let's say you go to a competition, but you do better than you have ever done. And you're not number one, but you are number one to yourself, because you exceeded your own past performance. And that is really something that should be valued and valuable in this world. Rather than thinking it's a zero sum game where there is one winner, and the second third, everyone else is a loser, which is not realistic. And it only works in controlled environments like school or a competition, not in real life. What are your thoughts about that? And when it comes down to it, did you get to the point where you value happiness, over validation, or you still also want to have a lot of validation and you extract happiness from it. What I mean is, sometimes, to some people, they do what society expects, and think those are the goals that will make them happy. And they chase those for 1020 30 years. And suddenly they have a midlife crisis. I know, I'm speaking to you about some really big topics, but you can handle that I know. So you're different than a way that you think, I guess maybe you're an old soul or something. So then they think while I was chasing this Mirage, and in reality, I thought this goal was what I wanted. But it's a goal that my family wanted, or I wanted to impress the neighbors or whatever they will say and then they think deep down and they think no, my real goal was to be a painter, or to go make a farm or to go be a teacher and spend time with children or whatever it is. And that is what makes me happy. But they discover it after waiting a long, long time and wasting time, which is going after validation more than happiness. Since you're introspective. Tell me more about your thoughts on this. What is your vision moving forward? And how do you balance the expectations from society with your own inner desires that give you that passion and vitality and life? Mariana Ostrovska 24:23 To be honest, unfortunately, I can't avoid thinking about what other people think of me because expectations of society they influence each person in the world I think right now, but I really I do my best to limit this influence. Because I feel that as this influence doesn't help me to achieve my goals but it ruins my plans. So I really try to listen to my heart because once once one of the volunteers who came to our school for the Go camp, the camp for young eople which is aimed to popularize learning languages, and he said to me that I must always listen, my I always must listen to my heart to my heart. And that was the moment when I realized, then this, this phrase is really important for me, especially in that moment, because if I will chase other people's opinions, if I will always think only about other people's lives, it won't help me at all. So right now, I'm fighting this as people's expectations. But I can't say that I listened to my heart. Completely Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 25:47 Wonderful question, as usual, from you. And then, before I ask the next question, I want to make sure how, what is the difference between listening to your heart and listening to your intuition? Is it the same thing? Is there a difference? And then I will ask a question. Mariana Ostrovska 26:07 Actually, I think it's not the same, because intuition may be influenced by different factors. It's my subjective opinion. But when it comes to your heart, when it comes to the decisions that are made, from your heart, they are they aren't influenced by anything. So it's only your, your desire, and you try to make your dream happen. So you want lesson anyone? I think so we have to understand that there is a boundary between listening to your heart and listening to your intuition. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 26:49 I love that answer. And therefore the heart is the unchanging, immutable thing. And in many ways, it shows you your purpose in life. And because you have that passion and hard desire for it, it's your manifest destiny news, American historical world where what you want is already calling for you or as good as said, when we really commit to our hearts desires. It's as if the world and the universe conspire to help us, but it doesn't do so until we commit. Or as someone else said, If you commit 99%, that's painful, but 100% That's really easy. That 1% of doubt, messes up the whole thing. Well, my question is, how can someone know they're listening to their heart, and I will tell you why I asked this. A lot of people had, at some point, what they thought was their heart, telling them and guiding them in a way that hurt them. So they had this phobia, from doubting their own hearts. But maybe it wasn't their heart, maybe it was like, their mother's voice in their head telling them something, or their intuition, as you defined it so eloquently. But how do you know you're listening to your heart? Is it a feeling? Is it some harmony sensation? Is it alignment? Like? What is the criteria that lets you know, this is my heart? I'm listening to it, rather than my intuition, or what my grandmother told me when I was a baby. I don't remember it, but as guided me or whatever it is, Mariana Ostrovska 28:40 what a great question, actually. Firstly, I think that this decision mustn't be spontaneous. Because if you make a spontaneous decision, it means that you haven't taken into consideration all the factors that must be taken into it. So it must be reflected a lot of times before your will be sure 100% That that's your way that that's your decision. And it isn't influenced by anyone. And of course, there mustn't be any hesitation. So no doubt, you must be sure that you are doing this only for yourselves. And they think that of if you are making the decision, you must be sure that it won't help any people like if you're if you're sure that your decision will help your mother or your father because they said so I need you to do this or that. That's not your decision. You have to be honest with yourself first and then all the other things. So as far as I remember, one of the wise people once told me then you have to be a friend to yourself. So if you're honest, if you're a If you're don't lie to yourself, if you take into consideration all the things from your childhood and your listen to your desires and interests that you have right now, then your decision especially this, an important one, like choosing your paths in the life, then you will achieve, you will reach your goal and achieve success. