Posts

Max Titov

Breath

/0 Comments/in /by

You took my breath away. Has anyone ever told you this?  Have you experienced a moment of awareness that captured your entire being?  Have you ever considered the true meaning of the phrase?

 

It took me a while, but now in my thirties, I am taking the time to consider and answer these questions.  I am fortunate enough to have been in these moments and have shared those experiences with those close to me.

 

So what does it mean, what does the phrase represent?

Previously I’ve simply considered the experience as a magical occurrence that happens in movies: a boy meets girl, they date, struggle through assumptions and inevitable misunderstandings but eventually kiss; that moment is captured in slow, carefully chosen environment with a positive melody in the background.

It is perfect, time stops.

 

That’s the Hollywood version.  Is it possible in real life? Absolutely!

 

What does the phrase mean: in my opinion, we go through life and we experience moments.  Some are meaningful, many are boring and routine.  We try to fill our days with actions and responsibilities.  Most of us don’t take the time to focus and be in the moment, most of us are simply, well, busy trying to make sure the bills get paid on time and we catch the next Game of Thrones episode.

However, for some of us, for those of us who are able to step away from the daily chase, to move beyond the checklists and social obligations.  For those select few [and I truly hope more people in the world would get the chance to experience this] those moments are possible, those moments are real and they are remarkable.

 

To me, “breath” is synonymous with life and how we all see ourselves.  The action is steady, continuous, and repetitive: we live our lives as we breathe: sometimes we are calm, other times we are frazzled. Each moment alters our physical/mental state of existence.

In my experience, the instance when one utters that magical sentence is filled with happiness and joy.  The realization of this state is so powerful that you wish to stop time itself and capture the elusive moment of bliss.  To put it in another way, consider that there is a single breath that can be considered as special, amazing, wonderful, precious.  Consider that instance, that unquantifiable infinity and freeze it.

 

How do we achieve it: work, just like any other great thing you might have in your life, hard work and dedication.  You learn, understand, struggle, try, fail, try again and eventually succeed.  You repeat the process over and over again by staying true to yourself. When you reach it, you reflect, take it all in, let it go, and then you start all over again.

Eventually, you see the bigger picture, you let go of the trivialities and you hone in the components that are truly important.

 

If you are honest, true to yourself, kind, patient, determined, and are willing to be brave you have a good chance to experience these magical moments.  It is not easy, but as many other things in life, the answer/path for the things we want in life is incredibly straight forward.

 

I hope we all take the time, reflect, understand what is important to us.

I hope more people live wholehearted lives.

Our time on this earth is precious and while we are here my dear reader, I think the effort is worth it.

Max Titov

Behind the veil

/0 Comments/in /by

A friend who recently came back for holidays from her work assignment overseas in Kuwait told me an interesting story.

What captured my attention and the purpose for this post is her account of the interactions between men and women, those who are starting on their journey to become lifelong partners.

It is wildly known and observed in North America that Arab culture is built on particular customs.  Just as any other example much of what is not understood in our world is often treated with hostility and anger.

So, my friend told me a story: she told me a story of women who spend their life hidden from the world.  She told me about what happens behind the curtains, in the mind of women that are on the verge of being married to the men that will become their lifelong partners.

My friend made a reference to a simple fact that for the first time in her life a woman would be able to show a man her hair.  That’s right, this simple act, this little insignificant little gesture.

Turns out, it’s not simple at all, it’s not trivial, but rather it is extremely important.  Women spend hours worrying about their hair.  Even men find themselves asking silly questions like: how dos it look, how do you cut it, where do you cut it, and what colour is it?

It’s such a simple thing and at the same time through tradition a moment between a man and a woman seeing each other for the first time is elevated to un-imaginable scales.

The point that I am trying to make here dear reader is simple.  Imagine how much we take for granted, imagine what we’re missing out on.  Understand that our world is filled with wonders and beauty.  Finally, consider that there’s even beauty in the things that we don’t understand.

I invite you to be open, to listen to others, listen to their tales and their stories, connect, rejoice and celebrate life.

Your’s truly,

Max

Max Titov

The Invitation

/0 Comments/in /by

Something wonderful that I came across by Oriah Mountain Dreamer:

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithlessand therefore trustworthy. 

