If you spill something, especially sweet liquid or something sticky, you have to clean it up, because otherwise the mess will remain and, in the worst case, be spread and create a hygiene problem. A wipe is worth its weight in gold in such a case. If you can moisten it, you can simply wipe over it a few times for smaller amounts and the mess is cleaned up. The spilled substance is then in the cloth and can be carried away and rinsed out under a tap. So the flannel is the tool or carrier medium for the problem. Quite a humble task: to admit that one takes the dirt or the fault of others upon oneself, brings it to purity and then allows it to be washed out and squeezed out. That's how I imagine forgiveness and reconciliation in order to have pure relationships again. Who is this flannel in your life? Or do spills stick to you?

I wish you an extraordinary day!

It's one of those terms that we rarely use and that sound a bit old-fashioned in Swiss German and not modern or trendy at the moment. I am thinking of the word tenacity. On the one hand, it sounds a bit dusty, and on the other hand, what it means is anything but trendy. Today, everything has to be done quickly and immediately. And if it doesn't work, an alternative has to be found immediately. Waiting or insisting on something or being persistent, enduring, not giving up, holding on to something - that's not so popular and above all - let's be honest - boring. Because nothing much happens while waiting. But tenacity has its very own quality. I compare it to muscle training, and muscle mass that you can build up. This tenacity - according to my thesis - strengthens resilience and raises frustration tolerance, and I think in the end it also makes you happier and more balanced. What about your level of tenacity?

I wish you an extraordinary day!

Maybe you are also one of those who like spaghetti. And as far as I know, spaghetti is always served with a sauce - be it Bolognese, Napoli, Verdura and others. In my experience, the spaghetti is then nicely turned into a kind of heap or almost a ball in the middle of the plate and the corresponding sauce is then served on top as a topping. The sauce and the spaghetti are not mixed in the best possible way in the kitchen, but it is left to the guest to do this. Why is that? I believe that it is simply much nicer to look at when the meal is served as described, instead of already fully ready to eat in the form of the aforementioned mixing. Aesthetics play a role here. As I've mentioned before, we are not purely functional beings. Where could you consciously incorporate more aesthetics and less functionality in your everyday life today?

I wish you an extraordinary day!

There is a well-known poem on the Roman Fountain by C.F. Meyer, which he published in 1882. It is relatively short and describes how the water of a fountain goes from one bowl to the next. So a giving and taking, a flowing and resting. It sounds so gentle and balanced. Perhaps it is, too, when you watch the water play. But what you can't see, or hardly see, is the considerable energy that brings the stream of water upwards in the first place, so that this balanced, almost stoic flow can take place. It does not happen by itself. An external power source is necessary. I think it is the same with us humans: simply out of ourselves we cannot live our lives in this world in a balanced way, giving and taking, flowing and resting. We also need an inner source of power that balances, gives energy for this balance and works constantly and reliably. What is that in your life?

I wish you an extraordinary day!

There are different types of drones and they have developed enormously in recent years. One type is the so-called quadcopter. It has four rotors and can be steered so that it can fly in all directions without having to turn around first. So there is no front or back in the real sense. This construction reminded me of something quite different that took place more than a few thousand years ago: it was when a man called Ezekiel had visions in the Near East and saw celestial beings that could also move in all directions without having to turn. He describes these beings in his book in the Old Testament. He saw them several times. He thus had an insight into a reality that is otherwise inaccessible to our natural eyes. Such a world also exists and I look forward to having my eyes opened to it in eternity.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

In English there is a saying "the proof of the pudding is in the eating". In other words: try something out to see what you have or what it's good for. On the other hand, I often notice that, due to our spirit of the time, many people often have very concrete opinions about things that they don't even know from their own experience. People act as if they knew what it was all about, as if they were experienced and as if their own opinion was tried, tested and reliable. So there are more and more experts on the various topics - without these alleged experts really being people with expertise, i.e. real experience on the subject. Regrettable. Today, many parents are experts when it comes to their children's education, employees judge their superiors and in sport, every spectator knows better than the referee anyway. Do you know this from your own experience? Are there areas where an adjustment in the form of more restraint is needed?

I wish you an extraordinary day!

There are various symbols in figurative language or allegories. For example, the drop that makes a barrel overflow. In this case, the drop is not meant literally, but simply something very, very tiny, but enough to cause a situation to escalate in the end. Or the blind chicken that finds a grain of corn: It means that even the most incapable person can succeed in something, even if it is only a pure stroke of luck and not the person's ability. And then there is the strange image or symbol of the horn. It is very common in the Bible. I didn't understand what it meant for a very long time. But it means power, strength, authority. It is used in prophetic visions for kingdoms and dominions - but also in Mary's hymn of praise when she says about Jesus that God is raising up in him a power of salvation. In other words, a power from which salvation emanates. A channel of becoming healthy and healed, of coming home, of "everything will be all right again". What a beautiful image.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

The other day I was thinking about how often, or rather how rarely, I still travel with cash and how dominant cashless payment has become for me and many others. You pay by mobile phone or hold your credit card up to a contactless sensor that securely handles the entire financial transaction. But what is behind all this? Establishing a bank connection from A to B, transferring the exact amount, receiving it, all this via the public internet, secured, protected against malicious intentions, etc. All this simply works - although we see nothing of it. Everything is digital, invisible. Yet we have enormous trust in this process, almost blind faith. And at the same time, there are people who say they only believe what they see. That's why they don't believe in God. Well, if you believe in a safe, invisible money transaction, why shouldn't you believe in a good God who loves you? One is no more visible than the other, it seems to me.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

When I was swimming in the Rhine recently and a motorboat passing me at some distance caused considerable waves, I had great difficulty keeping my bearings while crawling. The ups and downs of the waves confused my sense of direction and I could no longer rely on it exclusively, but had to look up much more often to see which way I was swimming. I have experienced the same thing in my professional environment: you get a lot of negative feedback that it goes in the direction of bullying and then you start to doubt yourself and your competences - although this would not be appropriate at all. So we are very impressionable. A remedy for orientation difficulties is a distant goal, a so-called landmark. This is sufficiently far away and fixed. If you look at it and use it as a target, you can adjust your own path at any time. In other words, a navigation aid. What landmarks help you in life when the waves are high?

I wish you an extraordinary day!

Have you ever had to defrost a refrigerator or freezer? Then you may have been amazed at how much ice has accumulated on the inside walls. Or maybe you have noticed that it takes a lot of force to open the door of the refrigerator or freezer immediately after it has just been closed. Both have to do with insulation. In other words, how well does the door close, or how well insulated or tightly does this door close. The tighter the better, i.e. the more energy-efficient and economical, the better the refrigerator can do its job. The principle of insulation also applies to us humans. The better we can close ourselves against what is against our destiny, the better we can fulfill our tasks and thus our purpose in life. And vice versa: the more negative and destructive things we let in because of a lack of emotional and mental insulation, the faster we freeze up inside. Is it time for you to defrost again?

I wish you an extraordinary day!