#MonologueMonday

A new episode of the Attic Monologues is online!

Why “it’s okay” is not always the most adequate answer and why there is no obligation to accept an apology…

Let me know your thoughts on this, I’m curious 🙂 (she says while sipping coffee)

xxx

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My SpreadShop is Online Now

live loud by laventura

Cheers my Dears,

I’m happy to announce that my SpreadShop is online now!

It has been a dream, vision and plan to design a shop connected to my latest book Live Loud & Suffer in Silence since I thought about writing the book.

With the help of Norman from NGraphix Design the quotes from the book got a really cool and unique look and you can purchase them now on t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, caps and more.

25% of my earnings will be donated to local mental health institutions, just like with the book.

Until 24th November you get 15% discount!!

I’m happy when you pop by. Feel free to share and send me feedback.

So long my dears,

xxx Gina.

Cheers my Dears und Hallo meine Lieben,

Ich freue mich sehr euch mitteilen zu können, dass mein SpreadShop nun online ist!

Es war ein Traum, eine Vision und ein Plan, so einen Shop in Verbindung mit meinem neuesten Buch Live Loud & Suffer in Silence aufzubauen seit ich überhaupt darüber nachgedacht habe, es zu schreiben.

Mit der Hilfe von Norman von NGraphix Design haben die Zitate aus dem Buch nun einen coolen und einzigartigen Look bekommen und ihr könnt sie auf T-Shirts, Kapuzenpullis, Jacken, Kappen und mehr kaufen.

25% meiner Einnahmen werden auch hier an lokale Institutionen gespendet, die Menschen mit mentalen Gesundheitsproblemen helfen, ebenso wie bei dem Buch.

Bis zum 24. November bekommt ihr noch 15% Rabatt!!!

Ich freu mich, wenn ihr mal vorbeischaut. Teilt es gern und sendet mir Feedback.

Auf bald, meine Lieben

xxx Gina.

#writerswednesday: A Pinch of Truth

Cheers my dears,

it’s been a while… Nearly three months – let that sink in, 3 months – since I published my second book Live Loud & Suffer in Silence and that was also the last time I posted on here and showed new plants on the balcony.

Especially in times like these I consider it important to share a pinch of truth here.

Did I plan to take a pause after publishing? Heck no! My plan was to produce IGTVs and videos and content to market the book, to share more of it with you, to dive fully into advertising it and to show you the deeper meaning and aim of this book project. Also, I wanted to start writing the German version asap.

But here’s the truth: I underestimated the amount of energy it took from me to write this book. I always said it wasn’t a walk in the park writing it – and by the way: reading it isn’t either – but I definitely underestimated the amount of time I’d need to recharge my batteries. It took a lot, if not all of me, as I do structure my stories analytically, yes, but I write them from a place where I AM every character I write. Can you imagine? I feel every emotion they feel, I walk every step they walk, I do not watch them break down, I break down with them. And that to me is an authentic way of writing. But it is also draining. Like a lot!

Could I have pushed more, forced myself to produce more content and market it well? Probably yes. But where would I be now then? Another truth: These times with the pandemic going on affected many of us. Freelancers as much, if not a bit more, as small businesses, big companies and entrepreneurs. And as you might already know from my #freelancefriday posts, yes, I am a freelancer, too. So besides being drained from my book project (which doesn’t generate a bunch of money and provides me with financial prosperity – which isn’t its aim anyway as my aim is to generate money to donate it) also some projects I acquired beforehand were stopped or cancelled due to the uncertainty the pandemic confronted us with. Trying to acquire new projects in unstable times like these is a challenge of its own, as you might be able to imagine. And guess what, that is draining, too.

And as I aim for more realness and transparency on the internet, I thought it’d be the right step to share this pinch of truth with you. It’s not easy “being real” in this superficial world of hearts and likes and “wows”, but you know, I can’t write a book called Live Loud & Suffer in Silence, which is a cynical comment as my characters suffer quite loud in these stories and then pretend everything is perfectly polished fine. Because reality looks different than a post-processed picture from one of my shoots, different from the well placed items I position for twenty minutes and I take 30 shots of until I decide which one to post. And it does take a leap of faith to show your face without make-up in an IGTV these days, to sit down not looking, feeling or being your best and taking this realness to proceed in times where people go to plastic surgeons to look more like their filtered version. (small film recommendation: The Social Dilemma; available on the big streaming platform with x at the end)

But I think it’s necessary to break this cycle to move forward and although I don’t have many followers, I want to use all my platforms to talk about these things as well.

I’d like you to know that I’m grateful for your support, by purchasing the book, reading it, taking your time to send me feedback. That shows me that all the sleepless nights and every ounce of energy I invested in this project was so worth it. Because it gave something to someone. And that’s what I’m writing for.

