Love is love is love is love

On June 12 2016 we prayed for Orlando where the deadliest mass shooting in US history happened in a night club called Pulse. Omar Mateen, a security guard went to the club and started shooting. 49 people were killed, 53 more heavily injured and thousands of people were left shocked.

The same night the Tony Awards took place in New York City. People were there to celebrate outstanding musicals and shows on Broadway. James Corden, the host of the show, probably had prepared a very funny monolog to start the show but instead he brought out his condolences to the people who were affected by the tradgedy.

But no one could put into words what we were all feeling better than writer and actor Lin- Manuel Miranda, who was there with his show Hamilton. When he won the Award for Best Original Score he used his thank you speech to present a very powerful sonnett that he had written that day, dedicated to his wife and the victims of the shooting.

At this point I could write it down here for you to read and it would make you think, but instead I want you to watch him present it first. He was crying. So was I. So were many many other people both in the audience there as well as people at home in front of the TV.

Please, take the time and listen to it carefully:

And now read it and try to process the words he put together so carefully:

“My wife’s the reason anything gets done

She nudges me towards promise by degrees

She is a perfect symphony of one,

Our son is her most beautiful reprise

We chase the melodies that seem to find us

Until they’re finished songs and start to play

When senseless acts of tragedy remind us

That nothing here is promised, not one day

This show is proof that history remembers

We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger

We rise and fall and light from dying embers

Remembrances that hope and love lasts longer

And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love

Cannot be killed or swept aside,

I sing Vanessa’s symphony, Eliza tells her story

Now fill the world with music, love and pride.”

“And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love

Cannot be killed or swept aside.”

I think you are amazing

I think you are amazing.

I don’t know you but I think you’re great.

I love that you are always there when someone needs you.

I am captivated by your happy and loving aura.

I am grateful to have you in my life.

Whenever I see you, I can’t help but smile.

Being with you makes me so happy.

I feel loved when I’m with you.

Thank you for taking me as I am.

I think you are amazing.

I love you.

Do you have someone you thought of? Tell them that they are amazing. Tell them what you love about them. Just tell them. ❤

 

 

Title picture: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/hug-can-help-you-fight-the-common

Grow something

While I had prepared several things I could post today, I decided to come up with something new just now. The thoughts I am having today are very different from the ones I had when I planned this. I have so many different thoughts on my mind, about myself, the world, how it is and how it should be, my experiences, good and bad and so many questions. But today is a good day and I’ll keep the negative thoughts for another time.

Yes, it’s Monday. But that doesn’t automatically make it a bad day. The sun is shining, spring is on it’s way back to us and nature is waking up again, preparing to give us the sun, the warmth and all the pretty colors that make us love spring and summer. Here in Berlin the sun is shining but when you go outside it is still pretty cold. Many people complain about winter and the cold, they are just not made for it. But I love it. Living in Texas for almost two years made me realize that I like snow, as much as coming back to Germany made me see how much I loved the feeling the heat leaves on my skin. When it snowed I was just so happy. I turned into a five year old little girl again, that wanted to go play in the snow. And I did. It made me so happy, I didn’t mind the snow in my face or that my feet were freezing. I felt so exited and yet so peaceful. That’s what winter does to me. When I was little I used to sit at my window and just watch the snow fall and I will do this every time it snows for the rest of my life. It’s just so peaceful.

I like that the nature takes a break every year. It makes people appreciate more what the earth actually does for us. We are looking forward to the warm sun, all the growing flowers and their beautiful colors. The days feel much longer. I’ll be able to get home in the sunlight when I’m off at 4.30pm now. It’s easier to be happy again. While nature is getting ready to really live again, people do the same. They clean up, get off the heavy winter dust and feel light and free again.

I think we are taking all this for granted in some way. It’s the same every year. But who knows how long we will have this? Who knows how long the earth will be able to provide us with all the good feelings and colors? How much do we think our trees can take until they break down from all the bad air we make? How much can our earth take? How much can we take? Do we really think, cutting down the trees that clean our air, to make room for mass animal farming is something we can do forever? Is it a good idea to pollute the soil we grow our food in with chemical waste? No it’s not, like so many other horrible things we do to our earth. And yet, we are still here. The earth hasn’t kicked us off yet. If anything, we are going to kick ourselves off. But mother earth responds: Tsunamis, tornados, extreme droughts,  floods. Can we please see that our earth is hurting?

Do me a favor: Next time you go shopping, buy a plant, a little tree, a flower or some seeds and grow something. Watch it grow. Watch the wonder of nature grow because you nourished it. Take care of it. I promise you, it will make you smile.

