gray mornings, wet grass
glad to be back, after a month of living off a suitcase
reacquainting myself with details of a life left off in July
buzzing from one store to another, with a list for each child
it is finally quiet in the house
school has started
where should I start?
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thoughts on Japan 1
I just had a horrible thought about the tsunami in Japan, and all the destruction it brought, all in a matter of a few minutes. I was imagining a mother getting upset about the mess in her child's room (a favorite subject among mothers). One moment she is chastising her child for all the Unordnung and reminding her child of the virtues of tidiness and order, and the next moment everything (including the house!) is washed away, hook line and sinker!
At the time of the tsunami, most of the children were certainly at school, so such a scene was probably not played out anywhere in the tsunami-stricken area. But it just illustrates how all our daily worries and tribulations are of such a transient nature, all fleeting and short-lived, though at the time these worries engulf us, it is difficult see through them.
At the time of the tsunami, most of the children were certainly at school, so such a scene was probably not played out anywhere in the tsunami-stricken area. But it just illustrates how all our daily worries and tribulations are of such a transient nature, all fleeting and short-lived, though at the time these worries engulf us, it is difficult see through them.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Talking about a Bee
Yesterday was another beautiful sunny day in Brussels! We've been having them now for more than a week, and .you can feel it in how everyone seems in such an uplifted mood lately, it's the vitamin D boost in the blood!
So I opened windows all around the house to let in some warm, fresh air in, and as I wanted to close the one in our bedroom I heard a familiar sound of frantic buzzing. A bee had gotten in and was desperately trying to get through the glass pane. I noticed it was a bee (meaning equipped with an obvious stinger) and not one of those round fuzzy cuddly, rounded butt-types (read bumblebee). So: VORSICHT! my primeval survival instincts told me.
I carefully tried to direct it (while holding on to the end of a curtain) five-centimeters to the right, the opening of the next window. It stubbornly insisted on flying to the left! Nope, wrong direction bee. It finally got caught onto the curtain and I could wave it out through the open window.
What makes me write about this little bee, who was at the end of its tether, desperate and afraid? It was constantly banging through the transparent glass, when just some inches away was a large open window! It was about to die of exhaustion not knowing freedom was just a few wing-flutters away. It couldn't see past it's fuzzy antennas!
It made me think about human beeings, how similar we are to trapped bees, enclosed in our cocoon of worries, and sometimes desperation, not seeing the whole picture, stubbornly insisting on our point of view. Arguing in circles with each other, communicating from different angles, but not seeing past one's own nose.
The ever-elusive concept of happiness, is a reality that exists in each moment. We need to step back, turn off the ego, and pay attention.
So I opened windows all around the house to let in some warm, fresh air in, and as I wanted to close the one in our bedroom I heard a familiar sound of frantic buzzing. A bee had gotten in and was desperately trying to get through the glass pane. I noticed it was a bee (meaning equipped with an obvious stinger) and not one of those round fuzzy cuddly, rounded butt-types (read bumblebee). So: VORSICHT! my primeval survival instincts told me.
I carefully tried to direct it (while holding on to the end of a curtain) five-centimeters to the right, the opening of the next window. It stubbornly insisted on flying to the left! Nope, wrong direction bee. It finally got caught onto the curtain and I could wave it out through the open window.
What makes me write about this little bee, who was at the end of its tether, desperate and afraid? It was constantly banging through the transparent glass, when just some inches away was a large open window! It was about to die of exhaustion not knowing freedom was just a few wing-flutters away. It couldn't see past it's fuzzy antennas!
It made me think about human beeings, how similar we are to trapped bees, enclosed in our cocoon of worries, and sometimes desperation, not seeing the whole picture, stubbornly insisting on our point of view. Arguing in circles with each other, communicating from different angles, but not seeing past one's own nose.
The ever-elusive concept of happiness, is a reality that exists in each moment. We need to step back, turn off the ego, and pay attention.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Today was different in some way. I managed to keep a list of a thousand things to do in my head (in spite of the constant nagging voice within to please WRITE down a list) and indeed manage to get them all done (for some things on the mental list: done at least to a point that I was satisfied).
Today was different in another way. My day usually consists of two-and-a-half languages. Two wholes and one half. "Half" meaning, I only ever understand half of what is being said, and they only ever understand half of what I am trying to say. Ever been in such a situation? Today I managed to ALMOST complete the one half and... guess what? Add another half language to my repertoire!
What must that sound like? First of all, you have to know that I live in Brussels (Belgium), otherwise known as the Tower-of-Babel capital of the world, among other things. An second to that, I am not Belgian (hence all these half-baked language proficiencies).
Suffice it to say: I am a whiz at languages. Yeah, I have reached a point in my life where I am not the least embarrassed (at least I try to convince myself) to make a complete fool of myself! So be it German, English, French or Dutch, all it requires is a wave of a wand (to make me forget I am about to embarrass myself)... and there you have it: a nearly perfect multilingual Asian-European citizen of the world >_< !
Today was different in another way. My day usually consists of two-and-a-half languages. Two wholes and one half. "Half" meaning, I only ever understand half of what is being said, and they only ever understand half of what I am trying to say. Ever been in such a situation? Today I managed to ALMOST complete the one half and... guess what? Add another half language to my repertoire!
What must that sound like? First of all, you have to know that I live in Brussels (Belgium), otherwise known as the Tower-of-Babel capital of the world, among other things. An second to that, I am not Belgian (hence all these half-baked language proficiencies).
Suffice it to say: I am a whiz at languages. Yeah, I have reached a point in my life where I am not the least embarrassed (at least I try to convince myself) to make a complete fool of myself! So be it German, English, French or Dutch, all it requires is a wave of a wand (to make me forget I am about to embarrass myself)... and there you have it: a nearly perfect multilingual Asian-European citizen of the world >_< !
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