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

Sunday 21 June 2020

Summer Solstice and Midsummer Madness



You might wonder about this photo - I took it in Noordwijk where I saw that the evening sun in my back was mirrored in the window of a holiday apartment.

As to solstice: the Flying Dutchman mentioned it quite often last month - and I always reacted a bit annoyed: Why mention it NOW? Why not wait? What do you want to express with it?
(I learned that the Dutch fear darkness - darkness in "full" daylight, I mean - and right they are, too many grey clouds can get you down. BUT: why think about that when the sun is shining brightly?)

I am not a paragon of patience.
My friend Christine tries to teach me for years (she is a paragon of patience!): "Don't cross the bridge before you reach it!" 

And though I am a great midnight rambler (to be exact: I ramble at three o'clock in the morning, heavily trying to puff up many balloons of worry - and I have a lot of breath!) I can abstain from worrying about the rhythms of the year.

I love spring, I love summer, I love autumn, and yes: I love winter too.
I see qualities in each of the seasons and do not want to miss one.

Tom is polishing his silver candlesticks. He is prepared. The Flying Dutchman is that too.
I - honestly - lit the 5 candles on my candlestick every day when I eat dinner.
Paradox: I make that moment special by something I do every day.

Though I confess: I break out in spots if I hear another mentioning of "Achtsamkeit" = "mindfulness" (a whole industry is thriving on this) - of course I enjoy when people really enjoy things -- but spontaneous please, not "holy" (if you get what I mean).

PS: Where is the Druid, the blogger Heron, by the way? 








6 comments:

  1. I don't look into the future, not even from Summer to Autumn to Winter. I have found it best to not try at all but just live for the moment. I agree about the new word, mindfulness; it is like being aware of what is going on around us, everybody and everything, is a new discovery and we need telling of this great phenomenon.

    Heron announced in March he was not so keen on blogging anymore and would only post occasionally.

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    1. Normally I make a lot of plans, Rachel - but this years "agenda" showed me the full absurdity: I made meticulous plans of how and when I or all others would be helping out with the triplets - and now it is lockdown...
      I am very interested in Zen - but the inflation of "mindfulness" gets on my nerves, really.
      Thank you for the information about Heron (the only "Druid" I virtually know)

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  2. You don't have to plan for the Solstice, but you do have to plan for many other things. Great generals plan for battle, but when the fighting begins they are forced to live in the moment.

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    1. As I told Rachel - I am a great planner under the sun, Tom!
      I even read the "36 stratagems" - look at number 31! - and yes, I agree: for a fight (or the contrary) you must be full in the "Here and Now", to quote another new age-saying, which also starts to make me slightly sick... :-) (only the term)

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  3. The different seasons offer different available experiences. I cherish them all.

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  4. Yes, Emma, I share that feeling - so I love to stay in winter at home, not in a sunny landscape.

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