blog about alternative, green, slow living & poetry
I can sense the restlessness that drives many of us these days. A restlessness I'm familiar with. Moving to a new place on a new island, working on new projects within a pandemic world, and moving house again, to a tiny, basic, off-grid home in development, don’t make 2020 a particularly easy ride.
Yesterday it was my dear old friend’s 45th birthday and I called her to hear her voice again and to congratulate her with another fabulous year. I had to send her a Patsy and Eddie picture first. These two women are still so hilarious and some bothering negative feelings you might have, will melt as [...]
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 [...]
‘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 [...]
“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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
“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, [...]
Hang in there! Times could be stressful for you. At home with small children, kitchen table transformed in an office desk, trying to finish your to-do list. Or taking care of the sick, vulnerable and the elderly. No freedom to go on the streets, to cycle, to walk in the park, to go to the [...]
