This document is the story of a Bulgarian woman named Galina telling about her life experiences. She was born in a small town in northeast Bulgaria and now lives in a similar corner of another country. Through her experiences of moving between countries, she has learned about herself, including that she had a happy childhood and is capable of surprising herself by making big life changes. The story includes an analogy about helping a trapped butterfly by gaining its trust to let it free, reflecting on having trust during difficult circumstances.

1. it’s me

2. Q&As before I begin:
Why am I telling a story about myself?
Because it is the subject I know best.
What is there for you?
May be a lot of things, may be nothing.
May be a nod, may be a smile. You are the only one that can go and find out.

3. I am…
• A woman
• Born Bulgarian
• Galina
• Tall
• Soft spoken
• Author
• Pisces
• Daughter and sister
• A friend
Mmm… ok. I will agree with you. This doesn’t seem to work.
Let me try and start it all over again.

4. * necessary disclosure
I think I know myself. What follows derives from that
supposition. In case this proves to be wrong, please note that
all the information in this presentation is true to the best of
my current knowledge.

5. I was born in a town of
5,000 people. You cannot
find it on the map, but it
is somewhere in the
north-east corner of
Bulgaria.

6. Currently I live in a similar corner. Just another country.

7. While busy moving from one map to the other….

8. ….I learned I few things.

9. For example,
many years after the occasion, I
learned that I’ve had a happy
childhood.
I’ve had parents who loved me.
And, despite of the circumstances,
I’ve always had
someone to take care of me.
(Plus the dog was allowed to sleep on my bed. And many mornings I would
wake up to find her moist dark-brown nose right in front of mine.)

10. I also learned that I can always surprise myself.
For example by:
1) packing all my life in 2 suitcases
and
2) leaving my family, friends, prestigious job, home, blossoming cactus,
comfort zone and favorite mojito…
Just to go see how much I can handle.

11. I happened to be a hard cookie.

12. By the time I was packing the 2 suitcases,
I already knew that while standing on one
and the same shore, only one and the same
waves will overflow my feet…

13. …and that if I want to learn more about myself, I need to
dive into unknown water.. (and stop checking whether I
can reach the ocean floor with my toes)…

14. I still have a lot of fears to befriend…
But now I know that the only way out of a fear is right through it.

15. And a true story in white and blue
at the end.
One Sunday morning
I found a butterfly caught inside my apartment.
It was a beautiful one, a Peacock butterfly.
She was fighting the glass of one of the windows – trying to get free.
The window was half open, probably she had entered through the same crack
that she couldn’t find now to leave…
And she was scared.
The more desperate she was trying to escape,
the more she hurt herself – hitting the glass with her frail wings.
I wanted to help the butterfly, to let her out. I tried catching her in my palms… or showing her the way
out… or catching her wings… The more I was trying, the more I was hurting her too…

16. And then.. in the quietness of my sunday-morning apartment and while half asleep… I reached out –
my palm flat open, and I said out loud: Trust me. I wont hurt you. I will let you free.
And she did. She crawled to the center of my palm and stood there – wings tightly held, until I got
her out of the window.

17. …ever since that morning
I wonder if I can be like this butterfly and have the most trust when I feel
imprisoned by my circumstances.
Can you?

18. * In case you wonder
[all pictures are taken by the author of this presentation]
[map of Bulgaria - http://www.lonelyplanet.com]
[map of the United States - http://nationalatlas.gov]