Audiostretto 59/4/24 English

In nature, I notice that in the vast majority of cases, plants branch out in some way as they grow. These divisions are sometimes identical or sometimes slightly different - for example, in a tree the branches become thinner and thinner. Such divisions can also occur in soil plants. It inspires me when I think that in an area of life where I am with others - be it in the family, at work, in the ch...

A little over a year ago, I regularly went into the forest in the morning for a long walk. At first the walk seemed quite long, but when I walked the same path a few times, I knew which sections were coming and it almost seemed like the walk was shorter than when I started - simply because of the familiarity. Our lives are usually very full and there is also a lot of unpredictable or new or unfami...

If we are reading a book in the West, we pick it up and open it by opening the cover from right to left. We then read the first page from top left to right and then downwards. This is not only logical for us, but anything else would be unusual, as if right-handed people had to write with their left hand or vice versa. When I learned Hebrew, it was therefore very strange for me at the beginning to...

In my understanding, a biotope is a place where nature is left to its own devices as much as possible. This means that humans intervene as little or not at all as possible. This creates habitats for animals that might not live in an environment cultivated by humans. It has algae and moss that would otherwise be removed by humans because it looks unkempt. Unkempt - exactly! Unkempt in this context...

I had already done two impulses on the zipper. This time I will go into the individual links. There is no redundancy in the zipper. This means that none of the links can simply be left out or replaced in the event of a defect. Depending on the purpose of the zipper, the entire garment or bag or whatever is unusable if the zipper is defective. Small cause, big effect. Understandable in this case. I...

I have formative memories of earlier years when I was just going about my daily life with my son - and suddenly noticed him doing exactly what I was doing. For example, I had a special way of pushing my bike - and suddenly I noticed out of the corner of my eye how my son tried to do the same as I did - and failed every now and then, but still, he kept at it until he succeeded. So there were other...

A tent is a very temporary type of accommodation. In most cases. Compared to a house or barracks, it can be put up and taken down quickly and is easy to transport. In camps, people often choose to spend the night in a tent. For house dwellers something adventurous, for nomads everyday. In a tent, I limit myself and do without comfort. I am much more exposed to the meteorological conditions, many t...

When something is well formed, especially smoothed, we often think it is in the best condition. Assuming a piece of wire remained straight - it would probably have only a very limited potential for use. When bent, on the other hand, it finds many different uses - as a paper clip, for example. Only when bent it is really useful. In our lives, we usually also strive for straightforwardness - our pla...

We live in a time and society in which reason has an enormously high value. As a rule, decisions must be rationally comprehensible and appropriately justified. These are often decisive acceptance criteria. But if we look at our lives and the really big decisions, we see - other mechanisms: As a rule, one does not choose one's partner exclusively on the basis of rational consideration! I also think...

I see in front of me a beautiful image of a stylish bicycle leaning against a railing at the side of the road, representing a kind of style image. Looks beautiful, emotional, atmospheric. But that's not what the bicycle was actually made for. Its primary purpose is not to look beautiful, but to be used as a vehicle. Then it has fulfilled its purpose. How is it with you? Do you seek and live more f...

I recently went jogging and listened to music. Suddenly, while I was running, I noticed a piece of music that I had already heard very, very often, and that a violin was playing. I had never noticed it before. I was quite astonished. All the more so because I hadn't concentrated on listening to individual instruments. I was concentrated on walking. I found this enriching on the one hand and instru...

I had already done an impulse on wild bees before. They came back to my mind when I saw their nesting places in front of me: in nature or also artificially created small cavities they prepare the nesting places for the larvae of the next generation. They use what we would probably call a rubbish heap as the birthplace of their successors. What appears dead and lifeless to us, without perspective,...

There is a certain body cult in our time and society. People go to the gym, perhaps even have plastic surgery, eat a vegan diet or follow fasting regimes such as 16/8, etc. It is not uncommon to hear in response to the question of how one is doing: "Health is the most important thing." I dare to question this. On the one hand, because I think that we can certainly shape our health to a certain ext...

Professionally, I am always dealing with people from other nations. It's interesting to find out how they perceive Switzerland. Some people confuse our country with Sweden, others know it mainly through the classic things like gold, cheese and chocolate. The other day, someone told me he didn't like Mövenpick glacé that much. And after an exchange about it, I was thoughtful and realised that as a...

When I was a boy, it once happened to me that after lunch of cherry pie I later drank apple juice, i.e. cider. It was hot in the summer. I had no idea at the time that you shouldn't drink cider on stone fruit - because it can make you throw up in the worst way. That's what happened. A formative experience. It led to me avoiding raw cherries in the following years and actually to this day, or eatin...

We are all subject to the power or law of time. This means that we all have a start and also an end in our earthly lives, we are beings with an expiry date. Of course, in most cases we think little of this and plan our lives - yes, how actually? As if the end were only a theoretical construct? Or as if it were part of our existence, death as a transition into another dimension? In ancient Rome the...

Do you know the unpleasant feeling when you get into a traffic jam although you are actually already under time pressure and such a delay is just very inappropriate? It can happen in motorised traffic, but also when shopping or checking in at the airport or anywhere else. It always shows me how inflexible I am internally or how tightly I plan so that there is hardly any room for the unforeseen. Ap...

Bees fascinate me and I have a small population of wild bees myself. They are hard-working animals. It's not wrong to say of someone who is very busy that he or she is a worker bee. But what are they so busy for? They collect the nectar to prepare it for the next generation. That is, they prepare birthplaces in niches for the next generation of bees so that they can hatch and live. Sounds kind of...

Many people love balloons. Today there are all kinds of balloons in the shape of letters, cakes, palm trees, smiley faces, etc. In the past, we only knew the round balloon. It was a happiness when it was filled with helium and floated upwards for some time. At weddings, balloons with cards were released and the balloon whose card was returned from the furthest place was the winning balloon. Someti...

You probably know the well-known saying that one should not hide one's light under a bushel. In our culture, we find this a little difficult. We don't want to come across as proud by putting ourselves in the foreground. But that's what the saying is about. Others should see our light, it should serve to illuminate them. However, we are often envious when others do this. We accuse them of arrogance...

In ancient Greece, public offices were determined by lot. That was their understanding of democracy. For us today, a rather strange, unfamiliar idea. Chance decides who governs politically? I actually find the idea interesting and the procedure good. After all, we don't really use our governments as a representative compilation of the population, but mostly well-educated, not infrequently wealthy...

When you imagine a dumbbell and how to use it, you're bound to think of bicep training. That is of course also correct. But with a dumbbell you can train the triceps or the back, shoulder or chest muscles just as well. However, it is necessary to use the hands that hold the dumbbells in order to be able to perform the corresponding exercises. The hand does not really train, the training effect is...

What strikes me about landscapes is that they are actually without exception uneven. Quite the opposite of a lake or other still water surface. The level of the lake is always the same over the entire surface - which is not the case at all with a landscape. On a lake, I can also row a boat in any direction, but a landscape dictates through its topology how I can best move on it or in it. It's the...

Some products have made a claim to fame. Product names become verbs or product typologies. In Britain people call a vacuum cleaner a Hoover, although that is the brand and not the neutral product. The same applies in the US to Cellophane - the clear plastic we wrap our food in. Certain things have such a formative influence that they pass into active language use. Transferred to people, one could...

Surely you know the unpleasant feeling when smoke enters your nose. In most cases, smoke indicates a fire. This can be an open fire or a smouldering fire. Smoke is often visible, especially from a distance, but if you are close to the source of the fire, it can also be perceived with your sense of smell. Smoke therefore makes something else visible - namely the fire.  I think smoke - however...