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it’s not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence.

 

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”

It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. 

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

 

Be awesome, be present, be real.

Happy Mondays

Max

Max Titov

Stillness in Motion

/0 Comments/in /by

Travelling is our way of life.
We spend hours on buses, trains, air planes and cars.
We sleep, read books, talk on our phones, write emails, and shake our fists at our fellow drivers. We are a generation on the move.

I am not an exception. Once in a while I pack up my belongings, load a book on my mp3 player, fill up the tank with petroleum and set on my way.

Over the last few months I’ve grown to enjoy and even cherish these lengthy drives.

I don’t advocate long commutes but I do have to admit that these excursions give me the opportunity to disconnect from the world. Within that specific time frame it’s just me, the road and my fellow commuting brothers.

There are no phones, computers, television, games, or other distractions. At times it`s slow and at times the sensation hits me like a flying brick but almost always the mind follows suit and begins to wonder.

I think about life, my friends, my loved ones — those that I am leaving behind and those that I will soon see. I think about places that I’ve visited, connections that I’ve made, memories that I’ve created and imagine future adventures that I am yet to experience. I think about the present moment: where I am, who I am and what I am a part of.

And as the drive continues and the sun slowly sets behind the horizon I am often reminded how beautiful any single moment can be and how often we un-intentionally miss it.

Max Titov

Squeaky clean traveling

/1 Comment/in /by

This is my second post that involves a particularly unusual dilemma.  I am not yet concerned and I hope that this blog won’t become a chronological reference guide of what to do in questionable situations.

Last week I returned from a 7 day vacation at the beautiful Turks and Caicos.  It was the best of times.  Looking back I have to attribute the success of the trip as a partial reason that lead to the concluding calamity.

After my return; on the following Sunday I was scheduled to go on a business trip.

 

This Sunday while packing the new dilemma elegantly stood up and introduced itself:

What do you do after you come back from a long vacation: throw all your clothes in to the washer.

What do you need to travel cross border: a passport and associated business identification.

What happens when you find a pair of squeaky clean pair of shorts and [although equivalently clean] mangled passport in one of the pockets: the usual: momentary sense of anger, disbelief, frustration, and agony typically expressed in some form of blame or verbal foulness.

 

That’s right, in that particular moment there’s no better way to define my state of existence as: over hyped uncertainty.

Yes, I was packed: all my belongings were patiently waiting by the side of the door.

Yes, I wasn’t sure how bad the situation was.

Yes, I had mixed feeling of worry and relief.  This could either be devastating for my business and my ability to travel or this can be an excellent excuse to avoid another trip.  A part of me was even excited that I didn’t have to go anywhere and could run down to the gym.  I know talk about my actual priorities!

 

So, what happened next.  I took a few deep breaths.  Analyzed the situation and acted accordingly:

  • The passport was still readable; just mangled
  • I called the border crossing patrol and explained the situation; the gentleman was quite nice and suggested that if the document was still legible it’s worth going through with the trip
  • I’ve considered the possible outcomes, pros, cons and decided on a direct coarse of action

The analysis took at most 15 minutes. I was calm, collected and actually excited to discover if moving forward with the trip would yield a positive outcome.

I was confident that if I am honest, sincere and can explain my situation to the border patrol; then the officer would be able to pull up my digital information and let me through.

I’ve told myself that in the worst case scenario I would be turned back and would have wasted some travel time.

 

So, that is exactly what I did.

And yes, this story does have a happy ending.

I’ve made it through with flying colors.

 

So, what do I want you to take away from my experience?

  1. That I had an amazingly relaxing vacation in Turks and Caicos – I strongly recommend the place if you’re looking to get away from reality [just make sure you keep an eye on your personal belongings and check all your pockets before throwing things in to the washer]
  2. Don’t blame yourself: accept that things happen and move forward
  3. It’s important to stay calm, rational and think things through carefully in great moments of stress – yes, the future can seem bleak; but if you take your time, think things through, understand your situation and what is in your control then a possibly disastrous moment can turn in to a new adventure

 

Until next time,

Max