No matter who a person is, what the life purpose is, what responsibilities exist, or what personal preferences may be, the search for something new must be constant and intentional. Throughout life, most people tend to seek comfort, avoid risk, and remove everything that once went wrong. They cling to familiar activities where they believe no unpleasant surprises will appear. When something negative happens in a familiar situation, that activity is often discarded along with other rejected experiences, without learning anything from it. In this way, countless opportunities, experiences, and new paths remain unexplored because of a few unpleasant situations in the past.
Avoiding new experiences may seem like a benefit or a way to correct an error, but in reality it often becomes a subtle form of self-punishment. The inner message becomes: this is no longer allowed, this must never be tried again. The words may sound more refined, such as: rather than doing this again, it is better to do anything else. Behind this attitude lies the fear that the same thing will happen again, that the next attempt will repeat the previous failure. This fear blocks growth, learning, and the discovery of new possibilities.
It is time to release this pattern and to allow self-trust to grow. Every adventure, every experience, every attempt is unique and unrepeatable. A simple, symbolic exercise can support this inner process. Fill a bottle with boiling water, close it tightly so it does not spill, then wrap it in a towel and gently place it on the abdomen for a few minutes. This simple act of warmth and relaxation can become a small ritual of self-care while reflecting on the courage to welcome the new. It is essential to handle the bottle carefully to avoid burns, while still enjoying the comforting warmth and the sense of safety it brings.
Forgiveness is always within reach and can be granted only from within. Inner peace begins with this act. It arises from the balance between the forces that exist inside each person, and this balance is built through forgiveness and acceptance. A simple, symbolic practice can support this process: take a piece of paper and write down the mistakes made over time, the regrets, and the situations that still weigh on the heart. Then burn the paper and, together with it, release the burden of those memories. This gesture becomes a declaration of self-acceptance, self-love, and self-forgiveness. Once the paper has completely burned, the past mistakes are treated as a closed chapter, no longer a source of guilt, but a foundation for growth, renewal, and the courage to search for the new.
Learning and relearning
The power of new experiences in lifelong learning
After making peace with the past and with personal choices, it becomes easier to reflect on what has not been done and the reasons behind those decisions. Many of those “forbidden” or avoided activities may have actually brought joy, curiosity, or a sense of freedom. Often, they also carried an element of novelty and unpredictability. Any genuine novelty stimulates the brain, creating new neural connections and supporting the great learning process that ideally continues throughout an entire lifetime.
Every time a new situation is faced and lived through, a fresh layer of experience is added. Necessary tasks are completed, for better or worse, and the mind records both the outcome and the way of coping. The more intense and emotionally charged the new experience is, the more strongly the brain registers solutions, strategies, and adaptation techniques that can be used again in the future.
From novelty to routine: how repetition reshapes experience
When a new experience is repeated several times or even dozens of times, it gradually becomes familiar. What was once exciting and stimulating turns into a reflex and then into a mild monotony. With further repetition, the same activity can eventually become boring, even if it was initially perceived as new, enjoyable, and rewarding.
This natural process of adaptation also applies to difficult or painful memories. Reliving a traumatic experience a few times or dozens of times tends to follow a similar path: the emotional intensity can slowly shift from shock and pain toward disgust, monotony, and eventually a certain emotional dullness or boredom. Once an experience has been lived through, the inner resources needed to face it again have already been acquired.
The second time a similar situation appears, expectations are clearer and there are fewer surprises that can catch a person completely off guard. The mind often searches for the “right” answer, but tends to focus mainly on the negative aspects of the trauma. Suffering is amplified in thought, while patience and self-compassion are minimized. Torment is emphasized, while the inner strength to fight, adapt, and overcome is underestimated.
It is always possible that the situation could have been handled better or that a more effective solution could have been found. Yet the fact remains that it was handled in some way, and that survival and growth were possible. If it had not been managed at all, the current moment of reflection would not exist.
The deeper problem often lies in a loss of self-trust. There can be a belief that the same situation, if it arose again, would be impossible to handle. However, from that past moment until now, new knowledge, skills, reflexes, and experiences have been accumulated. There is more understanding, more emotional resilience, and more life experience than before, and yet the earlier version of the self is sometimes seen as stronger or better.
The real error appears in this distorted comparison. The present self is built on everything that has been learned, unlearned, and relearned over time. Recognizing this continuous process of learning and relearning transforms both everyday experiences and past traumas into valuable resources for personal growth and long-term emotional resilience.
