by Gundula Welti
07 Apr 2020
At a cocktail party, the conversation turns to weekend break destinations and travel in general. Edinburgh, Rotterdam and even Caen are some of the suggestions with a general consensus that the weather has to be good to really appreciate them!
ALL destinations are more attractive in blazing sunshine but you can’t just order it up.
In winter we often make up for the lack of light with a fire or candles.
To each his or her substitute sun. Candles, a huge TV screen, a bottle of good wine or, my favourite, a smile.
What is your substitute sun?
by Gundula Welti
06 Apr 2020
“Life’s a bitch,” moans my friend, furious. “Just when I think my life is on track and everything is fine, that I am enjoying myself and feeling happy, that’s when I have a problem. It’s always the same old story,” she grumbles.
I keep quiet and let her rant. I’ve often had the same thoughts. When it’s all systems go and I’m riding a wave of happiness, some external factor always seems to appear and bring back down to earth. But I’ve often said that was probably a good thing, because it stops me getting too full of myself.
A proverb that I found in a poem that I came across illustrates my ideas in a much prettier way than I can:
“Life is like a rainbow: you need the rain and the sun to see its colours.”
What if we were happy all the time? Would you be able to appreciate the true value of the things that happened to you? It’s the rain that creates the rainbow. So let’s not moan. Let’s see what good is going to come out of this rain. In just a little while.
by Gundula Welti
05 Apr 2020
This year, it was best not to be travelling with me. During my week’s sailing holiday in Greece, the Medicane (the Mediterranean version of a hurricane) struck. When I went to Italy to go horse riding, a particularly severe storm had knocked down huge numbers of trees.
On both occasions I grumbled to myself. Both places were known for their clement weather. It wasn’t fair!
Nevertheless, we made the most of it by visiting the Acropolis and the city of Athens. After a whole day of rain in Italy, the sun came out and we were amazed by the light reflected in the rain drops on the leaves. We enjoyed watching the clouds scudding across a perfect blue sky.
Neither of these trips turned out how I was expecting. But these unforeseen events brought out certain highlights that would otherwise have passed by unnoticed.
What about you? What disruptions in your life have led to pleasant surprises?
by Gundula Welti
05 Apr 2020
Benjamin got up and announced that he
was going to smell the weather …
I watched in surprise as he went out of
the room. When he came back I asked him what kind of weather he
had managed to ‘smell’? He replied “Weather that’s full of light after
three days of rain, bathed in the first rays of the spring sunshine” … Aah.
That poet explained to me later that he
experienced everything through the sense of smell. I know most of the
population is visual, so here I have a rare specimen indeed. Apparently, he
often gets teased about his olfactory experiences.
Ever since then, I wonder when I go out
what I will sense in the air. It doesn’t come naturally to me but sometimes I
feel a sensation that would otherwise have passed me by.
Do we fully use the antenna we have
available to be a bit more open to the world?
What about you? If you stuck your nose
outside, what olfactory experience would you have?