Please stay a little more patient with me. Right now I’m regaining a fresh creative vibe and I aim to get back to frequent blog posting and to prepare a virtual book reading for you, so please stay tuned on my YouTube channel, too. I hope you find something in my work that gives you something.

More to come, my dears. 

So long

 

xxx

#freelancefriday: 3 Schnelle Tipps fürs Home-Office

Read in English

#freelancefriday: Schnelle Home Office Tipps

Hey meine Lieben,

das Wochenende naht und vielleicht freut ihr euch schon drauf, weil ihr eine lange und anstrengende Woche hinter euch habt.
Genießt es!

In turbulenten Zeiten wie diesen sind viele von ihrem normalen Arbeitsplatz ins Home Office gewandert (worden) und für viele war es nicht so einfach und cool, wie es vielleicht klingen mag.
Hut ab und Respekt für jeden, der eine ganze Familie inklusive Kinder (die momentan weder Kindergarten noch Schule besuchen können) um sich hat und dennoch irgendwie das Home Office rockt!
Ohne Sch..erz, ich hab absolut keine Ahnung, wie ihr das schafft, aber falls ihr Tipps und Tricks und Ratschläge habt, wie man da durchkommt ohne den Verstand zu verlieren, teilt sie gern hier in den Kommentaren. Ich wette, das könnte einigen Lesern hier echt helfen.

Ich hab von Freunden gehört, dass die ersten drei bis fünf Tage aus dem Alltagsrhythmus raus und rein ins Arbeiten von Daheim die schwierigsten waren. Also haben sie die ersten Tage quasi nur halbtags gearbeitet, weil die andere Hälfte dafür draufging, herauszufinden, wie zum Henker man Privatleben und Berufsleben splittet und vereint, während man in ein und demselben Umfeld ist.
Und ich verstehe, dass das echt knifflig sein kann, besonders, wenn ihr zu denen gehört, die den normalen 8-Stunden-Arbeitstag brauchen und nun vermissen.
Um ehrlich zu sein, ich gehöre nicht dazu, aber ich verstehe, dass es euch verrückt macht und umtreibt.

Also habe ich mal ein paar Tipps zusammengeschrieben, die ich gern mit euch teilen möchte, besonders wenn ihr den durchgeregelten Arbeitsalltag vermisst.
Manche davon habe ich gelesen, andere von Freunden gehört und manche basieren auf meiner eigenen Erfahrung und gesundem Menschenverstand.
Um ehrlich zu sein habe ich selbst meinen Home Office Plan weder perfektioniert noch im Detail optimiert, obwohl ich die meisten Arbeiten von daheim erledige. Aber wir sind alle Schüler des Lebens und lernen stetig und werden dies auch weiter tun. Also, warum sollen wir nicht zusammen lernen?
Macht doch mehr Spaß, würd ich sagen.

So, los geht’s:

#1 RAUM SCHAFFEN
Wenn irgendwie möglich, richtet euch einen definierten Arbeitsplatz ein!
Natürlich gilt das nur, wenn ihr nicht eh schon ein Home Office oder ein Arbeitszimmer oder dergleichen habt.
Arbeitet nicht im Bett oder vom Sofa aus. Vorzugsweise setzt euch an den Küchentisch oder falls ihr ein Esszimmer habt, an den Tisch dort.
Ich mein, auf der Arbeit arbeitet ihr tendenziell ja auch in einer aufrecht sitzenden Position, nehme ich an. Versucht also, das zuhause nachzubilden.
Am besten haltet ihr diesen Arbeitsplatz frei von Ablenkungen. Also, habt nicht euren Einkaufszettel und das Buch, das ihr zum Vergnügen lest, direkt neben eurem Arbeitskalender und dem Laptop.
Nutzt die Räume ihren Namen entsprechend und sorgt dafür, dass ihr nur einen umfunktioniert, nicht alle.
Ihr solltet versuchen das Private privat sein zu lassen und nur einen berufsbezogenen Platz zu haben.

