A friend told me the other day that his kid had her eardrum removed. Until the girl gets an artificial one implanted, the parents have to give her ear plugs, every time they go swimming. The artificial eardrum is going to make their life easier, but the kid will never be able to dive. I commented, with as much compassion as I could bring together, a sentence that eventually led me to write this blog: »We all have our limitations.« Thinking about our limitations I came to an interesting conclusion: Different limitations eventually lead to more social cohesion. Take the four basic temperaments for...

When I was younger I believed the myth that writers do not really work. And that their explanation »I am looking for an inspiration« is just an excuse for not working. How wrong I was! Today that I work as a writer, I must confess that three quarters of my time actually consist of looking for an inspiration and only one quarter of the time I actually write. In addition to that, I must confess that I very rarely get inspired behind the computer screen. I have to get out. I used to get more inspiration in the woods, but now I get more inspired down town, among medieval architecture and when running...

I catch myself often being angry at myself: »Oh, my god, how can I be so stupid. I have been repeating the same mistake over and over again for years!« Lately I have been inclined to interpret my mistakes in another way, not by using my stupidity as the basis for explanation. Let us think back. How did we learn as kids? Psychologists claim that a child learns mostly by imitating the grown-ups around him. And frankly speaking: How could a new born child learn by taking advice from the parents? The child does not understand words yet. Thus the method of imitating is the only way to learn how to walk,...

Those of you, who have been reading my blogs for a while now, know that I used to be a volunteer at a local home for old pensioners (assisted living). After 4 years I got tired of volunteering there and I automatically assumed that I was a bad person. On the contrary! I just needed a new job, new problems to solve, I needed to change the subject. Now I volunteer for a group of organic farmers, because I believe that this is our future. It matters a lot, what we put into our mouths. First I did a translation from German for them, then I helped them pluck weeds and last but not least I helped them...

The title itself shows a certain redundancy: the word ‘own’ repeats itself twice. Similarly, over the years, despite of the whole ‘women’s lib’ thing going on, I found it totally redundant to own my own car. After 4 years of trying really hard to relax behind the wheel, I gave up driving due to a clear hallucination. Let me tell you the whole true story: I was driving in the countryside. My husband was sitting in the co-driver’s seat. Suddenly out of the blue I saw a human being trying to cross the road. I panicked, stepped off the gas and started to pull the brakes. My husband...