Enriching ordinary days

Finally a more versatile week in terms of weather and a week that feels more like October than the previous ones. Also, a week of preparation and a week in which I realized how beneficial little escapes from the daily grind can be.

My weeks remain filled with everyday life. Everyday activities, everyday problems, everyday errands… Actually, there is nothing bad about it, because my current everyday life is how I always wanted it to be and I am happy with it. Only when I sit down to write a weekly review and don’t know anymore how I spent the days in detail, I get a bit pensive. You really should always break out and do something different. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Just interrupt the daily routine for a moment.

A spontaneous escape

This week I did that spontaneously on Thursday. I was like every Thursday in Germany with my father to go out to eat with him and to be there for him a bit. And also to enjoy the time with him. He is slipping into dementia and it is not always easy with him and for him. Being with my father also always means for me to be in the place where I spent my childhood and in the countryside, close to nature, something that is often lacking in my city life. This Thursday I noticed the forest, which was beautifully autumnal. It was otherwise a gray and damp rainy day and my dad didn’t feel like going outside. As dingy as it looked from inside, I felt like taking it all in. The dampness of the fog, the gray, the smell of the falling leaves and this whole autumnal atmosphere that was finally spreading over the land. 

So I spontaneously turned off on the way home and drove up the hill to go for a walk. The work at home could wait… The landscape up there was shrouded in fog and rain clouds and everything a few meters away was only dimly visible. From the distance the cawing of some crows was to be heard, otherwise I was surrounded by silence. This emptiness, visually and acoustically did so well. A real break for the thoughts.

Stay true to yourself

At some point, a rapeseed field appeared. A sea of yellow in all the gray and a welcome splash of color in the midst of the autumn landscape. While everything prepares to rest, a whole field blossoms. A beautiful metaphor as I think, which shows that it is possible to resist the conditions of the environment and go your own way. All the negative moods that prevail at the moment, all the hate and all the discontent I don’t want to give in to and cultivate my happiness and positive thoughts.

Back on the task lists

The little getaway was nice and gave the week something special, even though it was packed with activities. I write down every Monday what I want or should do in the coming week and it always feels great when I have these tasks checked off on Friday evening. 

This week I had some things to consider for my upcoming trip. I’ll be spending the next three weeks back in New York and I’m really looking forward to it. Regarding my artistic activities, the week was also quite interesting. I delivered a sold painting, sold a new one and worked out a new mountain painting, which I will realize after my return from New York.

October’s second face

To end the week I went jogging on Sunday again and discovered something new. Sunday was the opposite of Thursday: instead of a dreary gray, the day was sunny and the colors autumnally warm. 

The duck pond came to my mind, which exists in the Lange Erlen, a floodplain forest along the river Wiese. Although I have jogged and cycled through the Lange Erlen for years, I have never visited the ponds that exist there and decided to seek them out. I was not disappointed. The atmosphere was so peaceful and the vibe so beautiful, pure sunny side of fall. Almost my entire jog was accompanied by water, from pristine natural to urban but always beautiful. It’s nice how you can still discover new things in the environment you’ve lived in for so long. Life always (still) has new and beautiful things in store for which it is worth getting up, going out and embracing the world.

For all Photos of the week click here