#2 ZEITPLAN
Version A
Falls ihr Verfechter der Ansicht “Wenn du niemals zur Arbeit gehst, kommst du auch nie von der Arbeit heim” seid (welche sicherlich eine ordentliche Portion Wahrheit beinhaltet und echt viel Disziplin verlangt, wenn ihr nicht abends um zehn noch Arbeitsmails checken und beantworten wollt), dann solltet ihr euch einen Zeitplan überlegen.
Auch das wird nicht unbedingt leicht, weil euer Partner vielleicht mittendrin fragt, ob ihr was vom Supermarkt braucht oder ihr selbst geneigt seid “nur mal eben schnell hinzugehen”, was in eurem normalen Arbeitsalltag nicht passieren würde.
Wenn ihr also jemand seid, der diese Struktur von zur Arbeit gehen, arbeiten, Pause, arbeiten, nach Hause gehen seid, wie wäre es hiermit:
Steht morgens auf und macht euch fertig, wie ihr es auch machen würdet, wenn ihr zur Arbeit geht. Nehmt euch euren Tee oder Kaffee im Thermobecher mit und dreht eine Runde um den Block. 10 oder 20 Minuten oder mehr oder weniger und tut so, als sei dies euer Weg zur Arbeit. Stellt euren Kopf auf Arbeit ein, geht die Aufgaben des Tages durch, etc.
Wenn ihr heimkommt, geht direkt zu eurem hergerichteten Arbeitsplatz oder, falls das euer normaler Rhythmus ist, macht einen Abstecher in die Küche und nehmt euch einen Kaffee und geht dann zum Arbeitsplatz. Versucht dann genau so lange zu arbeiten, wie ihr es normalerweise tätet und nehmt die Pause dann, wann ihr es normalerweise auch tut.
Wenn ihr regulär eure Pause draußen verbringt, geht raus. Wenn ihr sie normalerweise dazu nutzt euren Einkaufszettel zu schreiben, macht das.
Versucht den Tag möglichst so zu gestalten, wie ihr es immer macht.
Und nach getaner Arbeit dreht wieder eine Runde um den Block und tut so, als sei dies euer Heimweg nach der Arbeit. So könnt ihr euer Gehirn vielleicht austricksen eine Grenze zwischen Arbeit und Privat zu ziehen, obwohl es offensichtlich ein und dasselbe räumliche Umfeld ist.
Oh, und klappt den Laptop zu bevor ihr rausgeht oder räumt ihn weg oder packt ihn in eure Tasche! Nicht wieder öffnen, keine Arbeit mehr, wenn ihr heimkommt! !

Version B
Wenn ihr zu denen gehört, die nicht unbedingt einen ganz so strikten Zeitplan braucht, sondern es eher genießt um 5 Uhr aufzustehen, für eine Stunde zu arbeiten, dann eine Pause zu machen fürs Training, Meditation oder Yoga oder dergleichen, also wenn ihr es schafft eure Arbeitsstunden über den Tag zu verteilen, empfehle ich euch trotzdem einen definierten Arbeitsplatz und euch eine Zeit zu setzen, zu der ihr Feierabend macht.
Und ich empfehle euch, diese Zeit früh genug festzusetzen.
Ich persönlich beispielsweise starte meinen Tag nicht mit dem Gedanken “heute arbeite ich bis fünf” oder so, aber ich habe meine Aufgaben für den Tag geordnet, die ich erreichen muss/will* und während ich arbeite, bekomm ich eine Idee, wie lange es mich in etwa kosten wird. Am frühen Nachmittag kann ich dann meist eine genaue Zeit benennen und sag mir “Okay, heute dauert es bis sechs”, ich hoffe, ihr versteht. Wie gesagt, auch ich arbeite noch daran.

* zum Thema To-Do-Listen und Zeit- und Aufgabenmanagement habe ich bereits einen Blogpost geschrieben und auf dem Balkon findet ihr ein IGTV, in dem ich erkläre, wie ich mit To-Do-Listen und Kalendern arbeite

#3 WOCHENENDE IST WOCHENENDE
Ich weiß, es geht eigentlich mit Raum und Zeit einher, aber ernsthaft, an nem Freitag packt euer Arbeitszeug beiseite und nutzt euer Wochenende für Freizeit, Zoom-Anrufe mit Freunden, Spaziergänge, Einkäufe, wie ihr normalerweise würdet.
Das ist eine der größten Lektionen, die ich gelernt habe, besonders in dieser Zeit, aber das ist eine längere Geschichte. Ich persönlich nutze die Zeit momentan dazu, mir Gedanken über Arbeitszeit, Struktur, Aufgaben- und Zeitmanagement zu machen und dennoch genügend Zeit für mich zu haben und sowas wie ein richtiges Wochenende. (“sowas wie”, weil ich meine Freizeit dann doch meist für kreative Projekte nutze, haha)
Und ich kann euch nur einladen, diese Lektion mit mir zu lernen.

So, das waren nur ein paar schnelle Tipps.
Natürlich gehört noch eine Menge mehr dazu und hängt von eurer Situation ab, lebt ihr alleine oder habt ihr einen Mitbewohner oder Partner, habt ihr Kinder, in welcher Branche arbeitet ihr, etc., das ist mir bewusst.
Alles konnte ich jetzt hier nicht abdecken, aber teilt eure Ansichten, Einsichten, Meinungen und Fragen gern unten in den Kommentaren.

