Treasure Hunter | August 2020

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Treasure Hunter

7 min readAug 30, 2020

I start this month with wonder where did the past 4 months go. I remember travelling in January and February, I remember still spending some time with my mom in Lisbon in March, but since then, the time stood still. Quarantine has created a time illusion where I’m no longer sure what has happened when.

It is August, eight months into the year and four more to go of 2020. I’m guessing many of us are looking forward to the end of the year that has shaken us all in unique ways. Nobody got it easy this year, that’s a uniting fact. August was a creative month, a month where culture moved me in multiple different ways. Here are the things I enjoyed…

1. Series | The Morning Show

Following the MeToo movement, this series is just brilliant. Told from various different perspectives and explained from several viewpoints that we might be quick to judge without having a bigger picture. I enjoyed the plot, the writing, the cats, the length of 10 episodes. It was a great watch. I recommend it.

2. Musical | Hamilton

I’ve been hearing about Hamilton for the past 3 to 4 years consistently. When I was in New Yor and in London, it was impossible to get the tickets. The show was always sold out. So it comes with true anticipation and pleasure that Disney+ decided to release the recording of the show from 2016.

I was very impressed with the creator of Hamilton, he directed, written, participated in it. A man of many crafts and nearly doing the musical single-handed. Hard to believe, but there is a sense of new freshness about this musical. I was pleasantly surprised with the take on the music genre, and the incredible number of songs. The storytelling was superb, the choice of actors was to perfection. I loved Thomas Jefferson character and his wit. He had swagger and it was a pleasure to watch.

The story took many turns and covered various live points of one founding father — Alexander Hamilton. The character of his wife Elsa was delicately portraited as well. Lots to learn from this musical and to appreciate all the silent heroes on our personal lives. Here is a sample song from the musical…

3. On Character | Lewis Hamilton

Talking about Hamiltons, I have watched 3 Grand Prix this month. As its taking place in Europe, we are enjoying the racing nearly every weekend, it's a true treat. I have been of course following the journey of Lewis Hamilton for some time. I believe read his first book around 10 years ago and recently been watching more and more interviews with him. I have been drawn to understand more about the man that he is. It’s evident that throughout his career, one thing that stands out is that Hamilton is consistent, he does well to keep a low profile and focus on what he needs to do, to handle the pressure, to deal with performing at the standard of his own. He also understands his position as a role model to a younger general and always tries to pass a positive message during these press releases. This year he is working to match Schumacher's World Record of 7x Championships. The journey will continue until the end of 2020. Highly recommend to tune in to watch one of the Grand Prix. There is so much drama, I just love it :)

4. Music | Black is King 2020

This is a visual album by Beyonce that accommodates the movie, Lion King. I read a review recently that stated that when Beyonce releases her art, it seems that other artists are not even trying. It might be a harsh comment, however, the elevation and mastery that Beyonce brings to the table is always transforming and doesn’t stop growing.

What I appreciate about Beyonce is her unlimited dedication to creativity, her privacy, her hard work and love for those who are close to her. I have also enjoyed her appreciating and showing different sides of herself throughout the years, especially not shying away from different forms of her body. Different stages brought different sides of us all. Here are few quotes from the 1h 30 mins visual album:

Everything exists in amazing balance, its important to understand that balance. Everything is connected in a great circle of life. You are welcome to come home to yourself.
If I will never know me, how can you?

Brown Skin Girl. Female Solidarity.

5. Fashion Design | Hunger Games series

I was introduced to Hunger Games by my boyfriend who mentioned that it might be an interesting watch, so by accident, we came across the first movie in our friend's house. When watching the first movie, I was shocked at how brutal and visual the first movie was. I had an assumption that the movie was for a young audience and some of the images I would not be OK with seeing now, yet along when I was thirteen. Movie two and three got better. The story changed with rebellion growing and the pursuit of conquering united enemy.

On a side note, I really loved the fashion design in the movie. The stylist was played by Lenis Kravitz, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one creating the clothes 😊 but yes, the drawings, the design, it was really pretty.

6. Personal Growth | Meditation Challenge

I completed 21 days of Abundance meditation challenge with Deepak Chopra. It takes around 15 mins a day. Even though I did it every day, I didn’t do it the best way or most presently. I would stick to the same time in the future and try to take time to write down spiritual teachings that Mr Chopra shares at the beginning. However, in my opinion, anything that helps us to slow down for 15 mins is worth doing. It was a nice and light challenge to undertake if anyone is up for it.

7. Mindset | Positive Mental Attitude

How do we respond to problems? How do we stay focused under pressure? Here is a quick TED Talk for some inspiration :)

8. Recipe

Date and Oat Snack by Deliciously Ella. I made this and we pretty much eat it in under 3 days :)

9. Lisbon Bucket list | Tejo Sunset

To be in a sailing boat has always been my bucket list item, and this month it spontaneously came true. I found the experience offering on air b and b, invited one of my great adventurous friend along for a wild adventure. We were off to witness the beauty of Portuguese Sunset. If you are in Lisbon, I would highly recommend this.

Other Lisbon Discoveries: