Between the years

Those special days between Christmas and New Year… you look back and at the same time wonder what might come, hoping everything will be getting better. 

I always find these days a bit like being stuck in the middle. The old year is more or less over and I can hardly wait to start the new one. Tearing off the first page of a new calendar, starting a new journal and simply having the feeling for a moment that everything will be new, everything will be better, everything will be different.

Although you actually know that this is not the case. Nothing will change much in the world, especially not from one day to the next. And anyway, we can only influence change within ourselves and not in the world around us.

Danzala la vita tua, al ritmo del tempo che va.
Ridila la tua allegria, cogli la prima mela.

Angelo Branduardi

Dance your life to the rhythm of the time passing by, says the song “Cogli la prima mela” by Angelo Branduardi. I think that sums it up perfectly. The rhythm may be set, but it’s up to us (how) to dance. And to live a life that corresponds to our convictions and makes us happy, even if we can’t solve the world’s problems by doing so. But we can go to sleep every night with a clear conscience and that’s a great thing.

A little morning miracle

And then, of course, every single day holds the potential and opportunity for change and new beginnings, not just January 1^st. This magic is at the heart of every morning and I love the moment when the first light of the new day dawns on the horizon. I am lucky enough to be able to watch this spectacle from my kitchen window every morning and I always take a few minutes to enjoy it. And I don’t know if it’s the geographical location, but it’s amazing how many gray and wet days start with a cloudless strip on the horizon where the sun rises and floods the apartment with its light for a few minutes before the clouds take over again.

The joy of running 🏃‍♂️

As usual, the short days were dominated by various meetings with friends and family and too much food. I tried to compensate for this with regular jogging laps. Since the end of the Covid pandemic and a Covid illness at the time, I have finally been able to run 10 km or more again. This increases the choice of possible routes and I’m happy to be able to do the runs I used to do again and capture impressions that catch my eye. Always torn between the harsh urban reality of a big city and the more harmonious beauty of nature.

A different world

A visit to the tropical house in Basel’s Botanical Gardens on a Christmas walk provided a change of pace. Diving out of the winter cold into a warm and humid climate and be amazed. The incredible lushness and the variations in shapes and colors. Again, a metaphor for the fact mentioned at the beginning that an externally imposed circumstance should not prevent you from proudly bringing out the best and most beautiful in yourself. The plants in the sparser climate of the succulent house are no less spectacular than those in the tropical house.

See all Photos of this week