Mein Angebot für euch
Solltet ihr Schwierigkeiten haben euch zu organisieren, strukturieren und im Home Office einzufinden, Zeit für euch freizuschaufeln oder etwas in die Richtung, kontaktiert mich gern.
Ich helfe gern und falls meine Erfahrung und meine Denke hilfreich sein können, möchte ich euch das jetzt gerne anbieten.
Diese Zeiten sind nicht einfach, also lasst uns einander helfen.

Kontaktiert mich einfach und wir machen ein dreißigminütiges Zoom- oder Skype-Gespräch aus, um zu sehen, ob und wie ich euch helfen kann.

Wie findet ihr euch im Home Office zurecht?
Lasst es mich unten in den Kommentaren wissen.

Ich hoffe, ihr habt etwas hilfreiches und sinnvolles in diesem Post gefunden.

Auf bald, meine Lieben

xx

#socialsaturday: International Women’s Day 2020 or Be the change you want to see

Auf Deutsch lesen

Hey my dears,

I know, I know, the order seems to be a bit off, but it will all get tidied up, don’t worry.
On the 8th of March it was International Women’s Day and if you haven’t seen my content for it yet, please go to the balcony and have a look at the highlight IWD 2020.
As a good housewife is supposed to, I did not just only tidy up and clean my analogue home and put the spring decoration up, but here in my virtual home as well. 😀
I hope you like the new design and the touch of colour and that it makes you come and visit me more often here.

Now, let’s roll up the sleeves and get to the relevant topics:
New Year’s Eve alone close to the sea gave me the opportunity to reflect the old year and let go of it. The trip rewarded me with fresh wind and motivation to make 2020 not only a new year, but to set the sails for a new decade.
I hope you’re feeling the same and that the first quarter of the year has already been positive for you. Observing my direct and indirect surrounding, I have the impression that 2020 already brought some massive changes and shifts for many people and I’m excited for which surprises it has in stock for all of us. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to it.

With a big portion of creative energy, I’m currently working like a maniac on different projects, I hope to share with you quite soon.
Therefore, I haven’t produced specific poems or texts for IWD this year.
But let’s take a moment to think about all the amazing women out there. Which woman comes to your mind first?
And which three ones are following? Which women do you find inspiring?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

And now, please sit down, we have to talk.
Let’s not pretend, to be simply human isn’t always easy.
But as a society we even manage to make it even more difficult for certain groups.
This can be referred to nationality, religion, outward appearance, skin colour, sexual orientation or sex and gender and certainly to many more attributed, as there is always someone to be found, whom one could give a hard(er) time.
But because recently it was International Women’s Day, let’s stick with this group: Women and people, who identify as such.
I don’t think I’ll have to mention all the hurdles, obstacles, challenges women are facing, it’s somewhere along the lines of beauty ideals marketed by media, the balance between work and family, unequal pay for equal work and society’s expectations towards the sexes and genders in general. The list is long.

I alone won’t change that. You neither.
But as Teresa von Avila, a woman herself, said “If many small people do many small things, the face of the world will change.”
And I think if everybody starts where they are, use what they have and do what they can, something is going to move and change.
But what does this mean in detail or what can it mean concretely?
I don’t own the stone of wisdom and I don’t have a one-fits-all-ready-made-solution, but I have some suggestions.

How about if we started reflecting our attitudes, opinions and convictions about masculinity and femininity while taking a walk or sitting on the sofa?

Is it fair, when I expect of my mother, sister, partner, colleague, that she not only fulfils all the roles society has for her, but that she does so perfectly?
Is it fair, when I deny a career focused woman the capability of being a good mother? Is it fair, when I deny a housewife the capability of having a sense for business?
Is it fair, when I don’t expect of my father, brother, partner, colleague to fulfil all the roles society has for him and he doesn’t have to be perfect at it, either?
Is it fair, when I deprive a man that stays home with his kids instead of going to work of his masculinity and sneer at him?

No, it’s not.

To reflect is certainly the first step to insight, which in turn is said to move something. And then?
Thinking alternative ways. Then walk.
How about if we started being a bit kinder towards our colleague, who has been coming to work with an out-of-bed-look for a week, because she has been working her pretty, but less toned butt off to juggle two small – teething and feverish – kids, her work and social life? Just brew a coffee for her and get her some lunch and tell her that she’s doing an amazing job.
How about telling the guy that stays at home with his kids, that especially because of society’s prejudices he is brave to have made this step? When we asked him how he’s feeling, why he’s doing it and whether he now considers his wife less of a woman and himself less of a man? And when we told him that he is also doing an amazing job?