The water bottle
Let's go back to the hot water bottle for a moment. You can look at it and be proud of yourself. Why? Because it's proof that you trust yourself. It's a bottle that contains a hot liquid that is dangerous for your body. You were always aware of the danger but you never doubted yourself while handling it. You knew you wouldn't pull the plug because you trusted yourself. You knew you would remove it if it burned you too much because you trusted yourself to protect yourself. So you only thought about the heat it was emitting and you didn't think: will I protect myself? You should be proud of yourself and you should understand that you have great confidence in yourself. There are so many things that you do because you trust in yourself and they seem easy. The scalded water bottle says so much. For example, your fears are actually preparation thoughts. You think about a situation to eliminate variables and elements that can surprise you. You can choose not to think and say – I can handle it when it happens, if it happens or you can charge yourself negatively thinking over and over again about future situations. The bottle glass is hot and will burn you if you put your hand on it, however, if it burns you too much you can raise your hand and stop the discomfort. If the glass were to break and you were burned, the pain would not compare to the slight burn you feel when you put your hand on the glass. When it breaks, you would no longer be able to stop the pain, suffering, discomfort. The same is with negative thoughts. It is useless to maintain a thought about suffering so that it does not shock you when it happens. The burning of the thought will never compare to the accomplished fact. So it is useless to prepare for a difficult situation that may happen. Nothing compares to reality, what you will feel then, the pain, the suffering. Thinking about what will happen is just a waste of time and energy and a negative charge.
I have known people who were terrified of losing their loved ones. They tried to distance themselves from them so they wouldn't suffer so much then. I told them: why do you put the hand on the hot bottle every day? Do you think that you are preparing for the moment when the bottle breaks ? Are you giving up the memories that you can still build today with your loved ones for nothing? It's nothing because no matter what you do, you will suffer then and that suffering can't be compared to anything. Instead of living each day, you wait for the difficulties and problems. And guess what: they will come, you will suffer, you will fight, you will get up or you will fall. But only then and not now. A dear animated film said: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift. That is why it is called present.
The bottle system can be applied to many negative thoughts. Maybe even to all of them if you consider that through your actions you tighten or loosen the cork. Do you smoke? With each cigarette you loosened the cork a little more. Do you exercise? Then the cork tighten a little more. Do you eat junk food? You loosened the cork again. You follow a preventive regimen – you tightened the cork again. Just remember that you can loosen the cork until it comes off the thread and then you scald yourself. And you can't know how much thread is left until it falls off…
Apply to fears of various diseases. If the cork fell off, it means you got sick. If you tightened the cork, it means that the chances of getting sick decrease. Say what worries you and see how you can tighten the cork and on the other hand what you do to loosen the cork.
The good part is that you trust yourself. You demonstrated this to me after going through the boiling water bottle experience. If you trust yourself, then you have to try new things. New things can be good or bad depending on the angle you look at them, but all, absolutely all, bring you benefits in learning, adaptation and knowledge.
Reasoning for trying
Resilience and adaptability in life
The human being is like a piece of clay. The more it is kneaded, pushed and pressed, the more elastic, resilient and manageable it becomes. The proper definition is: adaptable. When life challenges, tests and shapes the inner world, it develops emotional resilience and mental flexibility. On the contrary, if it is not exposed and is kept still without any challenge, it becomes hard and rigid.
Life has a habit of hitting hard. This is already known, and if it is not yet known, it will be discovered in time. If a piece of hardened clay is hit, it breaks into pieces. If soft and elastic clay is hit, it only changes its shape but does not break. What truly matters in life is how many hits can be absorbed and how many times it is possible to get back up after failure, loss or disappointment. When it breaks into pieces, it becomes almost impossible to put it back together.
The role of the new in personal growth
This is the role of the new in life. Only the new prepares for the shocks that inevitably come, only the new makes a person stronger. True strength lies in flexibility, resilience and adaptation. Seeking the new requires effort, self‑trust and often conflicts with comfort.
Comfort is the fear of losing what is already possessed, extended through negative expectations about every possible change. Nothing that once existed is truly lost; it is transformed. The self changes into a better version through new experiences, new perspectives and new choices. To what extent this transformation happens is a personal choice within the great nature of creation.
The path that lies ahead is not to be avoided. It is an unknown path because every decision changes it at every moment, yet it remains a beautiful path of discovery, learning and inner development.
Facing the new and the forgotten new
Facing the new requires courage and the willingness to take risks. Outcomes can be good or bad, but without trying there is no way of finding out. The new experiences in life can be divided into two categories: the unique and unexplored new, and the forgotten new.
