Fairytales are good for children, Bruno Bettelheim wrote a whole book about it. And I agree. Only in me they had the effect that from an early age on I believed in wishful thinking. I still do, secretly. I will be 74 in two days (but only on the outside) (and if nobody looks, I am still skipping), but in many ways I have remained the little girl who marvels at the world as it is - and wonders how she can change it for the better!
You see, I was born only three years after the end of WW II, when my hometown Hamburg was still in ruins. In the streets you often saw men with only one arm or one leg, and some, like my best friend`s father, would just sit at the table and never spoke a word. It should have been hopeless. But it wasn`t! Germany got immense help to rebuild its economy from America. The Marshall Plan was incredible, and so were all the Care Packages that American families sent to German families, which helped many children to survive. I will never forget this.
I fell ill with tuberculosis at age 6 and thought I would have to die in the sanatorium where I was sent for a year and a half. But I survived.
Many miracles, weren`t they? And so, in my mind, somehow I am convinced that if you wished hard enough, miracles were possible. I had my great wish to see this land AMERICA fulfilled, and I found a good, loving husband who never betrayed or left me, and our two children became wonderful women. I have so many reasons to be thankful. So I want to share this outlook on life whenever I can (probably getting on some people`s nerves, haha)!
You and I witness so many problems these days. Not only the terrible war in Ukraine, with all the refugees, but many other fights over territories or resources, hunger, droughts, floodings, rifts in families over politics... you know it all. Pollution and exploitation of the Earth too. One can really lose faith in humankind.
And yet! Miracles, magic, working together, call it what you will, all of that is waiting behind each corner! If we invite each other to a good, open-ear talk, mostly listening but also laughing together... don`t you also think that solutions can be found?!
I do.
God laughs at my plans, says Robbie Williams
And isn`t that true! We think we have a say about what is to happen next in our lives, but far from it. If it had been up to me, I would have taken the fast train to Paris on the 8th, meet my sister-in-law from Zambia there, watch the fantastic exhibition at the Grand Palais Éphémère of African art, with my sister taking part... Yes, all was planned, hotel booked for three nights, train tickets ready, suitcase packed, and then, in the night before, I had just occurred to me to take my mobile off the loading hook, to really get everything right. And that did it. I tripped over the suitcase (what is a suitcase doing there!?) and knew right away that now it was over. My arm was broken, I got operated, had to stay in hospital, no travelling. I am all right now, more or less, still in pain, but on the healing path. What shattered me most is this incredible interference into my well-set plans! I was angry at myself, at my Guardian Angel, why was I not watched better? - But WHAT if I was just
Oh my friend, So many problems do we humans face. Sometimes it seems insurmountable; sometimes it seems hopeless that solutions can be found without fighting... without war. We are a possessive people; we each think our way is the only way. If only we could love one another; be gracious, be courteous, be thoughtful and be willing to listen and compromise on tough issues. This morning I may not be as optimistic as I normally am, but that's partly because I didn't sleep well last night. Angela, continue to believe; please listen; if we don't listen to what others say there will likely be no way forward without bloodshed... more bloodshed. Continue in your kind ways, my friend.
ReplyDeleteDear Cheryl, please be your optimistic self again! I am sure we are here in this world to be happy. How about going to Shetland for a year? I would love to read your blog stories from there! And considering that my father just turned 102 and still digs his garden, you are by far not old enough to NOT consider such a thing!
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