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 30:23 I really can tell that you reflect a lot you think a lot. And I like that very much. So I'll throw a curveball. And it has good funny question, but it has also some depth to it. I don't know whether you read the book Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk or even listening to Gary Vee. But Fight Club there were only when you lose everything. That's what the the main idea from the book is, when you lose everything, only then you're free to be anything you want. Or as Gary Vee says, You have to disappoint your parents and everyone else, only then you can make your own decisions following your heart. But as long as you haven't experienced that there is that fear of losing the validation of other people and it controls. And it takes so much from life. And I believe life is so precious. We really only have this second, this moment. And it belongs to us. But so many people give it away freely. And it's something they wouldn't do with money, although a lot more important things are more valuable than money. But I mean, like in a physical sense. If someone from the street comes to them, and tells them Oh, give me your money, they will say no. But if those people come and expect from them to have the wrong carrier, they will do it. That's much worse than that. So I'm asking you, what are your thoughts on this? Is it possible to be completely us without first disappoint and everyone and lose and everything so that we are not fearing it anymore. Because when you reach rock bottom, there is no lower point. And therefore you can go up any mountain you choose. But if you're high, then you worry about losing. And therefore you're a prisoner of the expectations for way too long. And that is unhappy. Mariana Ostrovska 32:31 Actually, this. This moment from the book is really as a source of reflection. And I'm sure that I will reflect after our conversation about it. But now I regret that I haven't read this book yet. But I should I'm sure I will do this. And what can I say about this is that I agree with this opinion, because when you have something as you said, you're always worried about losing it. And in this perpetual appreciate you it's easy to miss something valuable, that is actually in front of your eyes. So you don't have to be burdened with something to achieve. You have to be clean and need to start your career. Because it will, it will be a great base for new achievements, I think. And yes, it's a great opinion. And I would like to see more about it later. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 33:36 Thank you. How do you think? Do you journal and do diagrams as a visual person etc. Or iru like Madame Bovary. And any of Zola's characters in the French literature, where you sit near the window, you look out at the world and you daydream and think, Mariana Ostrovska 34:00 actually, it depends sometimes when I need some time to be alone, or something I can spend even a whole day just seen, just washing through my window and thinking about my plans or decisions. But I really like journaling because it helps me to keep everything organized. My time, my plans and my life. So I think if you write down something, it will be done. And if you don't do this, it won't be done. So it's easy. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 34:43 Thank you. That is wonderful. And there was research recently on psychology, saying that actually procrastination isn't a bad thing. But we humans have different moods throughout the day. And maybe if we schedule that at 10am will write an essay, maybe our mood and 10 aim is to work out or to rest. While if we did it at 1pm, that essay will be so easy to do, because we'll be in the right mood. And therefore Some people recommend, and say right here to do, and then follow your mood for whatever you will be doing, knowing at the end of the day, you'll do everything. But without putting what goes first and second, but listening to yourself first, while other people say no, actually, if they don't have an executive function of being my own boss and telling myself what to do, then probably some people's day, or I will get lazy. And yes, I could do it at 1pm. But if I don't have a schedule, I'll probably watch Netflix and eat chips or for athletes, I would do it like struggling rather than not doing it. Which one do you think fits you? And what are your thoughts about the Mariana Ostrovska 36:04 Yes, actually, I totally agree with us it sometimes you just give to, you just have to give yourself some time, because our body can scream, like, give me some time, I need to rest a little bit and then I will do everything. And we're just ignoring it. And that's a pity because from my experience, I can say that even 30 minutes of sleep, or 30 minutes a walk really helps me to concentrate after. So if I will work about five hours or six hours without breaks, it really ruins my motivation to continue doing this what I started doing. So as far as I remember, there is evidence or a surge of psychologists, which