That was the soft version. Let’s come to the bolder option.
Calling someone out on their bullshit.
Is it fair, when nudging out of frustration and touching without consent is dismissed with words like “boys will be boys”, which later turns into “a man is just a man”?
Is it fair, when we repeatedly listen to people in our direct surrounding telling us how we should live our lives and which definition of masculinity and femininity we have to obey?
Is it fair, when we give the responsibility for our own actions out of our own hands and put it into the world view society proclaims?

No, it’s not.
And now?

How about, if we started to teach our children that they can become and achieve anything, regardless of their sex and gender? What if we taught them that it’s okay if a boy wants to play with dolls and that “But she’s a girl!” is no legit reason to exclude the sister from the football match?
How about telling the aunties and uncles, who on every occasion – and big birthdays and especially weddings seem to be perfect occasions – tell us, either with a pitiful or reproachful manner, that we “will find the right woman one day” or “the right man will come” into our lives, but that we could put a little more effort into finding someone, just because we attend the event without a partner or ring on our finger?
Who wants to go one step further, can of course switch over to telling them lovingly that they should mind their own business. Or you could chink a glass, get the attention of everyone and have a 20 minute rant until even the guests in the back seats understood your point. The choice is yours.
How about not hiding behind “I’m not responsible for that, my husband takes care of that”, but actively reflecting and pondering on our understanding of femininity and masculinity and the tasks, attitudes, challenges and chances that are connected to it?
How about taking responsibility for our own actions, which starts with reflection and thinking about what we could change?
How about taking responsibility in our social constructs and stopped accepting certain platitudes and excuses?
How about telling our interlocutor that this action or those words were utter bs?

As you can see, there are manifold options to start somehow somewhere in order to change something.
But if I continue the list, this post will end up being way too long and nobody’s gonna read that much.
Furthermore, change and growth starts within oneself, within everyone.

Nevertheless, I do think that if everyone started with themselves and did what they could, that it will have an impact.
As it’s so often said “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
2020 is a new decade. It’s time to not just share these quotes, but to actively work with them.
Nobody’s perfect and not everything is gonna work out (directly).
Trying implies the possibility of failure, but it doesn’t have to. 😉

If you haven’t read my latest poems concerning the relationship between men and women yet, come to the balcony.
Attention, explicit content! 😉

Cheers my dears, take care

xx

PS: If you haven’t subscribed to my newsletter yet, revisit the page and subscribe to stay in touch and get updates on blog posts, my upcoming book and special offers and events.

#writerswednesday: Happy New Year! 2020

© Thorsten Marquardt, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2019 – full text at end of post –

My dears,

I wish you all a Happy New Year!

A new decade is lying ahead
and I hope we use it to spread
ideas and inspiration
reflection and some contemplation
breathe it in and smile some more
set the sails and move from shore
into the great wide sea
to grow, become and be
what and who we are meant to be.

It’s exactly collaborations like these that make my heart jump and be even more passionate about art.
There are these moments where you’re having a really nice and interesting conversation and then, when continuing the exchange via email, something great is forming itself.
Thanks to Thorsten Marquardt, who sent me this picture, which gave me – in connection to our conversation – the inspiration for this poem and thanks to his efforts it now looks the way it does, as he put the text around the picture.
I truly appreciate the exchange with others, as I always say
Inspiration through Communication
And this is proof that it works.

Thanks to everyone who worked with me in 2019, who gave me insights, impulses, feedback.
Nothing of it goes unnoticed.

I thank all the people I was allowed to meet on my way and to collaborate with from the depth of my heart.
2019 taught me a lot. About goodbyes and hellos, about exchange, about nurturing, needs vs wants, about people, life and art. And so much more.
Not only do I thank all the people, who made the year so insightful and meaningful as it was, but I also thank the year itself for having been such a good teacher.

To all of you reading this: I wish you all the best for the new year, the new decade, I hope you had time to reflect on the past, be in and enjoy the present and look into the future with a hopeful heart and determined mind.

The sails are set
and I bet
the wind is soon to come
to move ahead and move along
into a wider space
from place to place
and home once more
into the water and back to shore
ever moving
ever growing
as life itself
a water flowing

© Gina Laventura, 2019

© Thorsten Marquardt, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2019

poetry, passion and perseverance
let us endure the loss of what once
was our home, our harbour, we were safe
the slight remembrance
and subtle memory, we take to our grave
written in our bones, our chest, our breath,
the idea of paradise after death,
the holy land
after the end,
giving hope, but causing pain,
so we write and love again and again,
to go back
but we lose track
and for the apple we reach
although they teach
us to withstand temptation
but in secret contemplation
we are all half sinners, half saints
and the idea of paradise
faints
and lives only in hopes and dreams and memory
and in art we see
what once
was our home, our harbour, we were safe.
persevered through poetry, passion and prose
and from the grave
they rose
into the holy land.
a longing, a dream, a missing
that will barely end.

