Friendship is a precious commodity and I suspect that none of us can live without it. I don't know how to define it. When do I start talking about friendship in a relationship? When I have good feelings or when I exchange personal information with the person in question? For me, it's a matter of the heart - although I can't really explain what I mean by that either. Words fail me here. And somehow I think that's a good thing. What I particularly like about the term is when I look at it in English: there it's called friendship. And I like the back part of the word: ship. And I imagine that I am travelling together with another person in a boat or ship. You don't get off so quickly in the middle of the water. That is fidelity. Faithfulness in a relationship. Perhaps an approach to defining the term.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

When I recently entered the term raccoon in an online search engine, I was amazed that the search engine did not primarily offer me information on the animal, but on an online shop with the same name. I wondered what had happened - the actual information had been completely pushed into the background and was replaced by a virtual stranger and presented as if this was the correct content for what I was looking for. Is this simply because in this case the online shop is spending so much money on advertising to make it so prominent? Or has the actual content been replaced by the copied content due to the number of queries and clicks on the shop? Either way, it reminds me to look behind things and not trust the first thing that comes along, especially in the digital age. What a blessing the mind we have been given is - you learn to appreciate it anew. Maybe you will today too.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

In the Middle Ages there was iconoclasm. Sculptures and paintings were wilfully destroyed in and around churches because the worship of God in the form of images was interpreted as idolatry and therefore everything pictorial in religion was to be destroyed. From the point of view of a believer, it was perhaps a liberation because fear-inducing representations were thus gone and the threatening aspect was no longer so prominent and God was no longer restricted by a human-style representation. Nowadays, pictorial representations are often used to convey information because they are easier to remember than pure text. Imagery can help, but it is never the real thing. So we should neither make images of God, who is far beyond our imagination anyway, nor of our fellow human beings - who have the right to be as they are. Not always easy, but the only way to authentic relationships.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

If you have ever ridden a bike in the dark - and by that I mean really in the dark, for example in the countryside where there is no public lighting - then you will appreciate a light on your bike. Without one, depending on the state of the moon, the path is barely visible or not visible at all, which automatically leads to a slower ride or too much risk. Nowadays, bikes don't always come with lights and people use mobile lights that have to be fitted - but also charged. A light on the bike that has a flat battery is fatal in such a case. Good maintenance is therefore essential. I encourage you to make the necessary preparations today for the day's upcoming tasks so that you are prepared for possible situations and do not experience unpleasant surprises or even danger! In other words: Be prepared!

I wish you an extraordinary day!

Statistics often feature impressive graphics with bright colours, large and small circles or sharply rising or falling lines, etc. If the corresponding article is consistent, the title already reveals the message of the statistic, namely the interpretation of the data. What is rarely communicated directly, however, is that the author or authors often pursue the intention of consciously forming an opinion. Statistics are therefore only used to convey one's own opinion to others in a supposedly scientific manner or to convince them. However, statistics are very easy to manipulate and the same figures can be analysed in one way or another - in other words: as you see fit. This is also often the case in arguments. Hence the advice for today: if you find yourself in a situation of a perhaps emotional discussion, then check yourself and the other person: is it about forming a genuine opinion or just about convincing and, if necessary, be on your guard.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

There are older houses in our old town that have really beautiful roof decorations. The gutters, which often have an animal or mythical creature head where the collected water flows out, are striking. In the past, this was done to ward off evil. Today, in our supposedly enlightened world, this is hardly possible any more. For one thing, nobody believes that it would work and for another, nobody would probably pay for it. What a pity, really. The beauty and art in everyday life is lost as a result of the over-dominating intellect. Playfulness dies in the process. Yet it is precisely the often unnecessary, playful or playful that does us good and provides an important counterbalance to the deconstruction of our way of life. I encourage you today to recognise, appreciate and enjoy these playful forms in everyday life. Be it a spontaneous child's drawing, a successful advertising poster or a spontaneous smile on the street.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

Sometimes you have the choice between an absolute and a relative approach. For example: I spend 200 francs on a pair of shoes. That's a lot of money in absolute terms, but not much in relative terms if you compare it with an annual income of CHF 80,000. Or vice versa: I consume half a gram of zinc. That's very little in absolute terms in terms of weight - but a lot in relative terms: it's 50 times the daily requirement, so it's potentially toxic. Once, when Jesus was teaching in his house and there was no way to get through to him because of the crowds, four men resorted to a radical, lawless variant: they demolished the roof of the house so that they could lower their sick friend down to Jesus from above so that he could heal him. Jesus' point of view was that he saw their concern and their faith and appreciated it, not their actions, which were unauthorised by the law. Our way of looking at things in everyday life is therefore very important.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

It's right in the centre of your face and some people like it, others don't: your own nose. I find it interesting that it so prominently characterises a person's face. Its job is to detect odours and to filter and regulate the temperature of the air we breathe in. But why isn't it simply flat or less visible, perhaps at the back of the head or inconspicuously on the neck? Why is it open at the bottom and not at the front or top? Why do we have two openings that are directly neighbouring and not further apart like the eyes and ears and thus lead to a better perception of space? I don't know the answers. Perhaps they exist and an ENT specialist could explain it all to me. What remains for me is amazement, unanswered questions, gratitude that the organ usually works so well and a smile at the fact that a nose really does sometimes look strange or even funny and characterises a face and therefore perhaps also the person to whom it belongs.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

When I went to school, suddenly trainers came onto the market that no longer had to be tied, but had a Velcro fastener. That was new, revolutionary and I thought it would be the new future and laces would disappear. Why? Because it was so much easier, quicker and more comfortable and younger children in particular would no longer have to learn to tie their shoes. I was wrong. It didn't turn out that way. Today, I almost only find Velcro fasteners on shoes that have something to do with health or are for people with limited mobility. What I have learnt from this is that the supposedly simpler and more comfortable option is not always the one that lasts. In this case, laces and tied shoes have outlasted the modern age. Proven things are not called that for no reason. Perhaps this will help you today in everyday things that may seem boring and uninteresting - but are tried and tested. Appreciate that!

I wish you an extraordinary day!

In our times, our world is becoming more and more virtualised. I noticed this in the logo of an app on my smartphone: the icon of the app for digital payment shows coins. How contradictory: the payment is not physical with coins but purely virtual. I can't even see what's happening. Social contacts via social media are also becoming increasingly virtual. Online meetings in shops. Tickets on public transport or access to restricted areas using a badge card. And much more. Nevertheless, there are things that cannot be digitised or virtualised. Our diet, medication for health problems, personal hygiene, etc. We humans are physical beings, materialised so to speak, and essentially need a world like this. A hug or a well-intentioned hand on the shoulder cannot be replaced by a virtual super thing. Perhaps you would like to give someone such an experience today.

I wish you an extraordinary day!