Five Minute Friday

[Five Minute Friday] Bloom

Sometimes I wonder.
If flowers thought as much as we do, what would they think about?
Would they think, Am I pretty enough? Is my dress good enough to show myself to the world?
O no, a petal is missing – this is horrible! Where can I hide?
I think I don’t have anything to give, I might just stay a bud forever.
And why in the world am I planted HERE? I’d much rather be somewhere else!

Even though I am not a nature person, it is good to let creation remind us of a few core human, worldy, and spiritual principles. We need those when we are caught in thoughts like those above.

Flowers don’t care how they look, they are just there.
No matter what color their ‘dress’ or if a petal is missing – they just bloom.
They let nature take its course.
A bud eventually turns into a full blooming flower, that’s how it is.

We are called to bloom, just like them.
With everyone we have, especially with our flaws.
Our destiny is not to remain buds forever.
Eventually, this life that’s been planted inside of us has to spring up and show itself to the world.

Flowers can’t decide where they’ll bloom.
But instead of complaining about location they simply make the most out of it.
One of the most amazing things for me is to take a walk and then discover a single flower in the most remote places. A flower in the middle of nowhere stands out.
It’s been planted there for a reason to bring joy to a wanderer’s heart.

We sometimes can’t decide where we are planted for a season in our lives.
But we can decide to make it the best of times by blooming and bringing beauty to unexpected places. You never know what wanderer will come by and be encouraged by the joy you bring.

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One prompt. Writing for five minutes flat. Linking up with wonderful writers. That’s Five Minute Friday with Lisa-Jo Baker!

[Five Minute Friday] Belong

It was nearly twelve years ago.
We had just come back to Germany, and even though it had only been two years – this time in Uganda had turned my world upside down. I had left as a child and came back as an adult.

Now I sat in a classroom with people I didn’t know, who spoke of things I didn’t know.
I paid with a currency I didn’t know as ‘German’.
I didn’t laugh at any jokes because I had no idea what ‘normal’ teenagers would laugh at.
I was incredibly tired of people asking me how Uganda had been (Have you seen elephants and snakes? Did you kill a lion? Do you speak ‘African’ now?), but as soon as I said no, they lost interest.

I felt utterly lost and in the wrong place.
All I wanted was to belong.
Isn’t that what we all want? I believe it’s a core longing in a human being.
To know who I was, what I could and couldn’t do.
To be me and others to be okay with it.

And it happened.
On a camp in the middle of nowhere, on a weekend with a lot of rain.
A group of people who had grown up in Russia, Brazil, Tanzania, or Egypt – all stranded in their ‘home culture’ Germany and having now clue about anything.
As soon as we started talking we clicked.
No matter where you have lived, no matter how long you’ve been gone, no matter how old you are – you are one of them.

We are all Third Culture Kids.
We feel lost in every single culture we have lived in, as if we don’t fit in any of them.
So we build our own space where we can find safety; a place we can call home.
Where we can be ourselves, as crazy, funny, or sad it might be.

This is a place to belong. And it is to this day.
Faces might have changed, people have grown up.
But as soon as I meet fellow TCKs face-to-face or via email/phone/skype, it is always the same feeling.
A feeling of belonging. Of family. Of home.

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An hommage to my beloved TCK family – but I am also linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday. One word. Write for five minutes. Don’t edit and share!

[Five Minute Friday] Exhale

I remember when I was in grade 12/13 in high school (in the US, that is a senior), I had a German teacher who started every lesson with a peculiar ritual: one minute of silence.
Sit on your chair, be quiet, and simply listen to your own breathing.
Inhale.
Exhale.
And again.

What seemed rather odd at first became my favorite part of the school day.
Looking forward to this one minute of pause, rest.
Doing nothing.
Just being.
Just listening to that breath that got me through the day.
That breath showing me that I was still alive.
Inhaling and exhaling was my way to show the world that I was still going, that I would continue to pick up the small and big fights it offered me.

I guess we need that moment of silence even when we’re out of school.
Life is just busy, throwing challenges at us, keeping on us a constant run.
We need that pause button, that short moment of rest.
Exhale and let go of things that bother us, that we can’t handle anymore.
Like that breath leaving our mouth feeling how that weight is lifted off our shoulders.
Take in new air, new perspectives, fresh voices.
Grasp inspiration and vision.
Inhale and show the world that we’re still alive.
That we keep going.
And that we’ll continue to pick up the small and big fights it offers us.

