What I believe in and why I think it matters and why I’m writing about it.

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I believe that all humans are born equal.
I believe in solidarity and respect.
I believe in education and experience.
I believe in science and intuition.
I believe in planning and action.
I believe in the future.

…but I’m living in the present. I believe that change can only happen bottom up, by people, by individuals, groups, communities, taking action. I believe that governments and organizations have the power to influence and incentivize good behavior, they can inform and sponsor efforts, but at the end of the day, it’s up to individuals to make the change. I believe that every little act of each one of us counts. And I believe that starting with awareness, each small step, change, effort matters, because it will trigger someone else to do the same, until eventually, all the drops create an ocean. Continue reading “What I believe in and why I think it matters and why I’m writing about it.” →

An Update. With Pictures.

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Yeah, I’ve gotten lazy again. Or rather: I am lazy. Or even more precise: I’m doing plenty of things, but I’m lazy when it comes to tackling the ones that take the extra effort, to break out of the flow, to sit down, breath, switch on your senses – and create. But here we go again with the rambling. It’s not all that bad: An Update. With Pictures!

«My» «Garden»

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Stagnating. Straying. Pivoting. Progressing. Balancing. Reassessing.

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I just went cycling and spring punched me in the face with all its mighty force. I was reminded that winter, not without appeal of its own is – considering it all and compared to this – a real piece-of-shit season. The sunlight burning my white skin reminded me of why suddenly all the leaves and buds dare to peak out from their lifeless hiding spots. The burning sensation in my eyes reminded me of the pollen flying and the insects smashing into my face that it’s their time to get a meal and spread the love. And the smell of garlic, reaching up from all the patches of Bärlauch on the side of the road, reminded me that there is food growing for us too – everywhere. Even the birds chirping seem to say: “Hey, we’ve been through this shit together but this is so much better, right?”

And most of all I was reminded of why I was so attracted by nature and why I made all these resolutions last year, to make it the center part of my life. Seriously, winter is not for me anymore.

The other day, Andy asked me about my blog and why there have been no updates. I said, there is no progress. And he responded: “Why don’t you write about that?” So let’s try.

Continue reading “Stagnating. Straying. Pivoting. Progressing. Balancing. Reassessing.” →

10 shocking reasons I still sleep in a tent *

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People ask me every day: “Are you still sleeping in your tent?! And isn’t it getting cold?” So far, the answer is yes and no (The tent is pitched in my mom’s backyard). I don’t know if their smile means a lack of comprehension, a little admiration, envy or just bemusement. But for me it adds up. I can’t forsee for how much longer I’ll sleep there and what will happen when frost and snow arrive (The first nights close to freezing went fine). But for now I’m content to remove myself behind the zippers, beneath the tarp, night after night.

These are the top 10 reasons, why I do it:

Continue reading “10 shocking reasons I still sleep in a tent *” →

Back to life, back to reality – The first two months in review

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Before returning to Switzerland, I had prepared a little list of goals for myself. I was fully aware that “reality” would be different and that a full-blown tusnami wave was going to hit me and threaten to flush all my newly made resolutions away. I thought I could braise myself and be prepared. However, things turned out to be a little more challenging than I had expected. Now, after roughly two months of being back “in reality” (after 6 months of traveling and living on a farm), it’s time for an interim assessment.

Since one of my goals for this blog is to illustrate my journey and the struggles I face on my way to a lifestyle, which is more in line with my convictions, this is a rather personal post. Some of the descriptions might seem trivial and some of my “problems” might seem petty in a larger scheme. Still, it seem relevant to me to describe my current state and how I intend to deal with circumstances. Any resemblance to other actual persons, is purely intentional and I hope some readers might recognize themselves in the text. Continue reading “Back to life, back to reality – The first two months in review” →

Why I really created this blog. Including a manual on how to find your luck.

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In short: I have experienced that change in life is good and that taking risks is rewarded by life. By illustrating my own story, I hope to inspire someone else to possibly do a change in his or her own life. Change, because he or she is unhappy, unsatisfied or unfulfilled but does not dare to or not know where to start. I don’t mean to say that everyone needs a change, many people are perfectly happy with where they are. I don’t mean to say that my way is the way for everyone – it’s just my way. I don’t mean to preach what is right and wrong but I want to illustrate my actions as an example, for each one to take something away – or leave it.

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The story of my conversion and how I developed my current belief system

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I’ve been experiencing an increasing frustration with the state of the world and the lack of my ability to get involved. Too many disconcerting discussions, documentaries, reflections and observations went by without me altering my lifestyle or leaving my comfort zone. Like most people I’ve noticed trends and developments – social, environmental, political – that left me aghast, but I stayed inactive.

In line with my conviction that also small steps matter, I’ve started this blog.

In contrast to the general concept of angry youth and disillusioned adulthood, I feel that my believes and convictions (see my other post about that) have only grown more firm in recent years. While they haven’t changed fundamentally, I grew more and more aware of why I believe certain things and that I’m really convinced of them (see first paragraph of article referenced above).

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My trip to the US and what I’m bringing back in my baggage

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When the plane touched down in LAX in February, I knew very little about what was ahead for me in the coming 6 months. The agenda was pretty much blank and I would never have guessed that I was going to spend an entire three months on a Permaculture farm in the Pacific Northwest. There were a few steps leading up to that.

Nature. It’s all about nature.

A first important realization happened while car camping across the Southeast, from Los Angeles to Taos in New Mexico. We spent a week sleeping in the back of our Subaru station wagon, which we parked over night on campgrounds across California, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado. The realization is as banal and obvious as it was crucial to the further steps: living our cozy city life, we got completely detached from nature. Continue reading “My trip to the US and what I’m bringing back in my baggage” →

What’s Permaculture and why do I like it so much

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At this stage, I’m not feeling qualified to give my own description. So I’ll refer to our universal knowledge base at Wikipedia:

Permaculture is a system of agricultural and social design principles centered around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems. The term permaculture was developed and coined by David Holmgren, then a graduate student, and his professor, Bill Mollison, in 1978. The word permaculture originally referred to “permanent agriculture”, but was expanded to stand also for “permanent culture”, as it was understood that social aspects were integral to a truly sustainable system as inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka’s natural farming philosophy.

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