© Gina Laventura, 2019

#socialsaturday: Superficial Society

Auf Deutsch lesen

#socialsaturday: Superficial Society

Hey my dears,

actually the first idea for a title was “why do we desire that people desire what we desire?”, but then I thought it might be too long. And maybe too confusing.
But seriously, why do we do that?
Okay, okay, I see, I need to put some structure in here, otherwise we will get lost in a hundred topics.
So, give me a sec. And a sip of coffee.

Okay, back to the topic.
What distinguishes us as humans from animals?
I mean despite regular hair cuts, clothes and make-up and hot baths instead of licking ourselves clean like a cat.
Well, philosophers would say reason and language. Homo logos, you know. Which also implies a correlation between language and divine logic or sense.
Can we just wait here a second.
Reason. Well, I don’t know about you, but recently I’ve seen people doing more things that – at least for me – don’t fall under the category of reasonable than I could put in one blog post without boring you.
I mean, take simple things like throwing trash onto the street while walking when the bin is just 2 freaking meters away from you. Does that sound reasonable?
Or pushing your pram into the bus in such a way that no one can get from the front to the end while the bus driver is yelling that everybody should move further to the back and then you shout at the people who kindly ask you if there was a chance they might pass by. Does that sound reasonable?
Other way round, going to the gym to train your biceps so that every girl would fall for your trained body straight away and wants to touch it, but then being at the train station and watching a mother with a toddler and a pram and not helping her get that pretty heavy thing up the stairs, does that sound reasonable?
I think you get what I’m aiming at, but believe me, there are hundreds of millions of examples where I think doubting reason within people is kind of a daily sport.
(Btw: this doesn’t exclude myself, countless times that I kind of watch myself and then wonder “Well, Gina, was that reasonable? Is there any logical thinking left in your head or is it just on top of your neck to look good on a portrait, sheesh, girl, get your shit together!”)

Language. First, let us ask one simple, but very important question: What’s it good for?
Is it just for me to name things and so that I can define things that pop up in my head and explain them to myself?
The keyword is communication. And this means (at least according to various sources I looked up for this post) the sending, receiving and exchanging of information (or things).
But it’s about sending and receiving. Normally this includes two or more people, doesn’t it?
(Don’t judge people, who use this human tool also to communicate with themselves, it’s just you explaining your own thoughts to yourself, which I consider pretty fine, don’t worry.)
So, why and when did communication turn into one interlocutor using the other one as a stage to put their own life narration into the spotlight?
I mean.. where is the exchange?
Believe me, my dears, I commute too often with public transport and even one time forgetting your earphones makes you notice too many things around you. But on the other hand, it’s an impulse for blog posts, huh?
So, please, play this game the next time you’re sitting somewhere and listen to people talking. And I mean, for a while.
Can you find exchange? Like real exchange? Or is it rather everybody just talking about themselves and then it’s the other one’s turn?
Just observe.

Now for the desire part.
Reason and language flow into it, if you are wondering now why I talked about that before.
So, let’s take some pretty common conversation, okay?

Situation 1: Two people graduated from high school.
A: And what are you going to study?
B: I’m not going to study.
A: What?!
B: I want to do an apprenticeship.
A: Ah.

Situation 2: A student (B) living from a part-time job and a credit and someone being at the end of their apprenticeship (A) and already earning “real” money are talking.
A: And when are you going to move out from your parents’ house?
B: Well, actually I’m aiming for higher education and want to do another degree once I finished the first one.
A: So, you don’t want to move out until you’re what? 28?

Situation 3: An engaged or married woman in the process of family planning (A) and a woman focussed on her career (B) are talking.
A: And when are you going to marry?
B: Hm?
A: When are you going to marry and have children?
B: Um, dunno?!
A: Well, darling, we all don’t get younger, do we?

Why is it that we seem to desire that other people desire what we desire?
And this assumption wouldn’t even be the worst thing. The worst thing is the next step that oh so frequently follows:
Judgement.
As if our life narration was the only valid one.

If your greatest desire is to study and you have the privilege of getting a chance to do it, then value it!
There are people who would love to, but that don’t have access to education, let alone higher education.
And if your friend decides that studying isn’t their cup of tea, then congratulate them on their choice and wish them all the best.

If what you define as a desirable life includes moving out as early as possible and having a space of your own and you get the chance to get it, value it!
Maybe your studying friend would love to have a place of their own, too, but they had to decide about their priorities: flat or next degree.
Who are you to tell them they made the wrong choice just because your choice would have been different?

If your vision of a desirable life necessarily includes getting married and having children, and you found the right partner and you were physically able to give birth to healthy children, then guess what, value it!
And if you found fulfilment in that and you think “wow, now I truly know what I’m here for!” than that’s great. But who are you to tell another woman that unless she has children she doesn’t know her purpose here on earth? Isn’t that a bit harsh?
And even if she doesn’t want to, or didn’t find the person with whom she’d love to, who are you to judge someone else’s priority list?

