Life is hard. No question about it. But we can do it.
Overcome all the hurdles. It‘s worth it. It will move us forward. 

All the envy that‘s on us. All the garbage that gets thrown at us.
We can shake it all off. Because we are worth it. Believe me.
For a long time I didn‘t believe that myself, but it‘s about growing beyond ourselves.

We are always confronted with hurdles. Again and again someone stands in our way. But don‘t let it be you. You don‘t have to. Believe me.
You can do more. You can outsmart yourself.

Don‘t stop where you are just because you think you can‘t go any further.
It always goes on. Somehow, but it goes on. Believe me. 

When different things collide, there are two possible scenarios: 

They unite to perfect symbiosis or they repel each other again. Especially in human interactions, the two scenarios can also follow each other and happen one after the other. There are various possibilities and reasons why relationships or friendships may turn out to be different after times than they were actually considered to be. 

Similarly, it can also happen that initially repelled, unfamiliar things suddenly complement oneself. Maybe the perfect symbiosis does not consist of the combination of two identical or similar things but of two completely different components. They make the special only unique. 

This can also create such a strong attraction that it becomes too much. Each combination must always be examined with enough neutral distance. If one gets lost in it all, there are only lifelines from outside. The ripcord must be pulled before it is too late.  

When we feel bad and need a break from the stressful everyday life, we think of things that comfort us, that give us warmth. But is the imagination really enough? If we say we don‘t really need it, are we just lying to ourselves? 

No matter if it‘s the stimulating coffee in between, the energizing shower in the morning or the exhausting sport – these things motivate and evoke other thoughts. 

The phrase „Sometimes you don‘t know what you had until it‘s gone“ can be applied to various scenarios. If a beloved family member has just died, a relationship has fallen apart, a pet has passed away or a best friend has moved away – they all gave us support in a world that is often so bleak. The longing for closeness and warmth, to be loved, drives the fiercest thoughts into our heads. If we remember the beautiful moments, we immediately feel better. 

But is that enough?

Do I really have control over my own life? 

Do I make decisions the way I want to? 

Who is controlling me?

Why am I being controlled?

Do I think I am being controlled?

Is it just me or do others notice?

Why do I give so much and get taken advantage of by others?

Do I still make my own decisions?

Was I really happy or did she manipulate me?

Was I really in love or was I just pretending?

Why do you always have to be right?

How can I free myself? 

Why is this happening to me?

Why is this happening to me again and again and again?

Do I only think it‘s happening to me?

How can I get away from you?

Why can‘t I see what‘s wrong here?

Am I just hiding behind a mask?

Am I too slow to run away?

How can I hear myself again?

Why do I keep running in circles?

Am I where I want to be?

Why am I the problem?

That I glue myself to the street, it will not come so far but is it a bad thing to think about the environment and one‘s own behavior?

Meanwhile I rethink my decisions and try to change. The dangers of nature and which future mankind is heading towards is threatening and not a pleasant thought. But change in moderation can only work if it starts with the individual. Every single person can work on themselves and their behavior – in so many ways. 

Does it have to be a new iPhone every year? Maybe yes, because I‘ve saved up the money and want to treat myself. Others throw their money out the window, too. Exactly. Too. Maybe I should rethink this decision. It worked out for food, too, after all. I have banned meat almost completely from the refrigerator, with so many delicious vegan alternatives no problem. There‘s only one thing I neglect year after year: myself. This doesn‘t mean that I should buy that iPhone after all, or some chocolate here and there – as nerve food, of course. It‘s about what I need all my life: my head, my thoughts, my psyche. By tearing myself apart for others, giving everything, I tend to abandon myself. I should really change that. It‘s soon a new year again…

We cannot deny where our roots come from. It‘s amazing that in an almost daily clash of cultures, we throw around prejudices. Yet we encounter other cultures just as we encounter them? Exactly. By approaching them with prejudices, we get back nothing different. 

Maybe it is also a typical German thing. At least I have heard this often enough abroad. Exactly the same, it‘s embarrassing how Germans behave abroad. Not all of them, of course, and they certainly don‘t do it on purpose, they are probably just such idiots at home, too. 

The possibilities that a clash of cultures offers us are so huge. If we only approach other people with more openness, the world will look much easier. And everybody can win. We can learn so much and enrich our own lives – with new friends, traditions and anecdotes. 

Life is good! Let‘s enjoy it and approach our fellow human beings with open arms. 

Also to the grouchy Germans. 

If we went through life more openly and appreciated the little things, many aspects would be more cheerful. The really important things in the background are usually hidden behind the foregrounds that are difficult to see through. 

Do we show these details to those around us? With small, hidden clues. Whoever can interpret them knows us. Those who can‘t – don‘t. At least not well. 

It takes time for me to let people close to me, to trust them, to show them what‘s going on inside of me. It is the experience that makes us learn. It‘s experience that makes us pay attention. 

