In this Spanish village where I live, it wasn’t toilet paper that people were stacking away during lockdown, as people did in the Netherlands, my native country. No, it was flour. Flour to bake bread, cakes and pizza. As we all had to stay in our houses and my only weekly visit was to the…
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‘Community living’: to live with like-minded people, share food, ideas about life and necessities, support each other, work on projects together, have somebody around to have a chat or a drink with and respect everyone’s space. It’s a way of life which can be valuable, joyful and a way to learn from one another. Experiment…
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“Doesn’t it seem to you,” asked Madame Bovary, “that the mind moves more freely in the presence of that boundless expanse, that the sight of it elevates the soul and gives rise to thoughts of the infinite and the ideal?” Gustave Flaubert Last Sunday I visited the sea, a dreamy small cove, enclosed by high…
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If there’s one sentiment, one state of being, one need, that prevents us from learning and growing, it’s comfort. The modern human is addicted to comfort. That makes the fight against climate change and racial injustice so hard. Comfort, it’s the synonym for chicken soup. At the moment I’m reading ‘Eating Animals’, a book by…
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These past weeks we are working on what will become our new home. Days consist of digging and shovelling rocks, but with many breaks, as the Mediterranean sun shines powerfully this time of year and it makes it all really, really sweaty. Although I don’t know the island well yet, Mallorca is a place to…
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“I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.” ~ Audre Lorde Nog krap een week en we komen aan bij de langste dag van het jaar. Er valt bar weinig…
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The year 2020, it’s a dramatic year so far. My wish to retreat to a peaceful place and to be disconnected for a while is present. In fact, we (my man and I) have found such a place and each time I’m there, I feel more free and safe than ever before. A freedom which…
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When I look in the mirror and see my hair getting more grey lately, I can’t say I find it charming anymore. When I open the tap and there’s no water running, as the water pump has been turned off again, I can’t say it doesn’t matter anymore. When I try to find some summer…
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We live in an exceptional contrasting world. Unlike power and vulnerability which, if practiced consciously, strengthens each other, the contrasting forces in our world weakens the whole and therefore some important issues, such as climate breakdown and health, aren’t getting any easier to solve.
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“We weten niet waar we naartoe gaan, we weten niet wat er gaat gebeuren, maar niemand kan dat wat je in je eigen gedachten stopt, van je afpakken,” zei de moeder van Dr. Edith Eva Eger toen ze weggevoerd werden en voor de poorten van Auschwitz belandden. De ballerina van Auschwitz, zoals Eger wordt genoemd,…
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