If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.
—Carlos Santana
I want to congratulate each and every one of us in this blog post, wherever you live, love and work. 👏🙏🏻▶️ We all have over a year of pandemic behind us!
Each of us experienced this transformative time very individually and also processed and changed very individually – we were probably also all affected differently.
Personally, I have learned a lot about myself and my fellow human beings and I am very grateful for that. I feel strengthened for everything that is going to happen to us as humanity in the future – my very personal supports in this challenging time were my spiritual awareness, my relationship with God as well as my positive attitude, the gift of small joys and being able to enjoy the moment.
Therefore, I was really looking forward to the post-lockdown period and I very much celebrated my “comeback” to “life after/with Covid”.
On May 19, 2021 the gastronomy was reopened in Vienna after 6 months – together with Julia from my team we celebrated the ‘new freedom’ with a dinner in one of my favorite restaurants. On the following days, I not only went to my favorite hairdresser, I also took time each day to spend some quality time at other favorite places of indulgence as well as intentionally scheduling time with people who are very important to me.
In the meantime, the containment measures regarding Covid here in Austria have been relaxed even more and during a walk through the city center yesterday I noticed that I somehow don’t want to stand ‘the many people’ anymore.
My sense of ‘enjoying the moment’ has definitely grown since the beginning of the pandemic, including gratitude for being there every day. In addition, my view of the ‘big picture’ was sharpened again.
I have also observed about myself that I have consciously reduced the pace on various levels – I react more quickly when I feel pressure from outside – and I now also communicate this more directly and quickly.
It is my matter of the heart to share all the beautiful moments I get to experience with others at least on social media – may they be contagious and also delight and motivate others to stay positive and in the light.
To choose joy is to find freedom (pinterest.com). In this spirit, I address ‘JU’s 3 Questions Of The Month’ this time to Athena, Dieter and Barbara:
👉 How would you describe your own personal feeling of happiness, a moment where inner joy and contentment dominate?
👉If you had the opportunity to share your joy of life and positive outlook on life with people who are currently living in frustration, fear and anger – how would you do it?
👉How do you always manage to experience the feeling of freedom through inner joy?
Barbara and I met in 2019 at a Think Tank meeting in Upper Austria.
Barbara loves reading since she was 5 years old – she also loves to travel and knows how to enjoy life, among other things, together with friends, with a full table, full glasses, lots of laughter and good conversations.
I admire Barbara’s quick-wittedness and eloquent language, as well as her willingness to experiment and her spontaneity.
🧑🏻Athena Howard 🇬🇷🇺🇸
Athena and I only knew each other from stories and Facebook until we first met face to face in Santa Monica, LA in the summer of 2018.
It was a truly special encounter – we spent an afternoon together as if we had known each other forever. I admire Athena for her sense of the ‘exquisite’, for her warmth and love for humanity, and her courage to publicly address and speak out about uncomfortable things.
🧔🏼♂️Dieter Losskarn 🇩🇪🇿🇦
Dieter and I met on an internet platform in 2008 – I was fascinated from the beginning by his beautiful shots of his adopted home ‘South Africa’ on Facebook – Dieter is a travel and motoring journalist – www.losskarn.capetown
I admire Dieter for turning his passion into his profession and living this full enthusiasm and sharing it with the world.
👩🏻Barbara Walter-Leisch 🇦🇹
Answer 1
Toddler arms that wrap around my neck. A child’s body that nestles trustingly against me. Soft skin, big eyes, a unique scent. The special moment, a moment of devotion, brought about by a little person. Following the heart, dedicated to togetherness. Intimate. Precious because fleeting, following the next impulse.
Answer 2
In personal, direct contact. I would invite them for a walk and be there completely. For everything that comes in terms of emotions, needs for conversation or exchange. Walking in one’s own rhythm relaxes the body and frees the mind. Immerse yourself in the special atmosphere of a forest with all your senses. Pay attention to the play of light and shadow, consciously breathe the intense smell, listen to the concert of the many voices, embrace a tree or make contact with the ground. Being. Until silence takes over. And then eat the apple you brought with you, mindfully and in silence. Experience pleasure and joy in the moment. And anchor this treasure of experience. For later.
Answer 3
In creating, in creative design, I experience the flow, the exhilarating feeling of being absorbed in the doing. Timeless concentration and a deepening. Unstrained and intense. The occupation, the way is at least as important as the result. Often more fulfilling with the regret, because the result defines an end. Again, and again to draw from my reservoir of ideas and possibilities, because it’s important for me. Only that counts. Lived freedom.
🧑🏻Athena Howard 🇬🇷🇺🇸
Answer 1
When everything seems as being OUT OF ORDER giving me the impression that CHAOS is dominating my world,
I use the power of ART or LITERATURE as vehicles to bring me back to a place where I am reminded that we as a species are not
savages. We have the ability to RECOLLECT PAST EXPERIENCES, PLAN, DREAM, CREATE NEW REALITIES AND SHARE
THEM THROUGH COMMUNICATION.
Answer 2
I do not try to force my beliefs on others, I simply state my point of view using reasoning to the best of my ability
and also make an effort to see things from someone else’s vantage point. In the process, most often than not, I discover that humans
face the same problems everywhere. We may differ in our opinions and our approach on how to solve them, but WE ARE ALL SEEKING
THE SAME THINGS!
Answer 3
I try to remember that we live in a fleeting reality. Nothing is permanent, including ourselves, I concentrate on the
NOW, (living in the past robs me from assessing the present correctly), and escaping into the future gives me a false impression
of how things are in terms of my personal perception. The future has not come yet… When it comes, it becomes THE PRESENT,
which means my interpretation of IT depends on how I CHOOSE to interpret IT…
🧔🏼♂️Dieter Losskarn 🇩🇪🇿🇦
Answer 1
It feels like, I am filled with happiness. A wonderful feeling. As if it were flowing through my veins. It hasn’t happened to me very often, but I am looking forward to next time. A moment where everything fits, the place, the atmosphere – and of course the presence of a person on the same wavelength.
Answer 2
I would take them for a walk by the sea (where I fortunately live), then go home, light a fire in the fireplace, pour wine – listen and talk.
Answer 3
It is important to be grateful for each new day and to celebrate this when you wake up in the morning. Don’t pour the coffee down, but enjoy it sip by sip. Think about the beans, where they come from, how they were roasted with love. And then look forward to what the new day will bring.
#betweenoceans2020
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