Izabela Shopova
@izabelashopova.bsky.social
Bulgarian-Australian non-fiction writer, passionate traveler, nonlinear thinker, amateur artist, avid reader, learning designer, science lover, analog astronaut, mother and daughter, fighter for democracy and for a better future.
The Life-Changing Art of Folding - one travel writer and one cat
izabelatravels.substack.com/p/the-life-c...
izabelatravels.substack.com/p/the-life-c...
The Life Changing Art of Folding
Packing for Japan the most Japanese way there is - the Marie Kondo method (with a great deal of help from Cricket)
izabelatravels.substack.com
August 20, 2026 at 1:58 AM
The Life-Changing Art of Folding - one travel writer and one cat
izabelatravels.substack.com/p/the-life-c...
izabelatravels.substack.com/p/the-life-c...
The Secret Pianist and the Guilt of Self-Indulgence
Have you ever had a guilty self-indulgence?
izabelashopova.substack.com/p/the-secret...
Have you ever had a guilty self-indulgence?
izabelashopova.substack.com/p/the-secret...
The Secret Pianist and the Guilt of Self-Indulgence
Indulging our creativity is never selfish or wasteful. It always serves someone other than us.
izabelashopova.substack.com
August 10, 2026 at 9:38 PM
The Secret Pianist and the Guilt of Self-Indulgence
Have you ever had a guilty self-indulgence?
izabelashopova.substack.com/p/the-secret...
Have you ever had a guilty self-indulgence?
izabelashopova.substack.com/p/the-secret...
Ramen
The surprisingly un-Japanese origins of Japan’s favourite noodles
izabelatravels.substack.com/p/ramen?r=88...
The surprisingly un-Japanese origins of Japan’s favourite noodles
izabelatravels.substack.com/p/ramen?r=88...
Ramen
The surprisingly un-Japanese origins of Japan’s favourite noodles
izabelatravels.substack.com
August 10, 2026 at 7:19 AM
Ramen
The surprisingly un-Japanese origins of Japan’s favourite noodles
izabelatravels.substack.com/p/ramen?r=88...
The surprisingly un-Japanese origins of Japan’s favourite noodles
izabelatravels.substack.com/p/ramen?r=88...
The largest accidental nature reserve in Europe and the horse that shouldn't exist
substack.com/@izabelashop...
substack.com/@izabelashop...
The largest accidental nature reserve in Europe and the horse that shouldn't exist
Unpeopled, Part One
substack.com
July 30, 2026 at 10:18 PM
The largest accidental nature reserve in Europe and the horse that shouldn't exist
substack.com/@izabelashop...
substack.com/@izabelashop...
The thousand-year-old book that took me to Japan
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Have a read 'The Pillow Book'
substack.com/@izabelashop...
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Have a read 'The Pillow Book'
substack.com/@izabelashop...
The thousand-year-old book that took me to Japan
Magical spell, beauty and poetry in the lists of 'The Pillow Book'
substack.com
July 30, 2026 at 10:15 PM
The thousand-year-old book that took me to Japan
/
Have a read 'The Pillow Book'
substack.com/@izabelashop...
/
Have a read 'The Pillow Book'
substack.com/@izabelashop...
The Ethics of Beauty
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
The Ethics of Beauty
Beauty is usually dismissed as the most harmless of human indulgences.
open.substack.com
July 27, 2026 at 10:19 PM
The Ethics of Beauty
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
Lunchtime Conversation
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
Lunchtime Conversation
The sound of heels announced her before she appeared.
open.substack.com
July 27, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Lunchtime Conversation
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
The Blurred Line Between Guilt and Responsibility
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
The Blurred Line Between Guilt and Responsibility
Guilt and responsibility so often go hand in hand that we have stopped distinguishing between them.