The forgotten new refers to activities that were once familiar many years ago and, over time, were left behind or refused for various reasons. Giving up the recording of memory is like giving up a part of the self. It may seem like a small part, but it is still a part. Physically, it would be unthinkable to give up a finger or even a nail. In the same way, it is worth choosing to keep the whole mind and not abandon parts of inner experience, identity and personal history.
The advantage of the forgotten new is that not many new variables appear and not many scenarios are created about what might happen, because it is a known, although forgotten, activity. Returning to it can rebuild confidence, reconnect with authentic desires and support personal development.
From fear of failure to positive possibilities
When thinking about what can go wrong in an activity, it is easy to focus only on risks and negative outcomes. It is less common to search for everything that could go right in that same activity. Often, all possible failures are imagined, but the other option is ignored.
It is worth trying to look for the positive scenarios, especially in the case of the absolutely new and unexplored. Outside, there is a world full of opportunities, beauty and mysteries, and at the same time a world full of dangers and misery. Both descriptions refer to the same reality, the same world. In fact, it is not the world that changes, but the way it is perceived. It is a report of the world seen through personal eyes.
When the inner state is negatively charged, dangers appear greater than benefits, and the glass seems empty instead of half full. When the inner state is balanced and open, the same world becomes a space for growth, resilience, adaptability and continuous transformation.
Hyperglycemia, i.e. increased glucose concentration in the blood and urine (glycosuria) above normal limits. Daily insulin doses can be reduced after long-term treatment with medicinal plants or teas only after medical laboratory tests have been performed.
Plants with weakly alkaline, anti-inflammatory, healing and soothing active principles are recommended. Infusions and decoctions are usually drunk unsweetened and preferably between meals.
Headaches with digestive and sensory disturbances
Mistletoe (Viscum album): a sacred plant in ancient cultures
Among many ancient peoples, and especially among the Druids, mistletoe (Viscum album) was revered as a sacred plant. The presence of this evergreen shrub on trees was interpreted as a sign from the gods, and the bird that circled around it was considered a messenger from heaven. Ceremonies...
To understand heat, you must learn cold.
Positive and negative energy balance is essential for emotional health, mental wellbeing, personal growth and inner peace. Positive energy balancing, mentioned in previous chapters, means constantly working against negativity and refusing to be pulled into emotional darkness by others or by external events. The goal is to remain in the light. In this context, light represents a healthy balance between positive and negative experiences, supporting long‑term emotional resilience.
To achieve this inner balance, it is necessary to become aware of every experience and mentally separate what is negative from what is positive. On one side stands everything that drains energy, and on the other side everything that supports, inspires and recharges. Separately, it is important to build a personal list of positive activities that recharge when needed and protect mental health. Here lies the true role of hobbies, passions and creative activities. What brings the most joy also charges with positive energy, reduces stress and restores the positive–negative ratio.
The key concept is balancing. This does not mean only doing pleasant activities, because imbalance can also appear when there is too much positive compared to negative. Even if it sounds strange, the mind and emotions also need contrast to function harmoniously. Without contrast, experiences flatten and lose meaning. The following examples clarify this idea and show why contrast is essential for emotional balance.
Why contrast makes positive experiences stronger
If life consists only of what is pleasant and energizing, those activities gradually lose their power. What once brought enthusiasm can become monotonous, boring and emotionally neutral. Without the joy of anticipation and without emotional contrast, even the most beautiful experiences fade and no longer contribute to authentic happiness or personal development.
A simple example is the joy of school vacations. The vacation felt wonderful precisely because there was school before it, with effort, routine and obligations. Without school, the vacation would turn into a permanent state with few new experiences, gradually becoming dull and uninteresting. The same mechanism applies to many aspects of life, from work and rest to effort and reward.
Another clear example is the taste of water when there is real thirst. When water is always available, it seems tasteless and is taken for granted. After walking for hours without water, every sip becomes precious and full of flavor. Mental preparation, conscious waiting and the experience of lack amplify the satisfaction when the desire is finally fulfilled, strengthening gratitude and presence in the moment.
All experiences follow this natural cycle of contrast and emotional polarity:
The deeper truth is that without negative experiences, the positive cannot be fully highlighted. Just as heat is understood only after feeling cold, joy, gratitude and inner balance are truly understood only through contrast with difficulty, effort and temporary discomfort. This natural balance between positive and negative energy supports emotional resilience, mental clarity, stress management and a more conscious, fulfilled life aligned with authentic values.
