Reflections on Changing Times

In January, I turned 50. I have a small empire of Little Buddha books and a nice record collection. A beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, beautiful sisters and beautiful friends. That's a lot, but that's it. No house of my own, no huge savings, no drive to sell my soul. Sometimes I feel powerless. On July 4th of this year, the United States of America will turn 250. While not strictly an empire, the US has been the dominant force in the world for a long time. Judging by the

The sink was blocked, dirty water going nowhere. Was it a surprise, I wondered, that this happened only two days after the great Saturn and Neptune conjunction? Saturn represents solid structures, Neptune the mighty ocean – and there it was, the ocean contained in my kitchen sink! But while it can be a relief to blame others – partners, polititians, planets –, blaming rarely changes anything. So I got my phone out, asked ChatGPT what to do, and was presented with three possib

I sit down, exhausted from running around. The days are racing and slowness seems to be hiding. New information arrives by the second — new ideas, new chats, new obligations. Something in me longs for a break, but my mind is strict. Keep going , it says, there's no time to rest. In many countries, at least in the so-called Western world, restaurants are adapting to the fast pace of modern life. Guests are given slots, and once the 60 or 90 minutes are over, the next guests ar

I was driving down the A4 motorway from Madrid to Andalucía. Dry plains stretched out to the left and right, and a seemingly endless...

For many decades, everything seemed to be getting better. Children were growing up wealthier than their parents, and peace was becoming the norm. At least in Europe it was like this — in places like the Congo and Gaza, war and poverty have long thrived. Today, whether I watch the news or look to the heavens, the outlook isn't great. Astrologically, there's talk of fiery and revolutionary war energy building up — with comparisons to the time of the French Revolution. Meanwhile

My grandfather once said, 'You can't stay neutral in a war'. It was in the context of speaking of Switzerland's position in the second...

A few days ago I was in contact with a friend who was born in Israel. We talked about the genocide happening in the Middle East, and...

A little over two years ago, I experienced one of those pivotal moments that told me: something has to change! It had been a relatively...

In the last months I‘ve posted regularly about the atrocities being committed every day in Gaza and, more hidden from the public, in the...