Sometimes it lasts years to find out who a person really is. Only then do we see who is standing in front of us. It is the small details that we did not pay attention to or overlooked. Which we have not dismissed as important. But exactly these should have made us pay attention. 

The attention to detail from the job is not transferred to the private environment. 

I can‘t sort out the thoughts
they jump through my head.

Everything seems distorted, shifted, slipped.
Order is the one I strive for. 
Can I manage to believe in myself?

Faith is what I am attached to.
Faith in myself.
Faith in those who are important to me and will.

The spiral continues to turn.
No matter what happens.
I will be there.

Doing what is in the power of me.
Small cracks in the way I see it.
Small swirls in my head.
Shifted images, order that I myself deny.

Blurred is only what should be blurred.

Where was I? 

My thoughts are always jumping back and forth. Sometimes I am here, sometimes I am there. But in the end I always find my way again. If I get off the way, as I often do, then mostly by force of nature and external influences. Self-inflicted impacts have also caught and hit me again and again. But the skill is to pass these challenges and to find the way again. All these years there were enough forks I could have taken, traps I could have stepped into and cliffs I could have thrown myself from. 

Distractions lie in the smallest details as well as in ongoing events. Even when I think to myself, what am I doing this for, it always has a higher purpose. Through distraction, I learn. Through distraction, I develop. Through distraction I am who I am. 

Distraction gets me focused.

Did you fall down? How many times have I heard this sentence? If I‘m honest, it‘s still the same today. If there were any hurdles at school, I mastered them. If there are obstacles in my job today, I get them out of the way. Even if I don‘t think it will be good at first, it will be. And as the well-known phrase goes: In the end everything will be fine and if it is not fine it is not the end. 

We learn from mistakes and they only make us stronger, because there is never anything bad that doesn‘t also have something good in it. I learn to grow beyond myself. 

There is no reason that I have to hide myself, my skills and my person. I have something going for me. I am dynamic. I want to achieve something. I want to change something. 

I am a…

You catch me when I fall.
You give me support when I tumble.
You are my anchor when I drift in the unknown.
You guide me when I wander.
You are my motivation when I lose my inspiration.
You are my home when I am lost.
You give me peace when I am lost in chaos.
You give me advice when I am at a loss.
You give me color when all is dreary.
You are my voice when I am silent.
You give me rhythm when I lose the beat.
You are the center when I lose my balance.
You give me melody so that my heart sings.
You give me the strength to achieve the impossible.
You are the memories that I always carry with me.
You give me energy when I am idle.

You are my family that I love unconditionally.

There‘s no giving up. Keep going, keep going. 

In this fast-paced world, it can also be dangerous.
If I don‘t pay attention to my own limits, it can backfire.

Taking time out is the most important time of the day. 
With those I can rely on, with whom I am doing well, 
that‘s how I get through difficult times. 

At the same time, I should never lose my own smile. 
Never lose faith in myself. The good times are the ones that count. 
After seven bad years, there will be seven good ones. 

Those people who stop me, block me, I don‘t need them in my life. 
They are not good for me. Unfortunately, it takes time for me to recognize it. When I have realized it, it is time to change something. 
Not me, but the circumstances. 

I am the way I am. I am still learning. I can adapt and question my own actions. But do I have to become someone else for another person because they don‘t get along with me? 

No. I am at peace with myself. I‘m hanging in there and I‘m here for you. 

I am not alone. You are not alone. 

Can you hear the silence?
Can you see the dark?
Can you fix the broken?
Can you help the hopeless?
Well, I‘m begging on my knees
Can you save my bastard soul?
Will you wait for me?
I‘m sorry, brothers, so sorry, lover
Forgive me, father, I love you, mother
I‘m scared to get close, and I hate being alone
I long for that feeling to not feel at all
The higher I get, the lower I‘ll sink
I can‘t drown my demons, they know how to swim
I‘m scared to get close, and I hate being alone

Can you feel, can you feel my heart?

There are moments when we only understand afterwards what actually just happened. They can be literally magical and we wish they would never pass. We can feel this inner balance. The connection to something higher. The whole body is flooded with love and absolute equality. 

Then there are also the moments where we should have looked better. We should have recognized the mistakes much earlier. We should have done something about it. 

In the end, the question is, how do we proceed next time? Do we change something? 

Do we close our eyes and try again? so many small signs surround us every day. 

We take them for granted, but are they really? They facilitate communication and understanding. We should appreciate these little signs more and send them out ourselves. 

Let‘s all create these meaningful signs and bring joy to others.

a breath of silence.

Sometimes you have the desire for what should not be there the most. T
here are certain norms and behaviors that are regulated in the broad society. 

What seems normal for some is condemned by others with „How can you“. 

If we go against these norms and unite cultures, we can create something magical.
Do not misunderstand me.
It is important that there are some rules and regulations but if something is only considered „not so good“ in society, why do I have to bow to society.

And by that I mean much more close friends who advise you against something.
Something you strive for. That moves you and fulfills you. 

It is the forbidden that brings us curiosity. 

