Leaving the path

Some weeks ago I spent a couple of days in Germany. The sight and smell of the trees and hills invited me to enter their world of beauty. One thing I always do when I go for a walk in an unknown area is to ‘leave the path’, and discover my own… I can’t resist the adventure of entering and discovering the unknown.


One of the books I am reading at the moment is ‘Maps of the imagination: the writer as cartographer’ by Peter Turchi – an inspiring book about mapmaking, creative processes, and the different ways of observing and visualising the real or imaginary world around us. It seems that no matter how many discoveries we make as human beings, we keep on telling ourselves we’ve reached the end of the knowable world. At page 226 its about developments in science and the limitations of current technology.
- The genome map and tools like the Hubble telescope don’t merely allow us to see what we know more clearly; they give us a sense of all we don’t know. “Whenever we couldn’t conceive of what’s out there,” writes Richard Panek, “it was because we didn’t yet understand what the preconceptions might be that were restricting our view.” Which is to say, Seeing is an art which must be learned and relearned.-

While I say “I can’t resist the adventure of entering and discovering the unkown” I realise at the same time that I am terrified to do that with planning my daily life and imagining my future… While being encouraged by some positive experiences, I am also overwhelmed by the limitations and the fear I had with gaining them.
I long to discover new worlds; the possibilities of my life, but to do so I have to encourage myself to leave the path which I restrict myself to...

Joie de vivre

Last Thursday night I went to the citycentre of Breda on my own. With the purpose to enjoy the special shops my eye caught the other day and to wander around.
I saw quite some shops with cooking utensils, but also with books, and other specific things. I bought a 2nd hand book about Chagall and 2 sketchbooks (but couldn't find a book about combining flavours and herbs where I was looking for too).
It was such a beautiful night... I sat at a cafe with a coffee, felt the soft rain, a breeze, watched the few people on the streets, enjoyed the colours of the lights, and the shops. While sitting down with my coffee the moment made me think about a piece of mixed art or music. The combination of lots of different elements playing together; colours, shapes, lines, everything together. Also the combination of hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste.
To 'be aware' of them opens a door to a whole new world...

Sipping sun and beauty on a few summer days

Beautiful summerdays in Brabant, the Southern part of the Netherlands where I grew up. This is a short impression of beauty I enjoyed:
pic 1 - Some hours spend on a sand-drift. Fine sand, little toy cars, a bright sun, a soft breeze and a beautiful and inspiring book (My name is Asjer Lev - Chaim Potok (Thanks for lending it out to me A, only a few pages left...)
pic 2 - I tasted these little blackberries and the flavour made me remember a time about 27 years ago, walking in a forest with my grand mother and enjoying these little berries.
pic 3 - I was surrounded with lots of wild flowers. I wasn't the only one who enjoyed them!

Cats and dogs

In English there is a saying which we don't have in Dutch: "It's raining cats and dogs". Today it was another day of this weather type... Worth an illustration!

Opening a window

Beside the disappointment of discovering a parking ticket on my window and quit a lot of wind and rain (which actually can be very beautiful), I wandered and sat the biggest chunk of the day in a enchanting utopian world. A very beautiful day with a great friend.





I remember the excitement I had as a child when opening up the little windows on an advent calendar. Every morning I couldn’t wait to open a new one! (this old postcard I bought made me think of that joy as a child)
Some moments in life have a very similar effect. Suddenly I discover little windows all around me...
This day had lot's of little chocolates in it!

Boat trip

Last weekend we went for a little boat trip; my father, my boys and I. What a beautiful day to be on the water. I love the joyfull moment of standing still, feeling the waves playing with the boat, the sun touching my skin and the sound of my children having fun.
They were playing with their little boats - catching gigantic waves. Great fun!





(last picture by Dick Bruna)

The zoo and a special picknick

A couple of weeks ago I visited the zoo with my boys. A great day with a special end; we had a pancake picknick with a number of friends - great friends... with small appetite;-). Pancakes for everyone!! Hmmmmm...