Death is not something we like to talk about. At least not in Western culture. It reminds us of endings, of our finite existence, our impermanence of being. It brings up feelings of abandonment and fear. And yet each one of us goes this way. […]
The night air stuck to my skin as I wandered the music festival grounds. Klaus and I had just met face to face for the first time after a brief Facebook exchange earlier that spring. I had recently come to Freiburg, shattered from an old […]
The greatest adventure of this summer was blogging for the Zelt-Musik-Festival (ZMF). Writing 27 consecutive Blogstage posts through the month of July, I attempted for the first time to blog in German. I didn’t really think anyone would read it. Much to my surprise, they did! Hanging […]
Words. They frame meaning. They help us get through things. They give us ways to express thoughts and feelings. Today I woke up in a foul mood for no particular reason. Then I discovered my beloved Prince had died at the age of 57 (thanks, […]
What does running have to do with the power of slow? There really is nothing Slow about running per se. With a minor exception of one blazing summer as a Washington, D.C. intern, I’ve never been the jogging type. But I do love my walks […]
If there is one thing I’ve learned as a creative professional, you must always nurture your special kind of crazy. I deal with business people. A lot. The ones who have been successful have never conformed. They’ve danced outside of the box – and sometimes […]
The crushing weight of anxiety placed firmly on our chests, we face new challenges — or avoid them at all costs — with a pending sense of impossibility. We know we have done something similar before this moment, and yet we cannot help but feel […]
Tick tock goes the clock. A minute passes. A day goes by. Then a week. Then a month. Then a year. Time starts slowly with a life ahead of us. Then we grow, experience, dream. We crawl. We walk. We run. We evolve. And as […]
Smooth lines. Clean surfaces. Rooms filled with air, not stuff. Streamlining life can be so lovely. “Simplicity is what I want in 2014,” my friend told me. But, she admitted, in our complicated world filled with data and distraction, it’s not that simple to obtain. […]
Without love there would be no music. That is what Russian clarinetist Roman Kuperschmidt said before he played the most moving melody I’ve heard in a long time yesterday. His eyes glowed with true passion as he made his instrument sing. He grabbed us with […]