Let me tell you something:
We will all be judged one day. But that’s not our job, believe me.
Who are we to tell other people which desire and life narration is valid and which is not?
And when did we get so presumptuous and arrogant to assume that our choices are the only right ones?
When did we forget to stay open and listen and see the world from different angles?
When did we forget to communicate?

And now for reasonable communication:
Why don’t we listen? Why do we act our lives out on a virtual and now even analogue stage as if it was the best play ever written and any other narration was invalid and less worthy?
Can we maybe change the narration?

How about

Situation 1
A: Are you going to study or do you want to do an apprenticeship?

Situation 2:
A: What are your plans and desires for the future?

Situation 3:
A: Do you want to marry and have children one day?

On a grammatical level, most yes-or-no-questions or questions without suggesting an answer, offer more space for real communication.
Be open, be interested, listen. And for the sake of an open and less superficial society: Don’t judge!
Please.

Can we maybe start asking really cool and interesting questions again?
Like
How are you?
What makes you happy?
What’s your favourite dish?

I could go on writing about this subject, but I’ll leave it at that. For now.
As always, feel free to comment here, share your opinion with me via email or Facebook or Instagram.

So long, my dears.

xxx
Gina.

Gap

Dieser Beitrag ist auch auf Deutsch verfügbar

I write for you. About you.
I don’t write you.
I translate you. Into a format that I understand.
But like in all translations of great works, something might, or surely does get lost. Because the words do not suffice. Freedom of interpretation.
So I have to learn your language in order to get close to the root of this masterpiece. But like it is with a newly learnt language that is not your own, there will always remain these parts that one does not understand completely, that bear no equivalent.
So you have to learn my language in order to reciprocate me. But like it is with a newly learnt language, there will always remain these parts that cannot be expressed the way they could be in your very own language.
They will always be there, these gaps that remain unfilled, these moments that cannot be translated completely, the doors that stay locked or can only be opened not more than an inch, the rooms that one can only vaguely perceive through the keyhole.
And probably that is good.
I don’t write you. I read a foreign language.
We don’t write each other. We read.
With gaps.

And while I am writing these lines, coffee and ink drop out of my pen onto the blank paper like blood.

Gina Laventura © 2014

#tbt: Winchester – Now and Then –

Dieser Eintrag ist auch auf Deutsch verfügbar

#tbt: November 2014

Two years ago I’ve spent a semester abroad in England. In Winchester to be precise.
Before coming to the main topic, the short comeback to Winchester this year, I think I have to take a detour and start from the beginning.
3 months England. 3 months Winchester. “3 months holiday”, some people think. Haha, no. 12 weeks preparing courses and assignments, working on the mid-term assignments, the mark of which contributed to the final mark. Furthermore, one had to adjust to the different “system” as even essays are structured differently there.
3 months full of interesting courses and I had the luck of meeting amazing lecturers who were truly inspiring, not only concerning the content of their courses but also concerning their method of teaching. Moreover, I had a course about the short story and that was when the prose line of my writing started.
3 months of meeting new acquaintances, but moreover, making new friends. Friends who I still keep in contact with and in whose lives I still can – due to modern communication channels – participate at least a bit.
3 months I like to remind myself of. Not because everything was peace, love and harmony in a sea of milk and honey. It was a nerve-stretching time and a lot was moving and changing and it continued when I came back home. But maybe that’s the reason why I like to remember this time. Because it was milk and honey in sleepless nights and cake combined with contemplative days.
3 months, I wouldn’t want to miss.

Interim: I came back home. The first thing I did? Taking everything out of each and every single cupboard, shelf and other storage possibility I own and sort it out. Outside the box so to speak. Making room for air to breath. Meeting friends. The friendship to my beloved people intensified and we grew closer to each other than we were before. And I’m thankful for that.
Uni. Work. Creative stuff. Inhale, taking a run-up and run. Making up time. Tearing forward in order to hopefully get where you want to get.

