[:en]Together with my husband we have longed for a meaningful life. To be in nature and to live there, in harmony with ourselves. To take care of our family and a piece of Land with love.

I remember my childhood, the days with my grandparents at a cottage. Days full of games, fantasia, freedom, safety, mysterious hugging the trees. Bunch of meadow flowers, rolling down the hill and climbing the trees, stone skipping and drawing fire rings with stick during summer nights, fairy tales of forest…

I have dedicated last couple of years to the development of a family business. During those intensive years I lost contact with myself and with my targets. I was part of a typical cycle – work, go shopping, pick up child from school, watch something on TV and bed. I felt successful and creative at work. After some time, however, my evenings seemed stereotype, I felt tired and empty.

Birth of our daughter brought new issues. Just like majority of mums, I want to have a healthy child, provide her with healthy food and mostly – with the time that is worthful and full of love. Step by step I have realized how much food I can get outside the supermarket, what herbs and oils I can use to keep my family healthy. At that time we gave our TV away, which made our family evenings beautiful and irreplaceable, full of games, stories and peace. It was one of the best steps we have ever made.
Being a parent means to open a secure and natural space for our child. A place where our daughter can grow and learn about the life from her own experiences. We generally know that children learn by example. To be a reflection for my daughter is my motivation every day. One of the greatest moments for me as a mother is to see my daughter running across the meadow, laughing.

A simple equation can be applied to life – our actions follow our thoughts and attention. Step by step, our idea about how to spend free time changes to be priority. For me it means to exchange quantity for quality. I like singing, walking, I love raspberries and how diverse the year circle is.

I know that there is the time to live our dreams. To experience quality time as family, father, mother, grandparents and grandchildren. The Beautiful Settlements represent a challenge for us to create a space for real living for our family. Meeting open and friendly people, enjoying common days and creating something new and joyful. Understanding the value of our background, simple truth of our fathers, how hard-working our grandparents were and their life optimism. That is the “map” to be used for learning about our roads, to accept or change them.

I think that most of us are seeking that gentle harmony of fulfilment, our place, throughout the life. I can hear the song by Zuzana Smatanová: “….there are my roots, there I will stay, there I want to rest, there I will heal, my pride can silently fade away, there is a truce, there I will resign, there I will not get lost, there my soul will fly away…”

Love for nature is a big gate for me toward me myself and to the return to healthy planet.

Kamila OLEJNÍKOVÁ