Audiostretto 59/4/24 English

You may be wondering why I am talking today about an Easter egg at this time of year. Chestnuts would be more appropriate. Well, that's just what came to my mind... an Easter egg. What actually makes an Easter egg an Easter egg? It's just an ordinary egg, like the ones you find all year round, that can be bought and eaten. But at Easter? As far as I know, there are two characteristic features of the Easter egg: the egg is boiled and coloured. So with enough heat and colour, an ordinary egg becomes a special egg. If your day today or maybe the last days or the days to come have heated discussions or arguments of people with different colouring - then try to see something special, something good in it and don't go into a defensive position, but try to see and promote what can come out of it in terms of new life! And if it is hidden, like Easter eggs are, then go in search of it - good luck!

I wish you an extraordinary day!

Are you musical? Do you play an instrument? Surely you have sung before, even a song from sheet music. Then you know the treble clef. Perhaps also the bass clef. They indicate how the following notes are to be interpreted correctly. If a note lies on one of the five staves, it is decisive whether they apply to the bass or treble clef. Otherwise they will be played incorrectly and the music will not be played as written by the composer. So the clef really is a key to the right melody. I wish you for today that you may see all events that will cross your way through the clef of love and that you will live your life-melody with this clef of love today. This can also be disharmonious at times - but with the clef of love it is all right.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

Are you an animal lover? There are animals that are very familiar to us because they share our habitat. Others we can watch in the zoo and some we only know from hearsay or not at all. Some of us are allergic to certain animals. There is now one particular "animal" that is probably too familiar to all of us: it lives inside us. It is the creature of habit. For example, it always likes to sit in the same place, does the same things at the same time and hates changes. If others disturb this regularity, it sometimes reacts very aggressively and unwillingly. Is this familiar to you? If you meet this creature today, check whether it is for the good of you and your environment and then you may also pet it. If not, then take responsibility and put it on a tight leash and lead it so that it doesn't bite or hurt others.... For your own and other's good!

I wish you an extraordinary day!

There are the so-called blue light or emergency organisations: Police, fire brigade, ambulance, which use a rotating light and a corresponding siren on their vehicles when on duty. Trained ears can distinguish the sounds even before they see the vehicles. These forms of signals allow for rapid deployment, for priority in traffic, for the most unhindered deployment possible to save lives. Actually, it is very little: a little light and a little noise and the way becomes clear for what is important. This should also be an encouragement for you and this day: it doesn't take much for you to set your priorities right today and give your attention to the really important things. Your mindfulness today will be enough to clear the way for these priorities. They will make your day!

I wish you an extraordinary day!

Anyone travelling on official roads in our country generally travels in a lane. This means that we invest a lot not only in providing good roads and well prepared and maintained surfaces, but also in clearly structuring them with markings so that traffic can flow as orderly and safely as possible. There is also the possibility of changing lanes. However, this is not permitted everywhere - even if it is physically possible. A lane change may be necessary to take an exit or to overtake a vehicle or to let a faster one pass. To do this, we need to be mindful and considerate. If you find yourself in a situation today that gives you the opportunity to change your previously straight path, then be mindful for a lane change: an unexpected interruption, a spontaneous encounter, something that has unexpectedly already been done, etc. Such lane changes also bring a different perspective and make the journey more diverse. Enjoy these variations today!

I wish you an extraordinary day!

In Basel, at Carnival there are so-called Pfeiffer, playing the piccolos and Tambouren playing a single drum. They play their instruments while they walk. So coordination in walking and playing is important. And concentration and stamina. The sound of the drums is produced by beating on a strongly stretched skin and a hollow body. There is no mini version with the same effect. You can't save weight or size without losing quality of sound. If you want to drum properly, you have to carry the big drum with its weight. It takes a lot of practice. Maybe you have to get used to a new rhythm in your life during these days because of changing circumstances, which is difficult and tedious for you. But be encouraged that with practice you will build up the necessary strength, stamina and coordination and soon it will sound very rhythmic and dynamic. And you will soon be able to walk with it more easily!

I wish you an extraordinary day!

At larger Swiss stations, there are small black boards near the catenaries on the platform that are hardly noticed because they hang so high and actually only light up very rarely. That is when the train is due to arrive. When it's nasty on the platform and you have to wait and don't know when the train will arrive, these boards are an encouragement to me: even if the train is not yet visible, but the boards show a big "E", I know that in the next shortest time the train will surely come and the wait will end. If you have been waiting for something in your life for a long time, I wish you for today that you may see and perceive signs of encouragement and receive confirmation that your waiting is not only not in vain, but may also soon come to an end. Have a good journey then!

I wish you an extraordinary day!

I recently stumbled across an online dictionary on the internet about the definition of God. It says: "God - in polytheistic religions a superhuman, in monotheistic religions supreme - supernatural being on whom the religious person feels dependent." That was a bit of a revelation for me. I had never thought of it that way before - but it makes total sense to me that so many today have no relation to faith. Who wants to be dependent on a supreme supernatural being? Even if we are... how very different is the message of the Gospel: the supreme God wants and offers man, his creature, a relationship at eye level. Wow... I hope you also stumble into such wonderful discoveries today.

I wish you an extraordinary day!

I noticed the other day that the word "gentile" has a very different meaning in Italian than in English. I.e. in Italian "gentile" means friendly, in English it means not Jewish. The word is of course pronounced differently depending on the language - but is nevertheless spelled identically. So you can't use the same words in the same way in different languages, but you have to know their meaning in order to use them correctly or even worse to avoid misunderstandings. How nice and relieving it is to know that one's own name is language-independent. What your name is, and even more so who you are, is language-independent. Isn't that great? You are allowed to be yourself, and you should be yourself, regardless of the environment in which you find yourself. I encourage you to be fully yourself today!

I wish you an extraordinary day!

When my parents were younger, smoking was cool. Even in my generation to some extent. Then, of course, smoking was always associated with the aspect of addiction. Not without good reason. But at the same time there was also the reality of pride and arrogance - among those who did not smoke towards smokers. We still observe similar phenomena today. But the fact is: we all have our weaknesses, character-flaws, areas in life where we are anything but successful or sovereign. We are - whether we want to admit it or not - imperfect. Or better, I think: unfinished! I believe our original design is perfection - but not out of ourselves, but given, placed within us, designed by a Creator. Although we have lost that perfection, there is still an offer from heaven to be perfected into our original purpose by the Creator. Grace. For you and me. 

I wish you an extraordinary day!