Writer Between Worlds

Soulful writing about humans and places

Category: GERMAN

Is there still…?

Is there still…? Is there still time? Is there still time to be human? Everywhere, every-fucking-where this storm of separation, this vertigo, this howling and this yelping, this moaning, this plea to end the pain, this trumpet of the angel of death, of the angel of bleakness, this abandon to isolation, this anguish, this torment!…
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Schiffbruch

Wie Teelichter auf einem Fluss der Vergessenheit entfernen sich die Wörter sanft schaukelnd. Langsam aber sicher entgleiten sie uns; unmöglich das Verweilen. Im Streit der Gewässer eilen sie flussabwärts, sie geraten ins Schwanken, manchmal erlischt das Licht, es riecht nach flüssigem Wachs, wenn sie umfallen besiegeln sie ihr Schicksal, stummer Rauch steigt auf und sie…
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Quote of the day

“The good life involves much beside virtue—intelligence, for instance. And conscience is a most fallacious guide, since it consists of vague reminiscences of precepts heard in early youth, so that it is never wiser than its possessor’s nurse or mother. To live a good life in the fullest sense a man must have a good…
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Quote of the day

“In all stages of education the influence of superstition is disastrous. A certain percentage of children have the habit of thinking; one of the aims of education is to cure them of this habit. Inconvenient questions are met with ‘hush, hush’, or with punishment. Collective emotion is used to instill certain kinds of belief, more…
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So damn useful!…

Anyone else out there feeling guilty about doing what they like? Anybody else afraid of indulging their needs, constantly second-guessing their decisions and sabotaging themselves? Anybody else under the impression that they have to be productive at all times, useful to all, monetizing every opportunity, mentally enslaved to duty every waking moment, anybody feeling that…
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Weihnachten

Die Kirchenglocken haben eine Weile geläutet. Jetzt nicht mehr. Die Leute essen zu Mittag hinter geschlossenen Türen, jeder für sich oder in ganz kleinem Kreis, kein Gesang hörbar. Über die Auen und Felder, die Einsamkeit schwebt wie eine Nebelwolke, saugt alle Gedanken auf. Allein ein Vogel durchsticht das Grau, wie ein Friedenslicht leuchtend.
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Heal, heal, heal

It’s that time of year again, time to crawl under my blanket and set out on pilgrimages of forgetfulness. North of here is the tomb of simple goodness – vandalized. South of here is the mausoleum of easygoing fun – in a pile of rubble. I mourn them both with a solemn bow, angry visitors…
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Quote of the day – On social support and healing

“(…) safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives. (…) Social support is the most powerful protection against becoming overwhelmed by stress and trauma. Social support is not the same as merely being in the presence of others. The critical issue is reciprocity: being truly heard and seen by the people around us, feeling…
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Quote of the day – A possible link between Romania’s COVID disaster and its communist past?

“Totalitarian propaganda perfects the techniques of mass propaganda, but it neither invents them nor originates their themes. (…) Everything hidden, everything passed over in silence, became of major significance, regardless of its own intrinsic importance. (…) Mysteriousness as such became the first criterion for the choice of topics. (…) They (the masses) do not believe…
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What language do you dream in?

The brain is a funny thing. And funny things happen when your brain goes on vacation. I consider myself bilingual (Romanian and English) and I’ve been living in Germany for more than 15 years now, but never would I have thought that the German language would end up infiltrating… my dreams! My dreams, yes. For…
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Quote of the day

“Uniformity in the opinions expressed by teachers is not only not to be sought, but is, if possible, to be avoided, since diversity of opinion among preceptors is essential to any sound education. No man can pass as educated who has heard only one side on questions as to which the public is divided. One…
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Children saying scary things

My daughter (10), elated that she got into the class she wanted and avoided the all-girls class: ‘All-girls classes suck!’ Me, naively: ‘Why?’ My studious 10-year-old: ‘Because they’d be all prissy and there’d be no boys to fall in love with.’ Ladies and gentlemen, the main purpose of public schooling, right there… in case there…
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