Fast Forward: 2014.
Finally there was the possibility of visiting Winchester again. Even if just for four days.
After the bus that started at Heathrow spit us all out at the King Alfred Statue and I was able to inhale deeply, I had to smile. The sleep deprivation and the inconvenience of travel (and yes, it is an inconvenience to ride on a bus for one hour when it smells as if a complete fish market decided to lock itself up in there), was irrelevant. Washed away. I was there.
Besides the fact that in most cases when you travel and you are “away” the atmosphere is different, England always had something special about it for me.
When saying “away” we mostly mean being “away from everyday life”, away from routine, from constant repetition. Taking a break from the meritocratic and hectic society in whose wheel we run every day just to fall out of it at the end of the day, crawling into bed and falling asleep with the feeling that we haven’t achieved enough.
At least this is how you can feel from time to time. We’re just talking about a feeling, not about it being an actual fact. And whether this is optimal or not we don’t want to discuss now, either.
But here’s the main point: I often tried to analyse why I felt so comfortable in Winchester, in England. (So comfortable, that it’s always hard for me to leave again.) Is it because of all the memories I harbour? Because of the fact that I always connect it to an aha-moment and a moving time? I really tried to analyse it over and over and over again. Do I idealise and if I’d be there for a longer time, everything would be as much routine as here, as stuck, as hectic, just the same?
For now, and I say for now, the diagnosis of my analysis is this: I personally perceive the mentality there as different. The people there also have a job, a house to clean, hobbies, friends, families, obligations, ambitions and goals. But somehow they still manage to meet their friends once a week for a pint and a round of pool in a pub or to have dinner together and talk. Without watching the clock all the time, without getting nervous and making the impression as if the length of their to-do-list just doubled because of this enjoyable time.
It’s this having time, or maybe taking time for things that make you happy. And still managing to get everything else done. But the people seem more relaxed about it. I say seem, because it is my personal opinion, my personal impression. If you want to agree, you can agree, if you can’t agree, then you don’t agree with me, that’s ok. As said, I’m talking about a feeling, not necessarily of a fact that can be proved.

I was asked “Is Winchester still the same as when you left?”
 Well, yes and no.
 Of course, the air is the same, the city didn’t change too much, although there are some new shops and some building sites. But of course, things changed, we changed. It’s been two years now and it would have been a shame if everything was still the same, wouldn’t it? We all progress and proceed with our lives and that is good, we grow and develop.
But what I can say is this: It was an absolutely amazing feeling to meet again after such a time span and seeing old friends again, catching up, sitting in a pub and talking as if two years had been nothing at all.

And no, to say “just take this relaxed attitude and atmosphere and apply it when you’re back home” and believing that this is as easy as it sounds, is just wrong.
But it’s worth a try.

#sundaystory: Light at the End of the Tunnel

IMG_2192

The information given was:
a) English
b) Light at the end of the tunnel
c) hope, end, tired
d) sarcastic

dedicated to Mathias

Work is done. I’m hitting the road with my car. Rush hour. Traffic.
I’m tired, I’m stressed, I’m exhausted.
Red lights in front of me. On the other lane white and yellow lights staring at me. Inch by inch we move.
How much this situation resembles my life at the moment, I think. I’m moving, but barely do I get forward. Everywhere I look I see red lights, stop and go, slow movement, while on the other side of the road it’s going quicker, people rushing by, leaving me behind.
I just want to get home, it’s my daughter’s birthday and I hope I make it in time to see her opening all the gift boxes. And I still need to prepare a presentation for the meeting tomorrow. Big client. Important client. Sleep is overrated anyway.
All those obligations, musts, have tos. What makes a man a good man? What makes a father a good father? What makes an employee a good employee? Here’s the path. This is how it has to be done.
No options, just obligations.
Similar to my ride in the car. You want to rush, but you can’t, unless you want to crash the car in front of you. You want to turn right, but the lane goes straight forward. Only options are the junctions, the exits. But somebody else established them.
A look on the clock. Tic toc. Time’s running, but nothing’s moving. I get nervous, angry, my hands start sweating.
Deep breath. I put my head on the steering wheel.
Oh, we’re moving again. Slowly, but moving, entering a tunnel.
The darkness embraces me as one of its own. Red lights blinding my eyes. We stop again.
I’m trapped.
In a dark tunnel.
The black walls swallow all my hope, all my senses, all my sanity.
And what they spit out is fear. A fear that creeps up my chest. Barely can I breath.
What if it is going to stay like this forever? Stop and go, but no real forward movement? Blackness around me, lost hopes, and the only thing that stays is a pain in the leg from trying to push the pedal. In vain.
The further we get into the tunnel, the more lost I feel. The more I can only think of black walls surrounding me, the red light directly in front of me, the white light directly behind me.
Everything blurs and turns.
I can’t look ahead. I can’t think ahead. I. am. stuck.
While I’m pushed and pulled by darkness, red and white dots dancing around me, mocking me, I suddenly perceive a beam. Is that the sun?
I close my eyes for a minute. I open them slowly. Inch by inch.
Yes, indeed, it must be the sun.
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
Oh!
The red light that beforehand was so close in front of me had moved further away.
We were moving!
Not only were we moving, but we were moving towards the sun.
Its beautiful radiance becoming bigger and bigger, smiling at us.
The darkness vanishes. Slowly. Inch by inch.
I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Finally, I can breath again.