Dear Community,
In the beginning of this year, when there was still enough freedom to travel, I met some Bedouins in a canyon. Some of them invited me for tea and we talked or simply enjoyed the silence which can make moments so golden and valuable. Despite growing up in a seemingly barren land, the Bedouins venerate their origins, their surroundings and the spirit of nature. They sleep under the starry sky and know every rock formation and every secret cavern we could imagine. It seems that they have been living through the tides of all ages and civilizations...
Many, many centuries ago the Nabateans, an amazing culture, began to preserve water with irrigation systems running through the rocky vaults. The Nabateans were conquered and finally disappeared – either through extinction or acculturation. However, their ancient lore and traditions of preserving water have survived.
What can we learn from the present global crisis? Instead of asking the high price we are forced to pay, instead of counting its victims day by day, instead of living in permanent fear – what can we learn? What really matters to us in life? How connected are we with our surroundings? What can we share with the dear people we love, even if we have lost them? What have they been teaching us? What can we give them – what can WE preserve? Love, light and inspiration have always persisted and survived like a beautiful flower that survives a tempest or a flood.
In many ways this crisis is an eye-opener. It reveals some ugly things we have been blind to. It also reveals how fragile and precious values like liberty, solidarity, community and a creative spirit are. Things we may have been taking for granted for so long. Things that may be at stake at the moment. Things we can preserve by focusing on them and enforcing them with our deepest emotions. Liberty starts with free thinking, solidarity begins with respecting others (as well as other opinions), and creativity is an expression or an idea coming from our soul.
As every year, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all my followers, readers, friends and visitors on this blog for your curiosity, your interest and your support.
May you all, wherever you are, have

A MERRY, HEALTHY AND PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS
AND A POSITIVE AND FULFILLING NEW YEAR