2020 Revisited - Best Moments 

This morning, a friend shared a video in a chat group that promised a funny clip about "Best Moments of 2020", with a simple click on arrow. I clicked Play! ... but nothing happened. Not a thing.

I clicked several times, and soon was desperately annoyed about a video that was not loading properly, again. Yes, lately I had some problems with my channels, especially with my connections, and was not really surprised, but nevertheless bad-tempered. But then - as usual a bit late - a light came on, and I knew: Ah, there is apparently nothing to tell. Funny... Hilarious? Yes, most probably. But actually rather sad. In any case, this little stumbling block inspired me to write this text.

It made me sad that there might be no one out there to see anything positive in this past year. Which can hardly be the case, because everyone probably makes their own experiences? Perhaps some are afraid to speak of a positive year, simply because the joy of "Thank God, no more hugs!" is not really a commonly shared positive one, and also the now almost dangerous wish to the contrary could make one being considered as careless and irresponsible, and is therefore not a nice perspective.

But presumably it is getting more and more difficult to find a niche to survive in this already distributed world, because sometimes it seems to me that the world of thoughts is as overfished as the world of oceans.

More and more it seems to me that there is only scrap to be found, waste, by-products of efficiently industrially produced and quickly spread thoughts. Even the general thoughts shared in the form of statistics are now produced only in large factories, manufactured in doubt-clean rooms. Efficient, inexpensive production, and without much chance that one could still sell own products beside it. At least not in the main shopping malls, where everyone always seems to crowd in.

So: niches are wanted! But probably we all have to find such niches ourselves. I hope there are still a few such "selfies" out there! However, I have said goodbye to the big barren main streets, the shopping districts and entertainment centers, to find a small corner joining narrow and bumpy streets, where people slow down, and even stumble, now and then unexpectedly right into my little shop. So far, that's working out quite well. But how long will this go on until my small neighborhood is also upgraded to the standards of the majority, so that here, too, no one pops into my shop anymore because there is no reason to stumble; and until here, too, the good news of unclouded progress shows its beneficial and obviously convincing effect?

My very positive review of the year 2020

• Farewell and dismantling of my store, which had become too big lately and was no longer doing so well because I lacked marketing support. Always had to do everything myself, or at least so I thought. Yes, that was accompanied by tears and pain, but also culminated in a extensive closing party that could be seen, or felt. Full of joy and tears. And in those I looked for hope, and found it in abundance.

• Preparations for the move: Reserving a transport bike for my meager leftovers turned out to be a challenge, because all had to be produced fool-proof. There were delivery bottlenecks, and even if delivered, they had to be cleaned meticulously after every use, causing traffic jams on all main connections! So I decided to walk and found - as always - a way. Rather slow but however surprisingly exciting.

• But even on foot it was not always easy, so I had to stay a long time in one place on my way to the outer quarter, due to a still somehow incomprehensibly invisible border. But even this turned out to be an unexpected gift. An unplanned stay in a humble kind of convent brought me rich fishing grounds, away from the big fishing nets. What a feast. Yes, the fish were probably a little smaller, but rich in flavor and vitamins, and whenever I gratefully ate one, new ones would immediately come, happily offering themselves. Quite a challenge to choose among this rich offer! But even this conflict was rather easily solved; whenever I was hungry, my mouth would open, and in no time at all an adventurous meal would jump right into my maw. And so sometimes I thought, how often had I considered retiring to a convent in order to ponder life, or taking a pilgrimage under my feet. And now it had worked surprisingly simply. No elaborate organization, no costs except life.

• But sometimes it is also necessary to leave a paradise again, because what is learned in the "dry" wants to be applied again in "real" life, in the big pond. Swimming is the answer. And also, don't forget: A promise is a promise. So I simply could not stay. This attitude is of course somewhat inflexible, and does not always promise the best of all bests, but it is now the best of my best attitudes, and I have done well with it so far. I may not have feasted in the hottest places, but in turn experienced many a welcome surprise. Even taste buds like to be surprised, but only if they still find room in the brain to discover the sense of taste in all its richness again and again.

• Oh, yes, the brain! How this thought came to me, I don't really know anymore. On the one hand, certainly thanks to modern science, in the shadows of which the idea is spreading that the brain is not only located in this airy evagination, this room with a view, but is connecting everywhere, in the tummy, in the guts, including the heart, and to the very fingertips. And faster than any virus. So all of a sudden this realization came to me: it seems that the brain is not only spreading inwards, but that there are also plenty of connections out there, which cannot be captured in numbers from 2 to 5. This was another big and wonderful surprise.

• Unfortunately, I knew right away that I would not be able to sell this insight as a new product right away, because it is obviously a delicately fresh product that may look good for a long time when stored and nicely packaged, but whose contents rot quickly when only preserved. I know that such a product would be easy to sell in the short term, like in a pop-up store, but I've always been concerned about long-term customer relationships, including a loyalty that doesn't immediately make us feel tied-up uncomfortably, mopey and bored. Because I still believe that long-term relationships don't have to be boring. Above all I am open, in which currency my products are paid, or simply we exchange. And if someone doesn't pay or can't pay, then I have made the experience that suddenly an uncle shows up unexpectedly to settle an open, even written-off, bill, even if it's only by sharing my liquor and laughing heartily together for a moment. Yes, also with the currencies and the exchange rates it is such a thing, but probably - no worry! - only in run-down side streets.

• Perhaps the best of 2020: under great precautions, carefully careless and spontaneously warm hugs were still possible. Thanks to mental or maybe spiritual niches. And also my favorite meeting place with the wild name "Salsa Rosa" was always open. Even if the offers there are quite "modest", they are surprisingly rich in taste :-)

At least I have experienced many a beautiful thing in this past, so peculiar, year 2020. I hope I do not have to regret to say this so openly.

And Love 2020?
Even after this instructive year, I still don't know too much about it. Even if sometimes it almost felt as if love was all around in the air! But somehow I'm still quite happy not to know everything so precisely, simply because I like to be surprised. Yes, I am ready for you, 2021. I hope you are too!

Oops, it has already begun!
So: Thank you 2020, you have treated me well! And even that you have now gone and made room for the new, I appreciate too. But will you be new and fresh, as promised? Or will the main roads of thinking continue to jam? Well, from my experience, one always finds a niche. But to speak of "one", I don't like much myself. This "One"-road of the general realization reminds me too much of the marketing strategy of the large businesses, and there - I know - I will find no niche.

Wish 2021:
Also to you, my appreciated reader - perhaps "yourself" a stumbling person - I wish a very good and fresh 2021, full of rich fishing grounds, and hope that also you will find a good ground without wanting to monopolize it immediately! Funnily enough, I still think that if shared, there is and will always be enough space. But sharing is admittedly not easy, even to understand it's meaning. However, it is always worth a try - again and again! May 2021 be a good one!

PS: Just now the water failed, citywide. For once, these large plastic containers filled with purified water, called "Salvavida" and found in every household here, are very welcome. Also the idea to replace some of the missing water with a ¡Cervicita, bien fría! 🍺