I bought a little tree a few weeks ago myself  and put it on my shelf, thinking it will be okay up there. But he started losing some of his leaves. Turned out he needed way more light than he got, so now he’s on my window sill, happily growing new leaves. Seeing that made me happy and every time I look at him I smile and appreciate what amazing things we actually take for granted.

Here is my little tree; I hope it will grow nice and big.

title picture: http://images.grasshopper.com/growth.jpg

A great hero, teacher and leader

Eyes don’t lie.

Eyes are the mirror of the soul.

Deeply poetic phrases.

Eyes show true feelings when you are trying to hide them. Eyes show your character.

When I was researching and looking for pictures for this post, it was the eyes that my mind always went back to.

It was the kindness in these eyes that stunned me. And this is the photo I am talking about:

Rolihlahla Mandela

This is Nelson Mandela. He was a revolutionary, a philanthropist, a politician and an incredibly kind human being. Can you see the kindness is his eyes?
He was born into a royal family of the Xhosa-speaking Thembu tribe in the South African village of Mvezo, Transkei, on 18 July 1918. In primary school his teacher, Miss Mdingane gave him the name Nelson, in accordance with the custom of giving all schoolchildren “Christian” names.

He was the first in his family to receive a formal education, he completed his primary studies at a local missionary school. He attended a Methodist secondary school, where he excelled in boxing and track as well as academics. He studied law at the University of Witwatersrand, where he became involved in the movement against racial discrimination and forged key relationship with black and white activists.

In 1944, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC), his commitment to politics and the ANC grew stronger after the 1948 election victory of the Afrikaner-dominated National party. Nelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years by the South African apartheid government because he was standing up against a government that was committing human rights abuses against black South Africans. He got released from prison in 1990 and he went on to lead the way for the abolition of apartheid in 1994. He was elected the same year for president and became the first black president.
He had the courage to stand up and put an end to the apartheid and the establishment of a multiracial government. In his 4 years he established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate human rights and political violation committed by both supporters and opponents of apartheid between 1960 and 1994. At the end he formed a multiracial “Government of National Unity” and he proclaimed the country a “rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.
Nelson Mandela only served one term but he did not stopp there, he remained a devoted champion for peace and social justice in his own country and around the word. He established a number of organizations, including the influential Nelson Mandela Foundation that is still very big. He has spent 67 year making my country a better place and the 67 min wee give on the 18 of July as Nelson Mandela International day is to show that we are thankful and we are still trying to make South Africa a better place and that we are standing together as one.
Rolihlahla Nelson Mandel passed away on December 5th 2013 from a recurring lung infection but he walked among us as a man for 95 years and he will be remembered as a hero, great leader, and made history all around the world.

No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. – Nelson Mandela

By Marizaan Buytendorp, South Africa
Source Picture: forbes.com

A quick story from this morning

As almost every morning, this morning I went to University. But this morning I happened to witness an act kindness and wanted to share it.

I’ve been living in Berlin for about 2 months now and I have also been reading a book called Buddhist Bootcamp by Timber Hawkeye, which had me thinking a lot about love and kindness, the way I live my life and the way I treat people.

There is a quote in that book which I’ve been wanting to share for a while but never had the occasion:

“Humility doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself; it means thinking of yourself less.” – C.S. Lewis

So the act of kindness I saw this morning, was very small, most people wouldn’t have noticed. But I did.

The escalator at my subway station didn’t work this morning.

There was a woman with a baby in the stroller that now had trouble getting down to the train. A man on the same way to the train helped her, which, in my opinion is worth mentioning alone. But what made me want to write about it was the fact, that afterwards he had to run to catch his train.

I know, it’s Berlin, there is a train basically every 5 min. But these 5 min, the reason he rushed to catch the train, might have been very crucial to his life.

He might have been late for work already or not. It doesn’t matter.

He risked missing the train to help a person in need. And that’s what matters.

I am incredibly lucky.

Do you ever have the feeling that your life sucks and you doubt that you will ever be happy again? Well, I do. I have had this feeling many many times. Sometimes even over a longer period.

And then there are days, where everything is fine. I am happy and nothing is really bothering me. But rarely I really think about the good feeling in a deeper way. Why would I?  I am happy. What else matters? The answer: a lot.

That’s when I think about the people that are not as happy as me. Well, perhaps “happy” is the wrong word to use at this point. Let’s change it: I am lucky.

There are tons of small things that will make your life better that you can and should  appreciate. But I’m not talking about those. I’m talking big things here. Things that we certainly forget while we’re trying to grasp every little straw. It’s things we usually take for granted, that surely are not.

