My Piece of Heaven
My Piece of Heaven
What do you need to be happy? Cynical minds claim that if you added up all the happy moments in a lifetime, you wouldn't get more than three and a half minutes of happiness in total. Is that true? I hope not.
When was the last time you were out in nature and were awestruck by a beautiful forest? When was the last time you heard a piece of music and almost cried? When did you watch a bird building a nest? Or looked at your partner and felt that you loved him or her despite everything? (When you are together for many years, you don't need reasons to break up, there are enough of them already. Instead, you need reasons to stay together).
Back out on the street, in the car or on the tram, getting things done, quickly to work, cooking dinner for the kids, making sure everyone does their homework, fixing a drain for the father-in-law, and on the weekend to Aunt Elsbeth, who will otherwise get mad again because you haven't been in touch for so long. Oh, and sports, too, and actually you wanted to have at least one evening a week for yourself. Forgotten again.
Is that what life is all about? Yes, life consists of such things. The earlier times always seem better than today's somehow. Maybe the past times were indeed different - they may have felt slower overall, there were fewer cars, no cell phones, and so on. But did people notice? Probably not, because you can only ever compare your own times with what you know or have heard about - in other words, with the past.
So what is it that helps? At present, there is a lot of talk about "mindfulness". You have to pay attention to yourself, reflect, ask yourself what you really want and do things that are good for you. Try this out. You'll see: it doesn't really work. Something is missing if you only ask yourself questions about yourself. To put it bluntly: Mindfulness as an end in itself - that is, focused on oneself - does not lead to clarity, but rather to being more about oneself. Mindfulness works better when it is directed toward commonalities - toward moments shared with loved ones or even toward things you would like to say but don't dare. My happiness, that's a long hike or a walk by the sea with a loved one, that's good food or sometimes just a piece of bread at the right time, that's an afternoon with my daughter when I read her "Ronja Räubertochter" and she says: "That's the most beautiful book I know. Soon I'll be able to read, I'll be able to read it myself, over and over and over again!" My hat full of dreams, that's books and good wine. My piece of heaven, that's when I can be who I am, when I can say what I think, and when I don't have to lie to myself or others and be loved for it. That is really important. There has to be time for other things too, that's what life requires. But the other things - work or who I represent at work or whether a thing will be finished today or tomorrow or what the neighbors or Aunt Elsbeth think of me or, or, or - all that is not so important.
Last question: Where better than here in #Unbezahlbarland, where you always live a bit "out of time" and where there are beautiful forests, parks and cities? Admittedly, I'm exaggerating a bit. If you are friendly to people, you can live almost anywhere. But I like living here, I must say.
