Amazing Stories from Small Towns

The Ideal Palace in Hauterivers
~ your life has purpose ~

Hauterivers Drome is a small pleasant town in southeastern France. It is home to Ferdinand Cheval’s self-made Ideal Palace (Le Palais ideal). Unlike those famous architectural masterpieces of European castles or palaces, the Ideal Palace was only 26m (wide) x 14m (length) x 12m (height), it was a piece of simple beauty of naïve art. But the story behind this palace is fantastic. Ferdinand Cheval was a postman (born in 1836) who spent 33 years of his life building his “ideal palace” by his own hands. He often worked at night to build his palace, carried the stones in his pockets and then later he switched to use basket and wheelbarrow to transport the materials. He did his work day by day, piece by piece, finally he made thing happen by his absolute persistency. He considered his life to have a purpose. He said to himself: “Since nature is willing to do the sculpture, I will do the masonry and the architecture". Consider this: Anyone can have a great idea, but a few have the courage to pursue their ideas. Even though if we can’t do everything today, we can do something every day, start with baby steps. If you’re not working hard enough to get what you want, is it because your desire is not intense or strong enough?

The Dome Church in Tallinn 
~ forgive yourself and let it go ~

The Dome Church (Toomkirik), also known as the Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin, located on Toompea Hill, Tallinn of Estonia. As you enter this small church, you will be sure to step on the tomb of Otto Johann Thuve, who requested buried his grave at this humbling location to save his soul.  Thuve was an Italian runaway, notorious drinker and womanizer. He was unable to forgive himself for what he had done to cause the grief of other people. It was a sad story. It may not easy to forgive every silly, senseless, brainless, cruel or thoughtless thing that we have every done, but what’s the point to keep on beating yourself up for something that occurred in the past that you cannot change?

I think if you are serious to change your life, you must set yourself free to forgive yourself completely for every mistake you ever made. Sometimes people used to feel they’re in a trap and could not get out of the pressure to change and the weight of failure that occurred in the past. We make mistake is not because we are stupid, it's because we are human.  Accept yourself unconditionally doesn’t mean ignoring your mistakes or never trying to improve. What it does mean is that you believe in your own value, don’t enlarge the defeat and make the defeat to stand for who you are and using it to predict the outcome of future life events.

According to the behavioral studies in Belgium, the feeling of sadness will last much longer than happiness:

Sadness – last for 120 hours
Hatred – last for 60 hours
Happiness – last for 35 hours
Shame, disgust – last for half hour

We all want to live a happy life and it is not a good idea to carry the past mistake around with you, forgive yourself and let it go.

Chawton House in Hampshire
~ fiction and woman in love ~

Chawton is a village located in the district of Hampshire, England.  It is famous as a home of Jane Austen to write her romantic fictions in there until she died in 1817. Jane Austen lived in Chawton to produce my beloved classic fictions of all times: “Pride and Prejudice” and “Sense and Sensibility”.  I don’t know much about 19th century England, but it must be hard for a female to rebel against the social repression and code of hierarchy in pursuit of true love and romance.  Strong female character, costume drama, artificial social conventions as well as family obligation abound in Jane’s stories. Why do women obsess with romance? It is not exactly romance, it is all about love. It is so sweet if you can get someone who does care more about you than himself.  You aware he is the only person who loved you dearly allowing you to be ridiculous, caprice, naïve and silly like a child.  You don’t need to cover yourself of who you are, because you know he will not laugh at you, judge you and betray you...

Someone say that:
When a man is broke, he does know who is the woman loved him most.
When a woman is ugly, she does know who is the man will never leave her.