Britta's Letters from her life divided between city-life in German's capital Berlin and life in a Bavarian village

Wednesday, 5 June 2019

You See What You Want to See



When you come back from a holiday - and this was a short one, just a week in Bavaria and Austria - it might happen that you see things in an utterly different way.

At least for a while.

Or you might forget what seemed to be a huge problem before. In the last week I had completley forgotten the chaos in our "Hinterhof" (Hinterhof is how Berliners call the huge backyard - if it looks like ours).





Before I left I thought: that is an invitation for burglars. Then I forgot.

It all depends on the way how you see the world:
pessimists would say: "Britta - I must warn you - that might be the start of dementia!" (Sorry, what did you say? And, by the way: who are you?)
The ones with the rosy- tinted glasses (or the Buddhists, who are no optimists) say:

"You see what you want to see."

So: life is about perception, and finding balance.




12 comments:

  1. No, I am with you. Scaffold is an invitation to burglars. Years of experience has taught me this. The Arabs have a saying: 'Trust in God but tie up your camel'.

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    1. Tom - I love the camel-metapher! Our main door is always open - many bikes have been stolen, and the flat downstairs was 3 times burgled (there they didn't need a scaffold..) - the houses here look too temping.. streetwise at least.

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  2. I have to admit that I am an optimist. I tend to see the good rather than the bad. At the same time sad experience has taught me to "tie up my camel"

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    1. Yes, Emma: I am also an optimist - but as you say: this time I was a bit afraid. The housekeeper promised to close the maindoor from 18:00 - but of course: nothing was done...

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  3. Out of sight out of mind. I forget about everything the minute I lock the door and go on holiday.

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    1. That, Rachel, is a very good way to live, I think: if I worry in my holidays, I will get anxious, thus spoil my fun - although I cannot do anything.
      (I asked my neighbours to look in a random way after the camel :-)

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  4. Your holiday destination looks so pretty! A part of the world I've not been to yet.

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    1. Yes, Pipistrello: it was lovely and completely different from noisy-brimming Berlin. Lovely nature, and very good weather.
      I had never been there before either. Someone asked me to visit it - and that was a fine idea.

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  5. But as you said, Britta, Tibetan Peace Flags to them all. My camels often wander the backyard.

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    1. Hahaha, Joanne: the camels might be there in the backyard - lost in a sort of plant-wilderness (the Hinterhof is overcrowded).
      If I - a gardener by heart - look at the state the flora is in, I need a Tibetan Peace Flag to comfort me.
      Meanwhile I use your lovely tea-towels (honestly, without fun: they have a calming quality - they feel (!) so good, thank you again!)

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  6. Those would have been my thoughts too Britta - we have locks on our windows, and a burglar alarm, but I suspect that anyone who really wants to get in will.
    Best to forget whatever is going on back at home, as you did, and enjoy yourself whilst away.

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    1. Yes, Rosemary: they broke in a house on the other side of the street. I saw the big police van and a man with a knapsack surrounded by police with guns - scary.
      But as you said: I care for the camel as good as I can - then I go.

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