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It’s Friday and I am linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker. One prompt, five minutes of writing. No editing. Happy Friday!

[Five Minute Friday] Lost

You don’t have to enter a labyrinth to be confused.
You don’t have to drive with a rented car into a city you’ve never been to before to take the wrong turn.
You just have to get up in the morning to get lost.

Lost in the sea of emails flooding your inbox everyday.
Unnecessary info you forget as soon as you read it.
Invitations to events you can’t possibly fit into my already busy schedule.
People asking you to do something for them as if you weren’t super swamped already.

Lost in the masses of voices penetrating your mind everyday.
Did you do this already?
Are you aware of that deadline?
Have you heard this rumor?
What are your thoughts on that issue?

Sometimes I just want it all to stop.
Where is the PAUSE button for my life?
Sometimes I just want to be found.

It doesn’t take much to be found.
Like an email from a friend in the sea of junk, encouraging you.
Like a text from a friend asking how you’re doing and praying for you.
Like the quiet voice in your heart telling you: Listen to me. These emails and voices don’t matter in the long run.
It’s okay to be lost.
But know that I have found you long ago.
And I’ll continue finding you no matter how deep you’ll be lost in life.

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One prompt. Writing for five minutes flat. No editing. Sharing with fellow writers over at Lisa-Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday!

[Five Minute Friday] Release

My life is crazy busy, every friend trying to meet up with me or trying to contact me knows that (and I am terribly sorry about that!).
But often my mind seems even crazier.
Too many things going on at the same time.
Too many impressions waiting to be processed.
Too many questions wanting to be answered.
Too many stories to tell.

Sometimes I just want it all to stop. To just press pause, process, and then move on.

I need to release some of the thoughts and processes bottled up within me, otherwise I explode.
So I write.

Thoughts come to my mind, frames are filled up with images.
Loose ideas turn into phrases, sentences.
My hands pick up these ideas and translate them onto this virtual piece of paper.
Now they are out there, my thoughts, ideas, fears, and dreams.
And I feel a little more structured and at peace.

But why do I click “publish”? Why do I allow people from all across the world to read my mind?
See a little bit of myself even though they don’t even know me?

Sometimes you have to release a bird to see if it can fly.
You have to release an idea, a thought, a dream, or even something you’re struggling with.
Because sometimes, it comes back to you. In the form of a comment, an email, a personal meet-up. There is people out there who had similar ideas, struggled with the same thoughts, or didn’t dare to voice their fears.
Releasing a piece of my mind, of my story, helped them to release a piece of their soul.

“You never know the true value your story carries until you see it in the eyes of someone else who really needed to hear that story” (borrowed from my very gifted friend Tyler).

So go, release a piece of your mind.
And wait for the piece that will come back to you.

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Releasing a bit of my story today on Five Minute Friday by Lisa-Jo Baker! One word, five minutes of writing, no editing. And sharing with a wonderful community of fellow writers.

[Five Minute Friday] Messenger

What makes a messenger powerful?

Is it the words he uses – only if they fit together perfectly, only if his arguments are logically and powerful will he convince his audience to believe his message?

Is it his personality – only with great confidence and empathy for others will he get his point across?

Does a message have to be spoken in order to be heard?

More and more, I am beginning to learn that the most powerful messenger is the one who doesn’t say anything at all.

Who doesn’t climb tables to raise his voice.

Who doesn’t have to be on stage in order to be heard.

Who doesn’t preach and complain about all the things that are wrong in this world.

Instead of speaking, he ACTS.

He doesn’t come up with any logical arguments – he simply acts out whatever he has come to believe.

He doesn’t worry about his personality – he practices confidence and bravery in the face of challenges and turmoils.

He doesn’t complain about this world – he shows love and empathy to people in need and makes their world a little brighter.

He doesn’t preach of injustice – he stands up to make the world a little better.

One thing, one person at a time.

He doesn’t SPEAK the message.

He IS the message.

And I believe it will be clearly heard.

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Today I am linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker and fellow writers over at Five Minute Friday!

[Five Minute Friday] Hands

I’ve been given miracle workers.

