Nicholas V. K.

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Channel • 2 Shows

Personal Journals

Personal Journals

Updated weekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated weekly

05/07/2025

The Olive Tree: A Lesson in Patience

This shortcast invites listeners to explore the profound wisdom of the olive tree. Discover how this ancient, unhurried tree teaches us that time is not an enemy but a companion and that patient waiting is an act of quiet preparation, allowing us to grow deep roots in a restless world. Learn about the quiet dignity of slow, measured growth and how the olive tree embodies true belonging through its unwavering commitment to place and time, enduring seasons, and giving fruit at its appointed moment. It's a journey into stillness, beauty, and the art of living slowly, rooted in the Mediterranean spirit. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nvkstories.substack.com

05/07/2025

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5 min
05/07/2025

Did It Happen?

Explore profound questions of memory, doubt, and existence in this philosophical and poetic journey. This podcast explores the "poetry of doubt", challenging certainties and inviting you to reexamine the very nature of past experiences. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nvkstories.substack.com

05/07/2025

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5 min
29/07/2025

The Mediterranean Table: A Masterclass in Unhurried Presence and the Art of Simply Being

This shortcast invites you to rediscover "The Mediterranean Table" as "The Ritual", an ancient "art of sitting down" that transcends mere dining. It's a masterclass in cultivating "presence, not posture", teaching you how to slow down, truly "arrive into ourselves", and embrace the moment. Learn to choose the table that "speaks to you", listen to the "silence between sounds" where "flavor lives", and keep distractions like your phone "buried like an ancient coin". Uncover "The Mediterranean Secret: One Thing Is Enough", finding profound joy in simplicity and allowing the table to "unfold" unexpected connections. Ultimately, this journey reveals that "You are not eating. You are being. And being here is more than enough". Tune in to transform your approach to "living". This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nvkstories.substack.com

29/07/2025

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5 min
31/07/2025

The Poetry of Getting Lost: Unfolding Revelations Beyond the Map

This shortcast challenges traditional "destination-thinking" and rigid plans, arguing that life's most meaningful moments often unfold "between the signs". It suggests that while maps provide "orientation," true "revelation" emerges from embracing "the Art of Getting a Little Lost," letting intuition guide unplanned turns where "the road becomes not a problem to solve, but a poem unfolding". The discussion contrasts the "loneliness that comes with precision" with the "generous" "Companionship of Uncertainty," highlighting how "Mystery grows wildflowers" when certainty is abandoned. Ultimately, it inspires listeners to trust that "Not knowing isn’t failing," but rather a profound act of "trusting that there’s more to life than what we planned," encouraging a "day without a plan" to discover life's unexpected richness. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nvkstories.substack.com

31/07/2025

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5 min
02/08/2025

The Lemon's Quiet Wisdom: Trusting the Pace That Isn't Yours

A contemplative journey inspired by a single, unassuming lemon, still ripening on its branch. This shortcast delves into the profound wisdom of patience and the often-unseen process of transformation, revealing that 'ripening is not just about color' but “invisible work” and “transformation without noise” that occurs “Beneath the surface. Beyond the eye. Within us.” We're conditioned to “crave readiness” and celebrate only “launches, arrivals, completions, and unveilings,” but this episode celebrates “the sacred middle,” the dignity and “beauty of becoming.” Discover why waiting kindly for something to be ready, whether it's a lemon or an aspect of your own life that's “still ripening,” is, in its essence, “a form of love.” It's an invitation to appreciate the “poetry in the pause” and to trust the natural pace, even when it isn't yours. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nvkstories.substack.com

02/08/2025

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5 min
03/12/2025

The Politics of Slowness

Slowness is not a character flaw; it is a quiet form of resistance. In this episode, we explore why moving at a human pace can be an act of loyalty to your nervous system, your work, and your real priorities. We talk about daydreaming, boredom, and the tiny daily choices that help you reclaim your attention in a world that profits from your haste. Press play, walk slower, and let your time belong to you again. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nvkstories.substack.com

03/12/2025

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4 min
06/08/2025

The Lemon-Scented Shirt: A Memory's Fabric

This shortcast by Nicholas V. K. explains how a simple, sun-faded t-shirt, borrowed in Sorrento and infused with the scent of lemons from hanging under a tree, becomes a powerful "time capsule." It explores how memory isn't just linked to photographs or locations, but is also closely connected to sensory experiences like the softness of cotton and a particular scent. The shirt captures the feeling of a peaceful day, acting as a "time machine" that takes the narrator back to a moment of feeling "fully alive." Ultimately, it shows how everyday clothes can "carry us" and become part of our story, even if they were never truly ours to keep. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nvkstories.substack.com

06/08/2025

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6 min
05/12/2025

A Theory of Benches

Most days, we only sit when the day has already taken our knees. This short episode is a theory of benches, and a quiet defence of choosing to sit while you could still stand. From park benches to stone walls and café chairs, we explore how these small places invite a different kind of attention, one that is not optimised, tracked, or turned into content. A gentle reflection on daily pauses, empty hands, and the quiet refusal to live as a moving part in someone else’s machinery. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nvkstories.substack.com

05/12/2025

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5 min
23/03/2025

"Privacy in The Polis"

A poetic meditation on solitude within civic life — Nicholas V. K.’s “Privacy in The Polis” explores the quiet space where withdrawal, resistance, and the hope of Spring converge.

23/03/2025

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10 min
25/03/2025

"And No One Is Empedocles"

According to legend, Empedocles disappeared into Etna's volcano, returning to the fire from which, perhaps, he was born. Today, we are standing at the crater's edge, looking at the lava simmering beneath our feet.

25/03/2025

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10 min

Artist, Entrepreneur, Physicist