Strikes, discontent, an economic crisis – all this has become the focus of public life in Bulgaria. If, however, we bother to take a look at the shelves in bookstores we may spot a book with a cheerful cover and an optimistic title, Life Could Become a Miracle by Ivinela Samuilova.
Ivinela was born in the town of Sevlievo, Central Bulgaria. She is a graduate of Veliko Tarnovo University with a major in theology, and has complemented her qualifications with courses in business management, administration, journalism, psychology and public relations. For a while Ivinela Samuilova worked as a radio journalist in her hometown and in 2005 moved to Sofia. How has her extensive general knowledge helped her write this book?
“Well, it has helped me, for sure. I am happy to have made such choices regarding my education and professional background. It is essential to combine heavenly things with earthly matters. To be able to make ideas and dreams happen, one has to have a range of skills – managerial, communication and psychological. Theology has to a certain extent helped me in developing a spiritual platform of my personality, while my managerial training and my background as a journalist and PR expert have been of great pragmatic value to me.”
“If you happen to be someone who would not easily come to terms with the generally accepted concept of reality; someone who does not take him or herself too seriously, eager to explore their own capabilities and to live with their soul, then this is a book for you”, is the motto of the book Life Could Become a Miracle.
“One common fallacy is in dividing life into everyday routine and miracles”, Ivinela argues. “In other words, we’ve got a life painted in gray, and some other life that is a miracle. No, we shouldn’t paint our days in gray and see them as boring and nagging. Life represents a constant miracle and the book points to two ways of living it. One option is to live it as a miracle, and the other – as a gray routine. Well, in fact, life is a gift. Unfortunately, most people opt for ordinary, gray and joyless lives. They lie at home with their minds occupied by houses, cars, trips abroad, while life is about what is happening to us every minute and about what we create out of it. Faith without work is hollow. Free will and the choices we make do matter. We are constantly tempted or attacked by stereotypes, models, fears, prejudice coming from parents, teachers, and from the whole system. All this places us in a context of strictly defined boundaries between the possible and the impossible, the real and the unreal. This is a key point in the book. Up to a certain age the heroine believes that her lifer would be extraordinary. However she is gradually trapped by false convictions and fears, taking various roles imposed by society, and in the end, loses touch with her own self. And then she loses the meaning.”
Ivinela associates the success of the book with that it has been written for Bulgarian readers and reflects the Bulgarian mentality.
“Bulgarians find life very hard, because they are being showered with negativism on a daily basis. And we are not negative folk, deep in our hearts. I gather that most of people’s misfortunes and problems are not for the shortage of money, shiny cars etc. The trouble is that they cannot detect the source of disharmony in themselves. This makes them go after prefab, someone else’s models and values. So, some of them often say, I’ve lost the meaning, I am very unhappy. At the same time such people have everything that is perceived as success and happiness by present-day criteria. The problem is that those criteria have been superimposed on us. Happiness taken out of the man is absurd. It has turned into a wild animal that we have to hunt. My heroine represents all people who are in search of lost values, direction and meaning. In the end she realizes that when we have a problem we tend to give all our attention to it. In this way we neglect the opportunities around us, and the alternatives too.”
Ivinela Samuilova thinks about a follow up of the book in a bid to point to the most common pitfalls, fears and prejudices that push us into negative scenarios. Apart from writing, she continues her work as a chairperson of the Claritas Foundation set up in 2007.
“There are a few projects that we work on. One of them is about collecting and preserving folklore samples across Bulgaria. Also, we train foreign choirs in the Bulgarian many-voiced singing. From 2012 we will be ready to receive foreign guests at the foundation and will present to them the Bulgarian traditions and folklore in an authentic context. We organize folklore team buildings for various corporations and institutions. We are convinced that the Bulgarian folk music and dances are a perfect way to inspire people for teamwork. Bulgarian folklore emanates oneness, harmony and beauty.”
The foundation also runs a project for work with single mothers. “I myself am a single parent and I am aware of the huge responsibility that this implies. Yes, the economic situation is difficult, and moral support is of great importance. Together we can achieve more. I believe in good and in that with a little will and unconventional thinking we are able to transform our lives and the lives of others into a miracle,” Ivinela Samuilova concludes.
Translated by Daniela Konstantinova