I consider myself very lucky. Incredibly lucky. Sometimes I forget that.

But here are the reasons for me being so incredibly lucky and that I am very grateful for:

 

1. I am not alone.
Even if I feel lonely sometimes, I know that there are people who have my back. People that I can go to when I have trouble and who will be there when I need them. Even if they were thousands of kilometers away, they would find a way to help me. This describes my family as well as my few closest friends. Not many.
And at this point I want to thank you: Thank you for being in my life and for supporting me with every step I take. If you ever need me, I will be there for you as well!

 

2. I am free.
I am free to do whatever I want. I can go wherever I want, whenever I want. I can choose to study what I want. I can work wherever I want. I have all those great opportunities the world gives me. And I can choose which ones to take. I know, there are people in this world that don’t have this kind of freedom. If you ever feel stuck remind yourself: there is always a way out. It might be hard to get through to it, but it is there. You just need to do it. And once you really chose the path you want to take, it will be easier.

 

3. I have access to knowledge and education.

I can find anything I want to know. I can ask google for the most random things and sooner or later I will get an answer depending on the effort I choose to put in. I can pick up a book at any time. There is always a way to learn about new things. I am trying to say “I will find out” instead of  “I don’t know”. Because I have the opportunities to find out. And I am even luckier, having it so easy to access all this information.

 

4. I am healthy.
I know I could be fitter. I could weigh a little less. But I am still young and fit enough to do everything I want. I don’t need anyone to help me get changed or to use the bathroom. I can eat and drink by myself. Knowing that this might change at some point, I really want to appreciate that I am still young and healthy. And I am also mentally quite healthy. I feel like I should add this because mental illness can be just as bad as physical illness, or even worse, but it is invisible and people (I am including myself here) tend to forget that.

 

5. I grew up safely.
I never had concerns about my safety when I was little. I never had to deal with  any kind of violence in my family or around it. The town where I grew up is small and rather safe. I was free to ride my bike all day anywhere as long as I was back home in time. I can take walks through the forest without being scared. I was taught well enough not to eat those berries and not to chase the boar. I was able to learn about all the trees that grow here and to be honest, when I was little I didn’t care. But now I do. In fact I am writing this, sitting on a bench on the edge of the forest enjoying the beautiful view over my little hometown.

 

6. I don’t have to starve.
Yes, there might be times coming for me when I am out of money at the end of the month and just have to cut back a little on food for a few days. But even then I will not be starving. Not in the way I  would die from anyway. Simply because I live in a wealthy country, where more food is available than people can eat. And also I know that there are people who would share with me, if it ever gets very very bad.

 

7. I have a roof over my head.
And a pretty nice one as well. But even if that was to be gone for some reason one day, I know that my parents and friends will always have a place to sleep for me.

 

Yes, there are things that I am constantly worried about.  And for tips, how to have a happier life, I am no good. I just wrote everything down to remind myself. But I will remember the reasons why I am so incredibly lucky to have the life that I have. That I am a free woman with access to everything I need and want. And I know that I can have anything I want, I just have to work for it.

What makes you lucky?

 

The Heart of a Child

We have all seen the video of 5 year old Syrian Boy Omran Danqueesh when he was rescued from his home as it was hit by an airstrike in August. It was all over social media, his picture on all front pages over the world and it reminded us of how bad things really are. It reminded us of the horror that the war really is. Innocent people get injured. Children have no clue what is going on, while their houses are being bombed and they are never really safe.

Many people were moved by the boys suffering. So was Alex, 6 years old, from Scarsdale, New York. He wrote a letter to President Obama, asking him to bring the Syrian Boy to him, so he could be his brother.

Alex’ handwritten letter to the President. Click to read it. Originally posted by The White House.

„Remember the boy who was picked up by the ambulance in Syria? Can you please get him
and bring him to our
home?“ he wrote. „ […] We will give him a family and he will be our brother.“, adding he will teach him English, how to ride a bike and addition and subtraction. He even told him where they can park and he would be waiting with „ flags, flowers and balloons”.

The video  was shared by President Obama and The White House on Facebook and YouTube and had over 21 Million views.

President Obama read the letter in his speech at the United Nations Refugee Summit in New York City.

„These are the words of a six year old boy. He teaches us a lot.” He said.

“The humanity that a young child can display, who hasn’t learned to be cynical, or suspicious, or fearful of other people because of where they’re from, or how they look, or how they pray, and who just understands the notion of treating somebody that is like him with compassion, with kindness — we can all learn from Alex,” the president added.

Let’s all learn from Alex and treat everyone with kindness and love.