Audiostretto 59/4/24 English

In the past, in some places where there was wood - be it in the forest or in a forest hut - carvings were found that showed, for example, a heart and two names or initials in it. It was a visualization of a love relationship and with this carving probably also the desire that this would last as long as possible. The fact that it was carved into wood also meant that it was engraved here, that it wa...

Surely you know the story of Jesus feeding over 5000 people. John tells the story and introduces it with Jesus asking Philip where they buy so much bread from so that everyone eats. And then John writes that Jesus was testing Philip with this question because Jesus knew what he wanted to do. Sounds a bit mean. Jesus - so it seems to me - leads Philip on a wrong track with his question: the focus w...

I find a flame on a candle, for example, fascinating. It virtually sticks to the wick and is difficult to remove from there. Even a breeze or wind can bend it in one direction or another, but it hangs firmly on the wick - unless it goes out when there is no oxygen. Then it is completely gone, disappeared. Not lying next to the candle. Simply gone. In one of his speeches, Jesus tells his friends th...

The other day I reached into a jacket pocket and pricked myself on a toothpick. Annoying. A toothpick is something that very few of us need on a daily basis. Many stand around for a long time before being used once. But when you need one because you have something in your teeth that you can't get out that way - a toothpick is irreplaceable. Sometimes we feel the same way - we are not noticed, but...

A windmill is beautiful just to look at. But even more amazing what it can do: Thanks to the capture of the wind, it can move millstones via a construction, which then grind grain. So an unbelievable power from the wind is released or captured and used specifically. In the Bible, the wind is also an image of the Holy Spirit. So if you take the image of the windmill: whose spirit or wind do you exp...

I know of no fuel-powered vehicle that has the exhaust at the front. Rather, it is placed at the rearmost part in the direction of travel or otherwise at such a great height that the exhaust gases go into the air above head height. So it doesn't occur to anyone to breathe in their own exhaust themselves - but rather to expel it behind them - even without taking into account who may be behind them....

I prepared myself a coffee or espresso this morning with a capsule. At least this is what I thought I did. When the machine didn't stop and the espresso cup threatened to overflow, I was able to put another vessel under the spout just in time before things got messy. I was so sure it was espresso - but I was wrong. It reminded me of the story Jesus told about putting new wine into new, stretchy wi...

King David had a son who instigated a rebellion against him and ended up dying in the process. His name was Absalom and was extraordinarily beautiful and apparently had extraordinary, striking hair, a real splendour. After his rebellion there was a battle and he had to flee and got caught in a forest with his magnificent hair in a tree - where he was pierced with a spear by the enemy. Tragic. I wo...

Are you good at trusting others? Or how do you deal with situations where you have very limited influence on the outcome? Do you become fatalistic? Or do you assume the worst possible outcome in order not to be disappointed? Enduring an open situation is not always easy for me - my soul is in conflict with my spirit. The soul is often focused on disappointment, which has to be avoided at almost an...

Surely you have had situations in your life where you wanted change and you were limited in your ability to influence it, so you just had to wait until circumstances changed. Sometimes the wait for such a change takes longer and the hope for change is the only thing you have left to deal with the situation well. What is interesting is what happens when the situation actually changes as desired. I...

Many dental product advertisements present people of all ages with gleaming white, flawless teeth. Everything looks healthy, well-groomed, perfect. With the dentist, this is only half the truth. With the help of a small mirror, he also looks at the back of the teeth - there he sees things that may contradict the shop window view of the front: Stains, tartar and, in the worst case, cavities. But th...

I don't think I know anyone who doesn't stand or stop in some kind of awe before a mighty tree and associate a certain peace with such a sight. Such a sight gives us stability, power, strength and support. Such a tree is much stronger than we are: it can withstand natural elements much better and is much more resistant to environmental influences. Perhaps that is why it gives us a feeling of secur...

