The week was characterized by goodbyes, by new and lost lives and by spring that has definitely arrived.
My living conditions can be divided into three categories: Living alone in Basel, living with my partner in Basel, living with my partner in New York. Each of the three conditions has something special. It has things I like and things I like less. But each one is beautiful in its own right and I enjoy all three in their own way. Living alone is always preceded by a farewell and the changes in both directions are always a bit tedious. On the one hand, living alone means being freer. In the daily decisions you have make, in your lifestyle, in your daily rhythm, in your eating… You think about everything differently when there are two of you. So on the one hand, the separate phase has a liberating effect. On the other hand, however, the sole responsibility for everything immediately settles on your shoulders. It feels much easier when shared between two people. And then there are undoubtedly the moments that make life beautiful, that are suddenly missing. Like starting the day together, laughing, talking, going for a walk. The first few days alone are filled with melancholy, but also with getting the apartment ready for my own needs again. And with spring just around the corner, I was suddenly filled with an urge to start spring cleaning and invested a few half days in it. It’s nice when that’s done.
Morning scenes outside my kitchen window
Spring at its best
Once again, my jogging rounds provided a change of pace. Even though the mornings were still bitterly cold, the blossoming trees and bushes everywhere and the scent of flowers in the air gave every moment a friendly and happy note. For me, this opening of the buds, the bustle and the return of the colors is something that totally fills me with inspiration. And it is always like new, even if the years and seasons seem to pass faster and faster with age, the moment when life comes back is and remains a special one.
Perfect spring moments
The often suppressed reality
The hope and joy that resonate these days were very welcome this week. As already described here several times and experienced countless times, there is always a dark side to happiness in life. No day without night, no summer without winter, no joy without sadness. And this week I had to make room for sadness in my heart. The loss of two people has reminded me once again how precious life is and how infinitely happy we should be about all the things we encounter in it, no matter how small. Everything comes to an end, for each of us. We can’t gain anything in life that lasts, so it doesn’t make much sense to hold on to too much. It is better to consciously experience as much as possible. Feel, smell, love, laugh.
Remembering a friend in Bern
Memories of a life
That’s why I was somewhat guided by sadness when I worked on a new picture this week. Without color, only with black and grey tones, it tells a story of life despite everything. Of experiences. Of rough and soft moments, of calm and restlessness and of flowers that may no longer have any color, but that once bloomed and gave you something that nothing and no one can take away, even if everything fades in the end.
Memories of a life
However…
Life goes on for those of us who are still here on this planet. And I once swore to myself that I would always turn towards the good, the positive, the beautiful. And so I would like to end this post with spring blossoms that I discovered on a Sunday walk through the city.
La vie en rose
