It is Halloween eve in Rotterdam. To me, it is also Deadline eve, so in an attempt to kick start my brain's creativity, I've retreated to a cosy Caffe and Pattisserie near my home, which carries an indescribable feeling of nostalgia in the air. I first came here 10 days ago, just after seeing Midnight in Paris, and the space was a real-life continuation of the film- it's like different times and spaces meet here, it is cosmopolitan, yet very local; it is big but it feels like each table is made just for you. It has that je ne sais quoi.
And they make the most unbelievable hot chocolate- served with a separate dish of whipped cream to dip. Mmm.
As I sit and try to organise my thoughts, on my left a gentleman sat. He must be around- let me look again- around 60. He ordered in Dutch and soon they brought him coffee and a slice of lemon cake. And as I see him read a newspaper, enjoy the cake and then wash down the slight zest with good coffee, I was overwhelmed with such warmth. Warmth, firstly, towards him, and an appreciation of age, a desire to be as calm and distinguished as he seems, when I am 60. To be able to afford to go out to a caffe on a monday evening for a slice of cake.
If you think about it, ultimately, all we ever want is in this picture. Health, enough means to live calmly, inner peace and a piece of cake. That is all I want for my 60th birthday.
Monday 31 October 2011
Friday 28 October 2011
Strangers
Don't pass up on the opportunity to talk to strangers- it will make you feel better than most other things.
Conversations with strangers tend to happen in casual places, while waiting for the train, in queues, waiting to get served in the pub. Maybe you notice, often enough, there is waiting involved, and why not make the best of it? Other times, it is because we are upset or happy about something, and people around us share the same feeling. I once had the case of going to my mobile provider and complaining about my phone's touch screen refusing to work, when a loud woman next to me was giving them a hard time. I asked, what phone do you have? HEr answer was no surprise- the same as mine!
I've learned that more often than we realise, people will experience very similar emotions to ours- be it frustration that the salesperson on the counter is too slow, or happiness that our team is winning, as we sip our beer in the pub. Even if we try, we cannot ignore that so much of our human behaviour follows the rules of psychology and to me, emracing it has made me friends. And another thing- ultimately, we probably all want food, shelter and companionship. This fact, combined with the fact that you are currently in the same place and time as someone else means that you already have so much in common, that a simple hi seems to be easiest thing to do. Last time I tried, I made a friend.
Conversations with strangers tend to happen in casual places, while waiting for the train, in queues, waiting to get served in the pub. Maybe you notice, often enough, there is waiting involved, and why not make the best of it? Other times, it is because we are upset or happy about something, and people around us share the same feeling. I once had the case of going to my mobile provider and complaining about my phone's touch screen refusing to work, when a loud woman next to me was giving them a hard time. I asked, what phone do you have? HEr answer was no surprise- the same as mine!
I've learned that more often than we realise, people will experience very similar emotions to ours- be it frustration that the salesperson on the counter is too slow, or happiness that our team is winning, as we sip our beer in the pub. Even if we try, we cannot ignore that so much of our human behaviour follows the rules of psychology and to me, emracing it has made me friends. And another thing- ultimately, we probably all want food, shelter and companionship. This fact, combined with the fact that you are currently in the same place and time as someone else means that you already have so much in common, that a simple hi seems to be easiest thing to do. Last time I tried, I made a friend.
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