In Germany we called it “Schlaraffenland” and it was always described as “the land where grilled doves fly directly into your mouth”. Everything was eatable and people just lied down under a gentle sun and everything they desired would come to them.
I was wondering what I would desire, how my personal Cockaigne would look like and I started to fill it with design-pieces, colors, music, books, leisure, and peonies. Once my greed is satisfied I add health&love for me and my family and, obviously, the more I think the lesser important appear materialistic things. Considering that I have everything I need to shelter and take care for myself and added to that everyone important to me is in the same condition I really feel fortunate, lucky & happy.
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. ~Epictetus
Maybe when you die, you come before a big, bearded man on a big throne, and you say, "Is this heaven?" And he says, "Heaven? You just came from there." - Kirk Douglas
If this is not your style and you prefer to be miserable, just read this fine article: Great ways to be miserable! ;-)
Last, but not least, for my technological readers: a very nice, simple add-on for your desktop, the rainlendar – a calendar that allows you to add events and a to-do-list without getting too bulky.
So, how was your week? I had a little bit of everything. Some good days, one bad day, and yesterday a wonderful evening in front of the tv watching the German national soccer team winning against the Portuguese.
This post, too, will have a little bit of everything, think of it as a small buffet and you just pick what you like.
I want to start with the mole. It is old Czechoslovakia cartoon movie from famous artist Zdenek Miler. The Mole was part of a very popular german children’s program which I saw every Sunday when I was a kid. Aw, nostalgia!
Are you one of these people that still have the sunblocker from this winter's ski-trip in your bag? Well, it works in summer too, so you are ok. I carry tons of things with me, that one day could be handy, in the meantime my handbag is similar to Mary Poppins handbag: you can find everything inside there.
In Italy, after a rainy rainy may and an awful june (until now) yesterday there has been the first summer day. Today weather forcast said we will have a hot day and I dressed accordingly, but the sky is in heavy clouds... I start missing hot weather which makes the best background for ice-cream (I cannot eat ice-cream when it's cold) and walks in the night with the one you love, talking and melting away.
Who is following my flickr-page knows that I have recently changed my job and office. The new ambience is really electrifying and stimulating, I am working a lot to dig myself into it. My new working place is really luminous, for the first time I have a real window, yay! I have a nice view on the motorway (haha) and the Tuscan Hills behind it – which is wonderful, every day they are different and they are similar to the hills in Germany where I lived (in fact they call them “the German Tuscany”), so I already feel connected to them.
Obviously I have so much to do, everything is new. My coffee rate rose from 2 a day to three, first because I am tired, second because a lot of coworkers offered me coffee to know me better and I don’t feel to refuse. That reminds me of another starbucks commercial, which I so love.
I found the text unwillingly funny: Glen, Glen Glen Glen Glen Glen Glen Glen Glen Glen Glen's the man, going to work Got his tie, got ambition Middle management is right in his grasp It's a dream he will never let die Glen's the man of the hour He's the king of his cube Status call reports have finally met their rival Burning the candle at both ends on his way to the top He knows one day he just could become, supervisor
Luckily my new company as a good mensa where I don’t pay a lot for lunch. But I am seriously considering having my lunches in the nearby park in future.
But it isn't all roses and fun, hey, it is work. Even if all my superiors and coworkers are very supportive the last days I felt a huge pressure on my shoulders, waking up in the middle of the night caused by all the adrenaline that runs through my body (or maybe it's the coffee ;-)). After touching a miserable low in self esteem I re-found my peace in focusing on things that matter much more than work, still promising to myself I would do my best to succeed. A day later I found this article, which says it much better than me, so I thought I would share it with you.
Personal Satisfaction Doing Our Best
We often come into contact with the idea that our best isn’t good enough, as if this were actually possible. If you examine this notion, you will begin to see that it doesn’t make much sense. Your best is always good enough, because it comes from you, and you are always good enough. You may not be able to deliver someone else’s idea of the best, but the good news is that’s not your burden. You only need to fulfill your own potential, and as long as you remain true to that calling, and always do your best to fulfill your purpose, you don’t need to expect anything more from yourself...
When I was younger old things were used to be called "second hand" and didn't cost anything. Now these things are called "Vintage" and cost twice the price the item did cost originally - wow, that's what I call a good incentive for recycling! :-)
I like things that combine old and something personal, that creates a third different level of meaning. Wilhelm Staehle does exactly that, playing with our commen memory of old prints and paintings adding silhouettes and witty phrases and voilà: awesomeness!
Feeling inspired? See Operina, which offers old illustration books for free download. I am already thinking about how to use these two beautiful illustrations this weekend!
