Audiostretto 59/4/24 English

Have you ever tried to take a bath in a bathtub without a plug? Somehow it doesn't work, because the water keeps running out. And even if you try to seal the hole with something else, water is constantly draining out and the bath is not really relaxing. So if everything is constantly flowing through - metaphorically speaking - it can be cleansing in certain cases. So when I take a shower, I prefer NOT to have a plug. But it's different for a relaxing bath. Exactly: depending on the case. Today, pay attention to whether you need moments in which not too much information flows, but in which you can process the information you have already received, spend a certain amount of time with it, like with the water in the bathtub, before you let new information flow in again. Allow yourself such moments of pause and relaxation in order to be more present again afterwards. Less is often more.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

When people describe something as hairy, they don't mean anything positive by it, rather something tedious, difficult. Yet I think hair is something fascinating: so fine and inconspicuous a single hair. But in the mass on the head, it insulates and protects from the cold.  But then there is also the hair in the soup that you don't like. And yes, with age they turn grey for most and we lose them too, especially us men. And yet, who is worried about losing a single hair?! Yes, there is someone! In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that the Heavenly Father who created us has counted all our hairs and that He knows about every single one that we lose. Incredible!!! Or rather, how faith-worthy, how trust-building, relational, encouraging. Think about that the next time you lose one or comb your hair! 

I wish you an extraordinary day!

My experience has taught me that gullibility is often equated with naivety and tends to be ridiculed and judged as immature. But gullibility has many advantages: you are open, you trust and you get involved in something that you don't really know or can control. The opposite of gullibility... I don't know. But I would say it would be hard-heartedness. Jadedness. Detachment. And in the long run, lifelessness. Maybe I'll be smiled at or disappointed or fooled if I'm gullible. But I also have the chance to experience something, to discover, to be surprised and to come into contact with something that is not accessible without my trust. So I think I would rather choose gullibility than lifeless hard-heartedness, despite the risks. And you? Perhaps you are being challenged with this decision in a concrete situation today.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

I was already fascinated by radios as a boy. You could just turn on a device and listen to music or receive a programme. The principle is simple: there is a transmitter and the radio is a receiver, capable of converting the received signals back to how the transmitter sent them out in code. And even more fascinating: whether the radio is on or not, the transmitter information is simply there. You just have to switch it on. But if you miss the frequency, it just hisses.... If you have the impression today that you only hear noise inside you or that you need wisdom for a certain situation - then check which frequency you have tuned in to. Different frequencies - even interfering frequencies - can be unnecessary distractions such as social media or negative reporting, etc. Better frequencies can be good books, a walk in nature, visiting a church service, or conscious silence. Good luck with your search for channels!

I wish you an extraordinary day!

Many of us today have a smartphone and are also connected to each other through social media. Probably most of us have activated the function to receive a notification when a message arrives. So we are informed immediately after a message arrives. I turned off this automatic notification feature some time ago - since then I feel better somehow. I feel like a pressure has been removed. These notifications from the smartphone were actually moments for me in which my attention was separated or just DIVIDED to what was present at the moment. I was no longer focussed, but distracted with what I did. But being able to be undivided at something without constant distraction is also a part of quality of life for me. Simplify your life was the motto some time ago. Wouldn't you want to do the same? Simplification instead of constant accessibility and distraction?

I wish you an extraordinary day!

Autumn is harvest time - a wonderful time when so much has ripened and can now be enjoyed: Fruits, vegetables and much more. But for it to come this far, a lot is necessary. The farmer's work, of course - but: no less: his trust. He scatters the seed in spring. He trusts nature, the soil, the weather, or in other words: the one who brought it all into being and created it, and ensures that it rains on time and has enough sun. The farmer trusts. He lets go. He leaves and waits. And then comes the time when his trust is rewarded. I hope you can take courage in this comparison for your circumstances in which you do not have everything under your own control - who does anyway?! And rejoice and relax in the fact that a good God is looking well after you when you entrust yourself to Him and let go.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

When I was in the US, of course I went out to eat. And there were some restaurants called steakhouses. And as the name suggests, there was meat, lots of meat, not only steaks of course, but also. I was also invited by local friends to go to a steakhouse with them and I was looking forward to the food. And of course, on the way there, I didn't imagine myself eating spaghetti or a pizza - but meat. Because that's what they serve there mostly. Have you ever thought about what people around you look for or expect from you or what you stand for, what kind of label or name they would give you? If you can guess or know: how do you feel about it? Is it what you want to stand for, is it what you want to be known for? If yes, then be encouraged to continue to grow in excellence in this. If not, maybe it's time - metaphorically speaking - to change the cook in you.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

When I recently passed a bus stop, a father said to his very small child: The bus will be here in 6 minutes! No doubt he meant to express that it won't be long until the bus arrives. But I thought to myself: the little child probably has no idea of how much or what 6 is, nor what minutes mean. But it simply trusted the father's statement and was satisfied. In life, there are many situations in which we don't understand circumstances or things or even other people. In the end, we are totally dependent beings anyway, no matter how self-confident and well-insured we may be. Our lives are not in our hands. But to believe and know that there is a stable foundation that supports us in everything creates confidence and gives us serenity. Are you standing on this foundation with your life and have you already experienced how trustworthy it is?

I wish you an extraordinary day!

A wire mesh is a network of sturdy, usually solid wire that spans a kind of orthogonal net and thus enables a kind of fence in the vertical or a kind of fixed plane in the horizontal. So although air can circulate through it and you can see through it without any problems - you still can't go through it vertically but you can't fall through it horizontally either. A bit of wire connected to each other is enough to set up a resistance, an impassability. Injuries in our lives can also become such wires and whole wire meshes, which sometimes protect us from falling but much more often make it impossible for us to move forward. But a good pair of pliers is enough to cut a hole in such a fence and break it open. I wish you the courage to take these pliers - for example in the form of forgiveness - and use them to break through old fences and leave them behind.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

In order for a vehicle to be allowed to participate in traffic, it has a license plate - front and rear. This entitles it to participate in traffic. The license plate is available after the vehicle has been registered. The plate is actually just a visualisation of an important process of registration and proof of ownership. This applies to new cars, used cars, expensive or cheap, large or small models, passenger or commercial vehicles. I see parallels to our lives in this comparison: we were all consciously brought into being and I believe that if we have a living relationship with our Creator, that we then receive this uniqueness and entitlement to full life analogous to the license plate of the car, as in traffic. It doesn't primarily count what type of person you are - as with the car - but only that you carry this authorisation, this confirmation in your life. For me, the conscious yes on my part to a relationship with God and His yes to me. I am enormously grateful for that. Are you too?

I wish you an extraordinary day!