Don‘t worry, the whole story is more harmless than it seems but in the end you are judged and taught: „I told you so“. 

And the moral of the story? They were right.
Society‘s rose-colored glasses can cover up a lot.
You have to take them off in order to really be able to see things clearly.

I‘d say we‘ve all been there at one time or another, and we‘ve thought: 

What will happen when I‘m gone? Will anyone even miss me? Who will cry for me? 

The thoughts when you drive late at night on an empty autobahn. With 200km/h. Over an empty country road, through an avenue. Trees everywhere. What if. 

The stories that many no longer make it, give up. They touch us. That makes us think for ourselves. These dark moments where we no longer know what to do. These scenarios from which one supposedly no longer comes out. 

The questions that torture us. 

What did I do to deserve this? How can someone love me? Why am I doing this to myself, all of this?

We have all been there. Even if only briefly. But we have been there.

Think about it. 
A new beginning. That‘s what you want. Just start over. Reload the level. 

That‘s why moving is so great. To leave the old ballast behind and start over again. Meet new people. Reinventing yourself – after all, nobody knows you. 

Oh how much I miss that. 

From the small village into the huge world. It‘s a giant leap for anyone who‘s just growing up.

The big city jungle has caught me and I love it. 

Except for the noise. and the smell. and there are quite a few people here. And my god what a traffic jam all the time. I‘m standing here forever. Like the train doesn‘t run? The bus isn‘t coming today? 

I‘m not saying i don‘t appreciate where i‘m from but i‘m glad to be away from there. The people, the boring life. But a little tristess would be nice in the big city. 

The next move is sure to come.

Always remember, you can handle it. Everything has its order.
Everything will be all right. The uncertain will be filled with light.
You are not a shadow of anyone. Face it with your own eyes. Take care of yourself. 

Fight! It is worth taking risks for the sake of it.
I know that it is difficult, that it doesn‘t make sense.
In the end you will understand. In the end, it doesn‘t even matter.
Don’t always think about everything. Don‘t worry so much. I
t‘s not always as bad as you think it is. It‘s not all bad.

Look at the positive. Draw the positive to you. Use it. Let it inspire you. 

All the garbage that weighs you down, sort it out. Burn it. You don‘t need it. You know that. You can let go. It‘s okay. 

Its just a bad day, not a bad life.

Damn, you know how to control me. 
You‘re the one who tells me what to do. You‘ve got me. I can‘t get away from you.

What do i have to do to get you to let me go. I didn‘t understand at first. I was blind. But you take advantage of me. You control me. I do everything for you. And what do you do? 

You break me. I see that now. You break me. You break me. 

Is it worth it? Are you worth it?

Do I have to keep what we promised each other? What we say to each other, what we write to each other, what we whisper to each other? I don‘t have to. 

I can come free. I can break free. And yet you are there. Controlling me. Visiting me. Even though you are not with me. Determining me without telling me anything.

These balmy summer nights are the most beautiful. We spend the best time of our lives. We have each other and are infinite together. 

And yet i never thought that you could be so cold to me. To me.

After these balmy summer nights. Which were the most beautiful. We spent the best time of our lives. We had each other and were infinite together. 

Actually you were like the setting sun. It got colder and colder with you. When she rose again, you were gone. 

It rained. 

But after rain always comes sun again. 

These balmy summer nights are the most beautiful.

The way you treat someone comes back the same way.
If you smile, they smile back. Hopefully. But it‘s often worth the effort. 

Let‘s be honest? Does it hurt us to smile? No. and we always feel better afterwards. We enjoy it when we get the kindness back. 

If we treat someone badly, we get it back in one way or another.
Small sins are punished immediately. Bigger ones a little later.
The whole thing repeats itself. Day after day. Year after year.

What is the golden rule again? Treat others the way you would like to be treated. And believe me, it really works.
Not every time.
But it is much easier to go through life being kind and taking care of ourselves and our fellow human beings. It is so easy. Try it! 

It starts with ourselves. If we change ourselves, we can achieve a lot.
And it‘s not about reinventing ourselves. It‘s about questioning our own actions and thinking about how it comes across to the other person. 

Why don‘t we treat nature like that? When it‘s gone, we can‘t smile anymore either.

There is this one light at the tunnel.
But if we look closely, we can see many of them spread over life. They are just a little more positive, because it doesn‘t end there. But we just have to pay attention and go through life with an open mind. 

The lights guide us. They can show us a path that we may not have thought of before. 

These lights speak to us without a sound but they know how strong we are. We can grow above ourselves and leave the negative ones behind. We can just pay attention. 

There and there. 

Everywhere are the little lights. Maybe they are also lights from little lighthouses that show us the way. Then the sea shouldn‘t be far. There we have many more possibilities. 

Let‘s see it as a big playground. If we follow the lights, we can rediscover ourselves. We can redefine ourselves. Correct things. There are different lights for everyone. They always speak differently. They also offer different possibilities. 

Out of the dreary desert, into colorful life. Colorful through all the lights around us.