The Day the Wall Fell
A whole world in a tiny valley. The town of Mayschoß in the Ahr River valley. © Laurel Decher, 2016. Every year on October 3, Germany celebrates the Tag der Deutschen Einheit, (literally, the “Day of German Unity.”) It’s the day when East and West Germany came back together after World War II. Once as […]
Writing Gratitude Countdown (6): The Gift of a Professional Eye
Ferris Wheel In Progress. Dresden, Germany. © Laurel Decher, 2016. Writing Gratitude Countdown This is the sixth post in my Writing Gratitude Countdown. As we gain more experience as writers, we learn to value different things. (The earlier posts are: 1. The Gift of Attention , 2. The Gift of Permission, and 3. The Gift […]
Writing Gratitude Countdown (5): The Gift of a Deadline
This is the fifth post in my Writing Gratitude Countdown. (Find all the posts: 1. The Gift of Attention , 2. The Gift of Permission, and 3. The Gift of Hospitality, and 4. The Gift of Feedback, 5. The Gift of a Deadline.) I keep finding more things to appreciate about the writing life. It’s […]
Writing Gratitude Countdown (4): The Gift of Feedback
Who helps you see your work clearly? © Laurel Decher, 2016. This is the fourth post in my Writing Gratitude Countdown. It’s a series about people who’ve helped me on my writing journey so far. I’m taking a moment to say a heartfelt thank you! (Find all the posts: 1. The Gift of Attention , […]
Writing Gratitude Countdown (2) The Gift of Permission
This is the second post in my Writing Gratitude Countdown. It’s my way of re-discovering the richness of the creative life. (Find all the posts: 1. The Gift of Attention , 2. The Gift of Permission, and 3. The Gift of Hospitality, and 4. The Gift of Feedback, 5. The Gift of a Deadline.) 2. […]
Writing Gratitude Count-down: (1) The Gift of Attention
Pothole in the road full of cherry blossom petals. © Laurel Decher, 2016. I keep realizing how many people have generously encouraged my writing. It’s so easy to send out queries and focus on the–sometimes deafening–silence, but when I look back on my writing journey, I see so many people who have gone out of […]
The Comfort of Home Food: Bagels in Leiden, The Netherlands
This tiny bakery in the Netherlands, Better Bagels, sells the real thing. It also has Joe the Slicer, a 90 km/hour table saw for bagels. © Laurel Decher, 2016. A German Brötchen is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. A chewy bagel is just about the opposite. So, of course, Germans crave […]
6 ways rhythm helps us feel at home in a new world
New neighbor changes the rhythm of our walks. ©Laurel Decher, 2016. (1) Every culture has its own heartbeat. On the weekend, I practiced a new skill and had a sudden aha! moment about learning to adapt to a new culture by finding the beat. When I lived in West Africa for a year, the people […]
Marc Chagall’s stunning gift of reconciliation
St. Stephan’s church in Mainz, Germany has stunning stained glass windows. The church burned on February 27, 1945 and Marc Chagall designed most of the current windows in the late 1970’s.
The windows show love stories of all kinds: Colorful people and angels float in a sea of blue glass. In light of the Holocaust, I was especially touched by the window of Abraham pleading with three angels to spare Sodom and Gomorrah.
Create something new: Lessons from a re-cycled Convent, a Peacock with a Looking Glass, and a Cow with a Drinking Problem
Roman pipeline to convent to farm. Gut Schillingskapellen, Dünstekoven. © Laurel Decher, 2016. In the small village of Swisstal-Dünstekoven, a one-time convent was built solely with materials scavenged from the Roman water line. Now it’s a farm with Scottish Highland cows and reflective peacocks. Lesson #1: Try a bit of creative re-cycling. If Roman ruins are […]
Create something new: What would you do with 500 olive trees?
500 olive trees. Sciacca, Sicily. © Laurel Decher, 2016. I recently came across another inspiring example of using your inheritance to create something new. Alessandro inherited 500 olive trees with his grandfather’s Sicilian property. Most people look at 500 olive trees and think olive oil, but Alessandro had a different idea: soap. His engineering Ph.D. […]
Hope for Spring: Prince Charles’ Duchy Home Farm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcHXZV74BL4/ We just watched DER BAUER UND SEIN PRINZ (The Farmer and his Prince) about Prince Charles’ organically run farm. I ordered the DVD from the local bookstore here in Germany. Oddly, it’s unavailable anywhere in the Commonwealth. The film made me think about growing things and raising chickens. For years after failing with chickens […]