Peaceful and bright winter holidays
I spent the holidays in a peculiar state of 'freezing'. First, there was something special in the air around Christmas, I don't know if you felt it. I had a neuralgic headache, such as could not be affected by ordinary medicines such as paracetamol. At Christmas lunch we were with relatives and one of them with a pacemaker complained that he felt very bad and it is very rare that he feels this way. I also felt bad because my other pains had also increased for no objective reason. There was also some tension. Perhaps you will say that it is always felt on such holidays. It is not by chance that memes about how these "family holidays" are generally spent have already dared to appear. How on the first day everyone behaves well and everything is ok, and on the third everyone is already holding each other's throats. Well, that used to be a constant part of my life too. It's no coincidence that I hate these holidays lol. But it wasn't just that tension. There was something else, very unpleasant and full of negative anticipation.
In Bulgaria, major tragedies happen on Christian holidays in general, perhaps more so on Easter than on Christmas, but this Christmas there was one such special expectation that, in my opinion, in a strange way we missed. Maybe because there were other tragedies that made up for it and they happened in other countries, not ours.
But we didn't get away with something else, which I think also made up for the other things that could have happened to us.
Part of the country remained without electricity.
In the conditions in which I have to live here, I have asked myself many times what is the biggest nightmare that I could live just like that, on a daily basis, quite expectedly. I've also wondered, for example, when it's a bigger nightmare to run out of water - in the summer, when one sweats more and needs to shower more often, or in the winter. Because we know about the normal schedule, which is imposed every summer in the capital with the stoppage of hot water according to plan in all districts. Then there is water, but again it is impossible to take a shower.
When is it also a bigger nightmare for the power to go out - in the summer when it's super hot and all the food in the freezer and fridge will go bad in no time and you won't be able to shower because you won't be able to turn on the water heater, you won't be also able to turn on the air conditioning, etc.
Or in winter, when many households are already forced to heat only with air conditioners, due to technological advances, others who heat with wood are once again dependent on electricity to drive heating pumps, water heaters, etc. and when there is no electricity it is impossible to heat them either, even if with wood?
When there is no electricity, the water also stops in both cases because the central water pump also requires electricity. Shortly after, in both cases, the telecommunication channels - Internet and telephone - also stop, because they also require electricity.
But when is the worst nightmare for that to happen in your opinion, and the possibility of that happening, as I said, is everyday in this country?
Well, in the winter, I think. Freezing in the cold, in the snow, not being able to warm yourself with electricity or wood, not being able to cook, sleeping in the cold, without water and without a telephone.
I think that this is the biggest nightmare to which the peaceful population of Bulgaria is subjected, during peacetime, not during war. And it happened now, during the feasts, on the "great Christian feasts" and perhaps replaced and compensated for everything else that could have happened in this thread, but did not.
In the place where we live, although "flammable", this year we were protected from the big and merciless fires, because it turned out that even firefighters cannot be relied on, because, despite the general opinion about them, they can also turn out to be " heartless".
Now, at the time of the successive winter crisis accidents, it was us who again proved to be protected, it was not snowing at all here, and therefore we did not have problems with electricity, as in other parts of the country.
Of course, that doesn't calm me down. This is how one lives with constant hope and prayer. And in constant fear too. Will there be electricity today? Will I be standing inside in the cold? Will there be anything to eat? What should I wash with? Tension.
In recent weeks, I've been running the washing machine with a prayer each time. Will the power not stop for the next 2 hours or 1 hour and 20 minutes, what are the main programs I use? Because just recently twice the power went out right when I started the washing machine. I don't know if you know what the negative consequences are for washing afterwards? Some would say that this is nothing, nothing to be angry about or sorry for, that these are small worries as we say here, but this is described in one word that my mother said yesterday when I called her to ask how they survived the disaster: misery.
Unfortunately, this tension never subsides. It's just stronger in the cold winter months when survival mode is more complex and much more difficult. So, in 2025, we continue with hope and prayer, with great fear as well. Yesterday it was other parts of the country. Tomorrow could be us.
And so I spent these peaceful Christian holidays in a particularly "frozen" state...
| Thank you for your time! Copyright: | @soulsdetour |
|---|---|
 | Soul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you. |
Personally, I am a sensitive soul with a strong sense of justice.
Traveling and photography are my greatest passions.
Sounds trivial to you?
No, it's not trivial. Because I still love to travel to not so famous destinations.🗺️
Of course, the current situation does not allow me to do this, but I still find a way to satisfy my hunger for knowledge, new places, beauty and art.
Sometimes you can find the most amazing things even in the backyard of your house.😊🧐🧭|
perhaps your wishes have been stronger than others but generally that happens when people spend the most of their money on stuff they don't actually need - new phones, new cars, new everything while the old still works. i am sure those problems come from electrical infrastructure not being upgraded and maintained properly. let's your new year be better and less worries!
I don't really think I have any wishes anymore after last year the exact opposite of what I wished for happened, several times at that.
I just want to find the strength to get through it all. As my GP recently said, everyone needs to come up with a personal strategy for how to get through life as painlessly as possible, because life is hard for everyone.
Regarding the power grid, yes, this is what happens when you only steal, but you don't want to give and invest anything in the country where you do business.
May the new year really be better! But, as I said, let's have more strength, that's it.
i guess sometimes just we are given what we need and not what we wish for. i am not sure and life's a mystery. your gp seems to be very wise, have a great day
Oh yeah, I've heard that comforting phrase too. But my case was that I was given something that I wanted for a very long time, years, but when I no longer wanted it because I had developed a new survival strategy. And not because: You need this thing right now. But it feels like: Now I will give you this thing years late, when you no longer want it, to see that life can suck more than you can imagine. And also at the expense of this I will take something else from you, for example health, because nothing is free in this life, even when you get something that you no longer want.
And yes, my GP is a wise woman. No one would expect to have such conversations in a doctor's office. But this is when the health system and the people in it are powerless to deal with so many common diseases. Here.
@tipu curate