Are you thinking about a sledge at the moment - hardly at this time of year.... but maybe you have a sledge in the basement or the garage. It's no use without snow - but you'll certainly take it with you on your skiing holidays and then it's irreplaceable. We also have such things in life that support us in very specific situations, help us, let us get ahead or are simply the right tools for deali...

Surely you know the story of "Suppenkasper" from the German children's book Struwwelpeter who wouldn't eat his soup and finally dies of hunger. Pedagogically, this story was meant as a fight against anorexia. The focus is on the stubbornness and refusal of Kaspar, which kills him. But... there is actually also the same stubbornness of the parents who want to force Kaspar to eat exactly this soup....

Let's face it: we all struggle with pride at one point or another in our lives. Again and again it has to do with comparisons. And where I do better than someone else in my eyes - yes, I enter the terrain of pride. But then it can also be that I am aware that I am dependent or have needs or require the support and help of others. It is no problem for me to admit this - but if I am supposed to rece...

I believe man has copied much of what he has developed and created as innovation or progress over time from nature. I imagine that bird watching inspired man to design, test and build aeroplanes - so that today we can travel from continent to continent in a short time. Or man has seen colours in nature and tried to create them himself for beautiful clothes etc. The creation in which man lives is s...

Do you know what a circular level is? Something similar to a spirit level. I.e., in a small closed container filled with liquid, it has an air bubble and on the top of the glass of the container there is a mark where the bubble has to be placed - this indicates a balanced position. Depending on the terrain you are standing on and the part that needs to be aligned with the circular level, this can...

In my experience, cinnamon is one of those spices that you can recognise very quickly, both by its scent and its taste. For me, cinnamon belongs in winter - when it's dark and cold, we have tea with cinnamon or, at Christmas time, cinnamon stars or rice pudding with cinnamon sugar. The bark of the cinnamon tree, which grows mainly in Asia, is peeled off, dried and then used accordingly. The cinnam...

Just as a good meal is good for the human body, music is good food for the soul and spirit; whether classical or modern, instrumental or with lyrics. Music is more than just liking or being liked. It touches the spirit, triggers emotions and is a trigger to visualise experiences anew.  Music thus also has a healing effect.  Therefore, why don't you take some time to consciously look for...

I often find myself distracted while listening and I don't always manage to be fully present in the moment. Be it in a personal conversation with the person directly or via a digital meeting or on the phone. Do you know this too? As an excuse, it's called multitasking. But actually it is a lack of concentration and sometimes deliberately denied undivided attention. I believe that if I, if we, succ...

Which type of alarm clock user are you? The one who hears the alarm clock only after a long time or the one who hears it right away, turns it off and jumps out of bed or the one who presses snooze at least five times before getting out of bed? An alarm clock reacts to a change in time.  In English it is called an alarm clock - which brings slightly more drama into play than just wake-up clock...

When filling out forms, you are often asked to make a cross in a field. This marks a correct answer or selection. The cross - i.e. the intersection of two lines - marks the exact location of the hit, so to speak. But the cross or X that we make in this way is not only used there. We also find the cross in everyday life on church roofs or as a jewellery or on mountain peaks. It reminds us of the wa...

In addition to their protective function, shoes also have something aesthetically pleasing about them. Not every shoe goes with every outfit. And so you can ask yourself: what is more important: the appearance or the functionality? Spontaneously, we would probably all say: functionality. I am not so sure... Jesus once told a story about a great feast and there was a guest who was not dressed appro...

I am currently in a situation where I have to or may learn new signatures. This is exciting. On the one hand, because I couldn't make head or tail of these symbols, which were cryptic to me at the beginning, and now I start to understand them. And on the other hand, because I feel as if I'm learning a new language. But I also noticed that it is not enough to know only the correct term behind the s...

There were times when salt was very precious, when people even paid with salt - our term salary, still used today, bears witness to this. Wars were fought over salt deposits and it is just as important for our human life as water. Today, you hardly think of that when you add salt to something. Above all, salt was important as a preservative. There was the saying "Don't slaughter more than you can...