tells us that it's really necessary to have breaks every single, every 20 minutes. So this is the best way to boost your productivity. And I think that's that's it. So I subscribe to this theory and try to make breaks every 14 minutes, because every 20 minutes is not for me. It's too often for me, I think, Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 37:18 yes, you're speaking about the third game Kadian rhythm and a little bit about the Pomodoro Technique. And I like that very much, then let's go back to communication. What I noticed is that there is a mix of old thinking and modernist thinking before we used to live in tribes of maximum 100 people, and therefore to have harmony. We couldn't be 100% ourselves because we didn't want to have conflict with other people. But in a world with 8 billion people, instead of like corrupting ourselves in order to be like, I believe the right way is to find our people, the people we feel like we know forever we have chemistry, we have the right alignment, where it's from the beginning. And to have some of those people is better than having 100 acquaintances that we cannot be ourselves with and that are not really wouldn't like us everywhere ourselves because they're too different. So in you when it comes to communication, do you feel sometimes or you prefer to communicate with the people that you feel so good about communicating with them? Or are you someone who is curious about everyone, and you don't have that kind of feeling about people, but you'll rather experience all emotions, all energies, positive, negative energy vampires, whatever it is, you're accepting and tolerant of everyone? Or what are your thoughts about what I said? Mariana Ostrovska 38:58 I totally agree with your opinion about, about the fact that people are a ones who need someone to be near to be to give him a hand when it's really important. So I think that we have to communicate not just because of the information, but because of the emotions exchanged as I said before, that's why I try to find my people as you said, but it's not that easy as I thought it to be. So I'm don't meet these people really often. But if I made them then I can live without them and spend a lot of time with them. It's really hard to answer all your questions because they're too deep. And but I think that if fear started looking for people then you'll find yours in It's not a big deal. If you're constantly in the groups of people, you will find those who are more, hopefully more, who will build the motivation for you. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 40:11 Thank you. Well, to me one, right person is better than 1000. Mediocre, mediocre means just average. And it's so funny that everybody thinks mediocre means it's bad. But all Medicare Yoker means is just okay. So five out of 10 is mediocre. And so okay, you said your text over Correct? Yes, that's it. I had multiple girls on my podcast who said actually something that inside they can be full of emotions. And outside, if they're shopping or walking in the street, or sitting on a bench, they have this very serious poker face that people look at them and think, Why is she so angry? I don't understand. But she can be happy inside or whatever. Since texto. Vert means like, you're so outgoing and tax but shy in person, is that your situation to that? Your face? Might be emotion less, when you're not with your best best friends, but you can be full of emotions and not even notice this, or what are your thoughts about this topic? Mariana Ostrovska 41:24 To be honest, I've always thought that I am open minded person. So and my friends always tell me that it's easy to reach me like a book. So it's the always know how I feel today, or how I felt yesterday. So it's not a big deal to tell what's on my mind, in a particular moment. So I can say that I try to be open because I really like open, open hearted people, they really extract me. So if I want to communicate with open people, I have to be open myself. That's why I do this. But sometimes it's really hard to do this in this harsh world, because you never know. What is the situation and sometimes people can be rude to you, and you even can't predict it. So, but I really advise everyone to be open because if you are open Europe, start perceiving this word from an OS perspective. If you are open the world will be open to you, and you will, and also opportunities will come to you. Come, come come and you will catch them. And I think that it, Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 42:40 I love that Einstein said that the most important question facing humanity is, is the universe a friendly place or, you know, if you expect the world to be nice, it will be nice and like you said, all the opportunities will come and you catch them. If you expect the world to be grim, then it will be like the Grim Reaper, taking your soul and killing you. So Okay, now we'll ask you another very deep question. Why? Because you can handle it actually, you're a really deep thinker. I think you're a philosopher, which is really nice to say, because the original meaning of philosopher is a lover of wisdom. So any person who loves wisdom is by definition, a philosopher, it's not a title the same as mediocre. Now became, like, only a few people can be philosophers know all humans who love wisdom, are philosopher, and Marianna is a philosopher too. So you can write in social media, Marianna, the philosopher. Well, okay, the question what does it mean? What is friendship in a different way? Imagine you're alien from Mars, you arrive to Earth, and you watch people being together. And you notice some people are closer than others? And you ask what is that? They say, Oh, they're friends. Then you ask, What is