Rebirth begins with a return to energetic activity and conscious living. Enjoying intense experiences in limited quantities and from time to time helps maintain inner balance. Seeing and accepting the negative side of life makes it possible to truly appreciate the positive. This constant attention to the positive/negative balance is essential, especially when there is a strong attraction to the sad or pseudo-sad side of life. It is called pseudo-sad because sadness often marks the moment of recovery after a period of suffering that has already made a person stronger. At a deep level, the subconscious recognizes this process and interprets it as a personal rebirth.
The need for rebirth usually appears when a circle of activities has been closed and no new experiences are being added. When everything in life is repeated, when daily activities no longer bring satisfaction or joy, an important warning sign appears for breaking the depressive loop. If fear of new activities is added to indifference toward all the old ones, the question of the meaning of living naturally arises. It can feel as if everything has already been experienced and done, even though this is not true.
In reality, new activities are often dismissed with the belief that nothing could be truly different and that everything is the same. This is a form of self-deception. New experiences are avoided out of fear of losing, of failing, or of losing oneself. Yet this negative state is still a state of intense consciousness, in which the human being searches for answers, meaning, and clear objectives. The body reaches this state of heightened awareness in order to restore balance to the spirit.
In this state of intense consciousness, perception becomes sharper: sight, hearing, and touch are all heightened, yet they often remain unused. Emphasizing and engaging the senses can change everything. The sky becomes more colorful and beautiful, scents become more intense or more subtle, and sounds more playful and alive. This is the rediscovery of the new, but in a different form. It is a kind of “recolored new” that has always been present, only with faded colors, a different scent, or another shape.
Escaping this loop of repetition and emotional numbness can be simpler than it seems. It starts with trying something truly new. One new activity is chosen and done without overthinking. It is enough to think about it once, because memories and life experiences are created by decisions. That is why it is recommended to reflect once with clarity and then act, allowing that decision to open the door to rebirth, renewal, and a more conscious, fulfilling life.
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The joy of learning from nature
Another joy that helps make the old and forgotten feel new again is the joy of learning. Every day brings the chance to discover something fresh in nature, even in a simple tree passed on a walk. There is always something new to learn: how it blooms, how it bears fruit, how it pollinates, whether a tea can be made from its flowers, whether its bark can heal wounds, or how a group of trees reacts when one of them is attacked and they all begin to secrete defensive substances. From here, new questions appear: is the tree truly alive, and if it is alive, is it possible to talk to it? What is it like to be a tree? Is the sound the wind whispering through the leaves, or is it the tree answering?
Creating a daily ritual of connection
The truth is not far away. It is possible to talk to a tree, but the tree also needs time to talk back. Perhaps it prefers to remain silent at first and simply observe for a while. It does not know who is standing in front of it. When a stranger arrives and starts talking, conversation does not flow as if there had been a lifelong connection. The tree may also need time: time to get to know the presence nearby, time to listen, time to feel safe. After a while, it may want to respond. All of this can only be discovered by trying. From here a new daily ritual can be born – talking to a tree every day and waiting patiently for the moment when it might finally answer.
Friendship, judgment, and quiet conversations with trees
When this idea appears, hesitation often follows. Thoughts arise about what friends would say if they saw such a conversation with nature. This hesitation can reveal something important about relationships. It may be time to look more closely and see whether they are true friends, acquaintances, or simply familiar faces. A real friend cares, tries to help, and seeks to understand. When hearing about talking to a tree, a friend might ask why. If the answer is that this quiet connection with nature brings calm and peace, that reason is enough for a friend.
New experiences and invisible walls
New activities are often easier to begin in the company of someone familiar. There is comfort in sharing an experience and facing fear together. This can be both helpful and limiting at the same time. It is a perfect example of how one element can hold both positive and negative sides. Taking a friend along to explore something new can be beautiful, but always choosing the same companion for every experience can slowly build invisible walls against others. These walls have two perspectives: they keep others at a distance, but they also keep the one behind them closed off from the world.
Opening the heart: from fortress to home
A castle can still be built with high, protective walls, but it needs doors and windows as well. The soul and heart deserve to be seen. Openness helps create freedom to feel, to choose, and to act in alignment with inner truth. Walls are often built from fear and the desire for protection. Allowing access does not only mean letting others in; it also means letting what is inside finally come out. In this way, the one who lives in the castle becomes its master, not its prisoner.
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