Sunday Morning Thoughts – June 2, 2024

Grumbling in the rain …

It’s been raining pretty much nonstop all week. I like rain, but it would totally be okay for it to stop raining right about now. Oh! I just found a picture from this week where it wasn’t raining. It was Wednesday morning in Zurich crossing the bridge between the main station and Central. That’s part of the old town you see and the River Limmat. If you follow the water, you get to Lake Zurich. And sometimes you can see the Alps in the background. And that building with the greenish dome on the left, that’s Zurich University up on the hill. I work just a bit further up the hill.

What a week! I ran out of canvas paper to paint on fast. I have just so much creative energy. And I’ve reorganized my furniture, cleared out my wardrobe. I have two 35l trash bags full of clothes that don’t fit or that I don’t wear anymore. I now longer think that I need to fit into clothes. It’s the clothes that need to fit me. Way less stressful that way.

I might have a therapy update later on. I started writing something on shame and guilt last week. I’m not yet sure if I just needed to write that for myself, we’ll see. But what happened on Friday I will want to share. I also painted it. It’s super fascinating. I know I could tell you here, but it needs to be given more space than this.

I also wrote a kick-ass first chapter for my book. Super strong start. I’d been putting it off and putting it off for a long time. Sidenote to self: it can’t have been more than two months as I had the book idea on April 2. Other than that, I’m working on random chapters and making good progress. There are 49 chapters altogether. And yes, that’s my current age and nope, that’s no coincidence.

Thoughts? You know what, my brain has calmed down quite a bit since Friday. I’m still getting used to that, but I’m sure I can find some up there somewhere.

A new bookshop opened at the train station in Aarau. It’s not somewhere I usually walk past, which is good. The last one was right by the bus terminal – that got expensive fast. Trouble is, the new one is big, has a café with perfect tables for writing, and I like their selection. We’ll see how it goes. I’m definitely going to see what writing at a train station bookshop café feels like. That needs to be tested.

I went in opening day as almost everything was 20% off. I’m quietly proud that I only bought three books – there were so many more I could have bought 😉. It’s all a matter of perspective. And I needed to have a look at the mental health section. That’s where my book is gonna live after all. None of the book covers look anything like what I have planned for mine. I know, I know, mine is gonna be an e-book first but somebody is going to publish it. You just watch. I totally see book tours in my future and that TED talk I’ve been talking about.

Stop daydreaming you say? Nope, that’s not daydreaming that’s what lies ahead. Why are you doubting me? I’m also keeping everything I painted in a neat little pile. Even the things I don’t like. They could be worth something at some point.

We need to talk pride month as well. I got my rainbow etc. pin firmly attached to my handbag. Yes, pride month is necessary and yes, it’s possible to be very quietly proud. Let’s be real, I was never gonna be loud and proud. I got other topics to write and talk about that I feel more passionate about at the moment. This could change. For now I’m sticking with mental health matters. The two topics overlap of course, so we’ll see where things go.

Pride month might also be a good month to find love. Interesting thought. I just don’t have time. Seriously, I write, I paint, I hike, I travel, I take pictures and have I mentioned books? Then there is the small matter of my day job as well. Not sure where I’d fit in an actual extra person. I’ll figure it out at some point.

Yesterday I realized that all my podcasts are gone from callin.com. Back to add that callin.com is gone. It no longer exists. It’s not just my podcasts that are gone. You’re gonna have to give me some time to check all my newsletters for podcast links, delete them and add a note that callin.com no longer exists. I could ask them if those podcasts are still around somewhere, but it’s not that important to me. It was a nice project. I enjoyed doing it. I learned a lot. And I might give the podcast feature on here a go or just read some of my posts out loud and add the audio. I’ll see what works best.

Last Thursday was Corpus Christi and in half the districts of my canton this is a holiday, the other half works as usual. We just can’t make up our mind as to whether we’re catholic or protestant. That’s why all our towns have two churches. It’s pretty interesting and very Swiss. Even if those churches remain largely empty and could really be converted into something else. I recently saw a church that had been converted into apartments in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. It looked really cool. They retained all those amazing church features like the stained-glass windows. Just stunning.

I wonder how long we’re going to keep observing religious (Christian) holidays in Switzerland. With up to 40% atheists (depending on who you talk to) and a growing number of non-Christian residents it should really be a matter of time. Then again, we do have God in our Constitution and our national anthem. I guess that would need to change first. And I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Until then, I will enjoy the sound of the church bells – even the obnoxiously loud catholic ones.

Let me tell you about some travel plans. I might try to go to the highest point in all Dutch provinces. Why? Because it’s fun. I’ve been to the highest point of the Netherlands in Limburg. It’s 322m above sea level. Now, in some provinces the highest points are dunes. It’s going to be sandy affair. Sounds just crazy enough for me though. I’ll keep you posted. I’m also fascinated by coastal hiking routes. I might try one of those as well. You know for when my book has become a bestseller, and I can just hike and write for a living.

Then I came up with a new yoga pose, it’s part of my *under the covers yoga* routine. That’s when I want to do yoga but am too lazy to get out of bed. It starts with lifting the duvet with your left leg and then your right leg. Then you put your left leg over your right leg twisting your spine and exposing your bum. I’m calling it moon pose. I think it will catch on. A friend even thought it could become the viral yoga trend of 2024.

Remember that silliness is important. There’s too much crazy shit going on in this world. Go out (or stay in) and enjoy your Sunday everybody. Hugs all around.