I sit all the way in the back of a narrow long coffee place. At the other seats people are socializing, studying or working. On the small table in front of me I have a chai latte and my notebook. The notebook is dark red, has an icon of the universe at the front and the pages have golden borders. I got it on one of my previous journeys and I use it to write down my thoughts. My ideas about business and life and the things that keep my mind busy. Writing them down helps me process my own thinking and keep inspiration for later.
Sitting in a coffee place with a hot drink and a notebook and pen is one of my favorite things in the world. Present in the moment, relaxing and being creative at the same time. Wherever I am, I love being in a good coffee place.
Life
Back in the Netherlands
It’s Friday morning and I’m almost back home for a week now. I’m hesitant to call it home, because I’m not sure where that exactly is. For now I’m living here, so I guess I can call it home for the time being. The other day I was thinking about how I miss the writing when I’m here. It’s just that here in Utrecht is my ‘normal’ life and that it feels less adventurous, not giving me as much creative input for writing as when I’m traveling. Nevertheless, I want to do an attempt to write about my first week back.
What makes you come alive?
I’m at the airport for a moment to look at the planes. As soon as my eye catches the planes waiting at the gates, I’m filled with a joy from deep inside. A smile comes to my face and I realize that for me this is what it’s about. I want to travel and go on adventures. Suddenly my other concerns, like the small house I live in or the busyness of work, have lost their importance. Let me travel and I’m okay with those things. I look at a few planes taking off and then walk back with a smile on my face. It’s good to know what makes you come alive.
Live every day like you’re in Disneyland
This morning on my way to work I was listening to the Disneyland Background Channel. They were playing beautiful classical music and I thought to myself ‘it would be nice to be in Disneyland now’. Then I looked around at the pretty buildings of my city and realised it could almost be like a ride in Disneyland. My grandma often points out how pretty my city is when I send pictures, while I can easily take it for granted. Not today.
Here and now
Here and now is the name of this blog and are two of the most important words for me personally. They got my attention again when I was searching for a new water bottle the other day and stumbled upon a brand with the same name. A nice reminder to be present and to live in the moment.
It’s been about four months since I wrote on this blog the last time. Somehow I didn’t have much inspiration. The desire to write was there from time to time, but I didn’t know what to write about, until I started thinking about the words Here and Now again.
Watching the sunrise
I’m walking in the park and as the sun rises I hear countless bird around me chirp. I stand on a bridge for a moment, watching the sunrise. An elderly lady walks by with her dog. I wish her a good day. She says that she hopes also the best will happen to me today. What a beautiful thing to say. I walk further and see some baby ducks walking with their parent ducks by the water side and it suddenly hits me again, the beauty of life. How wonderful it is to be part of this great adventure and to have the privilege of experiencing this all. How often do you stand still by the wonder that is your life? This beautiful journey, don’t let it pass by too quickly. Don’t get caught up all the time in the worries or things you have to do. Take a conscious breath and enjoy this moment for what it is. It’s all wonderful!
How to be happy during a pandemic
It’s been almost a year now since the world turned upside down and this situation brings different challenges to each of us. For some it’s loss of work, for others it’s being locked up in your home most of the day, and for many it has caused some level of anxiety for either our own health or that of loved ones. It’s doesn’t look like this situation is over any time soon, but life goes on anyway, so it’s important to make the best of this time as well. One of the main things I’ve learned from my parents is to enjoy life, so in this post I’ll share some of my methods to be happy during this strange time.
Define yourself
This morning I had a clear thought: who you are is like a big rock (or piece of wood as in the picture), ready to be sculpted. And you’re the one that can make a statue out of it, but cutting things away. Everything you are is already inside you, just you have to remove the parts that’s not you.
Get your innocence back
I just woke up with the feeling I’ve had before several times in the last couple of months, waking up to a bad dream. Waking up to a world that is not as nice as you remembered it to be. Even though things are turning a bit back to normal here, it still isn’t the way it used to be. Then it hit me what’s the main problem now: the world has lost its innocence.
Now is all you have
The world around you may be shaken up and things go different than you’d expected. It’s very easy to start worrying. We usually tend to worry about the things that are important to us, like family and work. We know that worrying doesn’t help us anything and doesn’t change the situation for good. The most it can do, is taking away our peace.
It’s easier said than done to just stop worrying, but I’ve found one key that is very helpful. Completely focus on this moment. Wherever you are right now, be fully there. That is why meditation is so powerful. You focus on your breathing, every breath in and every breath out. Your breath is always in the present moment, in the now. Usually there are no problems in the now.