open.substack.com
July 24, 2026 at 12:39 AM
The Blurred Line Between Guilt and Responsibility
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
Cricket the Garden Cat's Guide to the Art and Science of Shinrin-Yoku
Learn how to practice the Japanese wellness practice of Forest Bathing with the Master - Cricket the Garden Cat
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
Learn how to practice the Japanese wellness practice of Forest Bathing with the Master - Cricket the Garden Cat
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
Cricket the Garden Cat's Guide to the Art and Science of Shinrin-Yoku
How “Forest Bathing” Can Heal Your Modern Mind
open.substack.com
July 24, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Cricket the Garden Cat's Guide to the Art and Science of Shinrin-Yoku
Learn how to practice the Japanese wellness practice of Forest Bathing with the Master - Cricket the Garden Cat
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
Learn how to practice the Japanese wellness practice of Forest Bathing with the Master - Cricket the Garden Cat
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
The Lone Smoker in the Garden
More from the Cricket the Garden Cat Chronicles: open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
More from the Cricket the Garden Cat Chronicles: open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
The Lone Smoker in the Garden
Paul had a spot.
open.substack.com
July 20, 2026 at 11:44 PM
The Lone Smoker in the Garden
More from the Cricket the Garden Cat Chronicles: open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
More from the Cricket the Garden Cat Chronicles: open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
The Invisible Price of Being a Woman
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
The Invisible Price of Being a Woman
The Legacy We Leave Our Daughters
open.substack.com
July 20, 2026 at 10:58 PM
The Invisible Price of Being a Woman
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
Reposted by Izabela Shopova
Reposted by Izabela Shopova
@izabelashopova.bsky.social : Writing saved my sanity (and could save you too)
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
Writing saved my sanity (and could save you too)
Processing loneliness, grief and identity loss through writing
open.substack.com
July 16, 2026 at 10:19 PM
@izabelashopova.bsky.social : Writing saved my sanity (and could save you too)
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
Reposted by Izabela Shopova
@izabelashopova.bsky.social : How an Ancient Ecosystem of Beliefs Shapes Modern Japan and Its People
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
How an Ancient Ecosystem of Beliefs Shapes Modern Japan and Its People
Deep dive into the complexity of Japanese philosophies and practices
open.substack.com
July 18, 2026 at 11:50 PM
@izabelashopova.bsky.social : How an Ancient Ecosystem of Beliefs Shapes Modern Japan and Its People
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
How an Ancient Ecosystem of Beliefs Shapes Modern Japan and Its People
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
How an Ancient Ecosystem of Beliefs Shapes Modern Japan and Its People
Deep dive into the complexity of Japanese philosophies and practices
open.substack.com
July 19, 2026 at 12:54 AM
How an Ancient Ecosystem of Beliefs Shapes Modern Japan and Its People
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
Do you know what the oldest literary genre is? Why people invented writing? izabelashopova.substack.com/p/the-oldest...
The oldest literary genre in the world
We invented writing to make lists, and to this day they are still an literary art form
izabelashopova.substack.com
July 14, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Do you know what the oldest literary genre is? Why people invented writing? izabelashopova.substack.com/p/the-oldest...
More stories about Cricket The Garden Cat. open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
Green Beginnings
It all started one bright day at the end of winter, on a rusty bench in the middle of a courtyard nobody visited.
open.substack.com
July 14, 2026 at 9:19 PM
More stories about Cricket The Garden Cat. open.substack.com/pub/izabelat...
Do you have an analog bag? What do you carry in it? open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
Do you have an analog bag?
There’s a good chance you’ve already heard of the “analog bag.” If not, let me introduce you to the latest weapon in the war against blank, endless screen-staring.
open.substack.com
July 2, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Do you have an analog bag? What do you carry in it? open.substack.com/pub/izabelas...
I just published Every New Medium Frees Us, Then Controls Us medium.com/soulfight/ev...
Every New Medium Frees Us, Then Controls Us
Human societies have always needed a shared sense of truth, morality, and direction in order to exist
medium.com
June 25, 2026 at 9:08 PM
I just published Every New Medium Frees Us, Then Controls Us medium.com/soulfight/ev...
June 23, 2026 at 1:32 AM
Travel is a state of mind. It doesn't require movement through space. You can travel without taking a single step.
June 19, 2026 at 12:53 AM
Travel is a state of mind. It doesn't require movement through space. You can travel without taking a single step.