-
Beyond Croatia’s Beauty
Living in Switzerland has allowed us to travel to many places in the world that we may not have otherwise been able to see. However, seeing is one thing; experiencing these places is something else. Some places can give you an aura or feel about them beyond that in which the eye can see. Sometimes, their natural beauty may point to and radiate something more to life than what we can visualize. Other times, it might be the architecture that can tell the stories of their past in ways only our subconscious can fully articulate. And then there are the places still wrestling with their own identities as a country,…
-
Cold as Stone (3 Years Later)
Three years ago, our lives changed. We blindly boarded a plane with a few suitcases and a one-way ticket to live on the other side of the world. It’s hard to fathom that we have now called Switzerland our home for this long. There are days when it seems surreal, and there are days when it is very real. There are days when we feel grateful, and there are days when we feel the grind and we complain (A lot). This past Sunday, the exact date we left 3 years prior, I sat and tried to come up with something to think about, write about, or at the very least…
-
Bonnie Scotland
Over the course of the last two and half years, we have been very fortunate to have traveled a part of the world that we have never seen before. And I think we can all agree that these experiences are not to be taken for granted. Mainly because every time you have an opportunity to experience a new place, a new culture, or a new landscape, it brings you out of your own ego, your own perceptions, your own narrow reality. And for this, we are very grateful. We have been to many different countries and cities over the course of the last few years and each one has left…
-
Turning the Big 4-0
They say that when you turn 40, you enter a new stage of life where you begin to see things more thoroughly—or, better put, as they are rather than as you want them to be. Ideology and theory become less of a focus, and the messiness of life becomes more of a comfortable norm. Maybe it is about being content within the “grey” areas of our lives, where we seem better suited to hold two opposing things together without discounting either. This has undoubtedly been the case for me as I reflect upon the immense beauty and suffering in my own life. Both of these are constantly present, but when…
-
Nice, France
Earlier this month we took the short 50 minute plane ride from Basel, Switzerland to Nice, France. It was in the middle of the “holiday” season here in Europe so I wasn’t completely sure what we were getting ourselves into, especially with this being our first time to the French Riviera. A couple of things come to mind since we have returned. Distance: One of the great aspects of living in Europe, especially Switzerland because of its central location, is the proximity to other countries. Being an American, our worldview as far as distance is concerned can be at times skewed because in some cases we can drive 8 hours…
-
Wrestling with Time
Forever Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1872 – 1906 I had not known before Forever was so long a word. The slow stroke of the clock of time I had not heard. ‘Tis hard to learn so late; It seems no sad heart really learns, But hopes and trusts and doubts and fears, And bleeds and burns. The night is not all dark, Nor is the day all it seems, But each may bring me this relief— My dreams and dreams. I had not known before That Never was so sad a word, So wrap me in forgetfulness— I have not heard.
-
Rounding Second Base
(Photo: The Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic) This post is a bit long, disjointed, maybe a lot of rambling, and yes, it might not make much sense, but in light of the week (Holy Week) and my last post, “Finding Freedom,” I was compelled to write it. I have recently found myself thinking of a few short stories that my pastor in the States would bring up, time and time again, hoping that it would sink in. Life usually indicates whether you can receive the intended message when given to you. In other words, you can’t rush the meaning if you aren’t ready to receive it. And not being prepared…
-
A New Hang Out
A few weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, our family decided to take a train to Thun so we could jump on a boat to visit a castle on Lake Thun. It is a place that we have seen many times but never gone. Well, we finally did. And then I had to go back!! For those who have come for a visit or have experienced the Swiss transportation system on your own, you know that the efficiency and quality make traveling around this beautiful country very easy. We have become very accustomed to the accessibility of all forms of transportation, and taking a trip to another city or mountain…
-
Finding Freedom
I recently read an article suggesting that people over 70 feel more content and are happier now than at any other point. Some of the reasons proposed were more free time to do what they enjoyed, such as hobbies and spending time with family and friends. Other reasons suggested worrying less and not caring what other people think anymore. What freedom. You have the freedom to do what you want and with whom you want to, and more importantly, you experience interior freedom while doing it. I am a few years from 70, well 30 to be exact in September, but I long for the interior freedom that this study…