They dig deep and work great things.
They carry heavy things and move other things around.
They are formed precisely to hold tiny objects like needles to sew, or open the knots in my shoe laces.

They run smoothly over raw material and create.
They hold a pen and write.
They dance over piano keys and compose.
They touch someone in need and offer comfort.
They hug a long-lost friend and express what some words could not do.

They are held closely together as I pray to the One who is in perfect control.
They are lifted up high to praise the creator of all things, the savior, and the restorer of piece.
They reach out to HIM, the ultimate miracle maker.

My hands are miracle workers.
Every single finger was made for a purpose, and only together my hands can do what they were created to do.
They were tiny when I was young, they might be dirty at times now, and they probably will be wrinkly as I get older.
No matter what, they are miracle workers.
Where can I put them to work today?

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I use my miracle workers of hands to write my thoughts and link up with a community over at Lisa Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday. See you there?

[Five Minute Friday] Nothing

There I was, sitting on the floor in an empty room.
Crying.
Shocked by myself.
I didn’t even know myself anymore.
I had just walked out on a crowd of people.
I could not bear the happiness anymore. All I felt was hatred, exhaustion, and such heaviness.
I had to leave.
After months and months of giving and pouring into people, events, schedules – I had nothing left to give.
I peered into this nothingness and knew I would have a long journey ahead of me.

Sometimes it might be necessary for us to hit rock bottom.
To realize our empty hands and even more, our thirsty, exhausted hearts.
To give in to our need to be filled first, to receive so that we can pass it on to others.
To discover again that there’s something there.
Something we’re passionate about, something we’ve learned and others can learn it from us.
Something that doesn’t drive us away from people, but actually right to where they are.

But it doesn’t come right away.
It takes time to walk through this nothingness, to process this feeling of emptiness.
And to get to the place, this fountain of life and abundance, ready to fill our empty souls and hands again with more than we can ever imagine or ask for.

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One prompt. Write for five minutes flat and link up with fellow writers over at Lisa Jo Baker‘s Five Minute Friday!

[Five Minute Friday] Close

I don’t find it easy to be close to people.
I meet new people at every place I go, and it takes a while to get to know some of them.
And it takes even longer to be close to even fewer of them.
It takes time, energy, and lots of perseverance.
And there is lots of failure. You cannot force someone to let you come close.
You cannot beam yourself close to someone else. So at times we might run against a wall.

It takes courage.
To try again, to ask questions.
To wait. To listen.
And to open up.
Getting close to someone else might start with allowing someone else to come close to me.
Just a tiny peek through the wall I so carefully built around myself.
Just a little glimpse into my heart.
How close do I want others to come?
Am I willing to let others see in me what I so want to see in them?

Let’s open our doors and hearts today, let others come close. And you’ll come closer to them.

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One prompt word. Write for five minutes flat. Connect with writers over at Lisa-Jo Baker!

[Five Minute Friday] Grateful

A friend once told me about this little ‘experiment’: Take a couple of beans and put them in your left pocket in the morning. Whenever you experience something to be grateful for throughout the day, put a bean in your right pocket. At the end of the day, empty the right pocket and count your beans.

Count your blessings and be grateful for all these little things you could experience.

I must admit I have done this maybe twice, but way too often I forget about it.

Not only to take the beans along, but also the kind of view I have on my day.

What am I looking at?

The pile of work in front of me?

The many appointments in my calendar?

The people who challenge me every day?

Or do I have time, energy and the right set of eyes to see the many little blessings in between?

A comfortable bed I can rest in from the day.

The invention of sleep (that’s definitely a good one, God!).

The smell of coffee in the morning.

The sound of birds singing outside my window.

Meeting a friend unexpectedly in the bus and we encourage each other for the day quickly.

The right song at the right time.

The immensity of food in the grocery store, and the blessing/curse for me to choose what I want to eat today.

My family and friends around the world, who send their love via email, phone, text, or visit.

Look around you. What do you see?

Watch out for the little things, because those are the ones that hide the greatest blessings.

Let’s count them and practice to be a little bit more grateful today.

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I’m often grateful for the Internet because it gives me a chance to get in touch with so many of you, and I can share with fellow writers on Lisa-Jo Baker‘s Five Minute Friday!