friendship? And how is the process to you, that people become your friend? Is it time that is required? Or can you feel from the very beginning you know someone all your life? Is it that you need to know their life story? Or not? Is it that you need to have similar values or actually be different so that you learn from each other in a different way? Like what is to you? What is friendship? How does it work for you? Or you're not telling me all that? Mariana Ostrovska 44:44 Actually, if you say that I'm a philosopher, I should have said said, friendship is a special connection between two or more people. But no, I can say that friendship is the process of working on your relationships. It does matter if this is romantic relationships or just friendship, you have to not only to trust this person, but work on these relationships again and again, every single minute, because some people are convinced that if they have a friend that so they don't have to do anything, just enjoying this friendship and having some fun together, maybe yes, that's it. But life is not only black or not only white, you have to be aware of the unexpected arguments and conflict. And if you are not able to reach the consensus, with a person, you can't say anything about friendship. So for me, it's the long process of understanding a person of spending a lot of time with him or her to, to feel this connection. And if you feel that, then it will be easier to work on it. So I can say from my experience that my friends know me inside and out. And I think it's vital. Because if you don't know something about a person, this little fact may ruin your relationships in the future, or even now. So a lot of people think that this distrust doesn't troit anything, but it does. And I think that if your call a person, a friend, then you are 100% sure that this person will come and you ask him or her to do this. But if you want, then this person can be called a friend. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 46:46 Thank you. I'm here. And they're the philosophy of postmodern deconstructivism. You're speaking about that. As well as the thoughts of the black swan events from Taalib. It's a great and famous book, and even a friend and in need is a friend indeed. All this stuff here speaking about it, and okay, piano, how do you feel the emotions of piano? Is it colors? So you're like Mozart, and you have synesthesia where you see sounds as colors? How do you flow with emotions? Did you have that experience of flow? Where when you know how to play it so well, the peace, your body moves, and you'll feel almost like you're watching greatness, like something is playing through you some divine power, or something like that, creating the music. And you're almost surprised that yourself thinking, wow, I am doing this, but I'm not doing it. It's like happening through me. As something deeper. Did you have such such an experience? And you probably did, since you have more than a decade of experience in piano. And that is one part of the evolution or if you think about Maslow's hierarchy, the self transcendence but used in a piano context. So are you not you but you become music, slow emotion, and there is no difference between you the music and the piano? Tell me about that. Your thoughts? Mariana Ostrovska 48:25 Yes, you described the process of perceiving a music of exactly as I feel it, because when I touch the keyboard of piano, I feel the wave. And especially when I know that piece of music really well, I feel this. Again, connection. So I'm connected with the road as you can see, because it's like surfing when I use different app to say, when I use different moments of, of the piece of music, I feel that I start with one motion, and I end with another. So we can even say that it's like expressing all your inner world, just in five minutes, or in three minutes. And I think it's beautiful. It's magic that we can express ourselves in different ways. No matter is it piano or is writing texts or creating podcasts. That's great that we can share something we have with this world. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 49:39 Yeah, very you're not only a philosopher, but you're an emotional surfer. And I liked what you talked about. That is the thought from Jordan Peterson that actually the role of every human being is we have a different piece of the puzzle to the world that nobody else has because we all have our own unique fingerprint of brain and personality and life history, and therefore expressing our inner map is the value we add to the world because we share something that nobody else can feel. Or see. I don't know whether you are expressing this right now. But then I am surprised. So the music is expressing your emotions, or it's giving you new emotions. Because from what I heard, it seems to me that you generate the emotions, although the pieces the same, maybe the emotions could be different on different days, based on what you feel, how it evolves what you express? Or is it that the pieces give you those new emotions, and you're like receiving receiving? Can you please clarify this point? Mariana Ostrovska 50:59 To be honest, it seems to me that the initial aim of the playing of the process of playing the instruments is to express your emotions using this instruments. But from my experience, I can say that I receive emotions too, but they are already transformed. So if I put sadness in the piece of music, and then I can receive happiness, because of the long process of playing. So I think it's even more magical that we can not only express something, but received transformed emotions, and influence our, our meant to health condition. That's great. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 51:47 Thank you. And how is this exactly? similar or different to good conversation? Mariana Ostrovska 51:55 Actually, is this the same dose of endorphins I received after a great conversation? And after some time playing my piano? So I think they are the same energy givers for me, Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 52:12 I love that. What is energy to you? What does it do? Is it inspiring? Is it motivating? Is it recharging? Is it the raw material for productivity? Here? No, because it could be all the things but I want to understand you the way you feel and see the world. So what is energy? How does it relate to emotions? And is it something you use for inspiration, motivation, productivity, tell me more. Mariana Ostrovska 52:46 For me, energy is a flow, especially when it is always out of the blue moon. So it is unexpected. And when I was, for example, just having a walk with my friend, and then inspiration suddenly hit me. So it means that this flow of energy is always unexpected. And I can think that for me, it's something that forces me to start a new project to go to a new place to plan a trip. So it's something that forces me to, and I hear thing that we have to understand our energy givers, to be always full of it. And to achieve our our goals. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 53:38 I love that that is also another way to say passion and vitality. And therefore I will ask you because I noticed and observed about myself that around 9pm or 10pm I get this huge doses of inspiration and creativity, whether a new idea, a new project, a new thing to write music, whatever it is, and if I don't do anything with it and wait for the next day. First, it's frustrating. And I might lose that feeling the next day, if I don't begin, but if I begin, I'm so excited that I have insomnia, so it's something good. And do you have that experience? Are you a night owl or a morning? Person? What is your deal? Mariana Ostrovska 54:29 Actually, I feel the same as you said because if I'm procrastinating and putting down all my all my tasks or something, it's it leads to frustrating results because as you said, I don't have this burning desire the next day to finish it. And that's a great problem because you have to start something or continue when you have this lift have emotions, then it will have more chances to be successfully finished than in the other moments, I think. So that's why I heard about one advice. One piece of advice about carrying a small notebook with you, no matter where you go. Like, even if it's a small walk, or with friends or just something, assurance, meeting with someone in a cafe, you always have to keep a little notebook, not your notes in the phone, because it doesn't help you. You have to write down all the ideas as soon as they came to your head. And then even if you will see the written description of this idea, you will feel something that resembles the flow of energy you felt this same day. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 55:56 I love how emotional you are. If I were to describe you as a person, you're like emotions, and live in a life to say it, and therefore you're alive because without emotions, there is no life really. And that's why I like to have these podcasts about emotions, although with you, it's like the most emotional and deep podcast of all, but you can handle it because I believe you're an old soul and you're a reflective kind of person. So since you're speaking about advice, a lot of people suffered because of the pandemic. They felt emotionless, stuck, depressed. Whatever it is, they felt lethargy, they felt lazy, procrastinating lost so many words, but it doesn't do justice to how the world has changed. So do you if you were to give a piece of advice you believe the world should hear? Or that will benefit anybody listening that your heart wants to share? What could this be? And say it, share it? Let it be one with the moment? Mariana Ostrovska 57:11 Actually, I would like repeat a piece of advice we were talking about today. This is a phrase listen to your heart. If you will listen to your heart, even if you have hard times, especially during the pandemic of Coronavirus. You will find the way to Phil's his happiness. So I really hope that if all the people on the planet will listen to their hearts, every single will be okay or at least better than it is right now. And I really hope that it will lead to the results we all want to have. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 57:47 I agree with you that is like the basic thing to begin to be happy. Without that there is no happiness possible there is only placebo and placation and distraction, which is unfortunately what most people do. They live lives of quiet desperation, as Thoreau wrote a while ago. So this was a pleasure and honor and a privilege. If people want to learn more about you, and to follow you, which social media will be best to do that? And is there any project that you're thinking about right now that maybe you want to raise awareness about you can share some information about that as well? Because why not? Mariana Ostrovska 58:35 So as I said, I'm open to you. New meetings and new communic communication. So if you want to find me, it's better to to find me in Instagram or in telegram that works better. Abdulaziz M Alhamdan 58:52 Thank you so much. Marianna. I wish you a brilliant day, full of exchanges of energy, full of listening to your heart, full of finding the surprising and unexpected natural potential for happiness from every moment, every experience, and I wish you a great day. Mariana Ostrovska 59:16 Thank you. Thank you a lot for this possibility, visually the same and I wish you a lot of success with your project. Have a nice day today too.