Dear friends of Italy,
It should, in theory, be quite simple: the sun is shining, and before us lies perhaps the sea, a breathtaking landscape, or one of Italy's fascinating cities, and we simply enjoy the moment. Yet the mind does not always oblige. Thoughts about what has passed, what still needs to be done, or matters that weigh on us have a habit of travelling along with us.
All the more precious, then, are those small moments in which we step quite consciously off the carousel of thoughts. That is precisely the subject of the new "Atempause" by our guest author Dr. Christoph Glumm. Once again, he takes just a brief minute for a thought that may stay with us a little longer.
So: set aside the everyday for a moment, press play on the video, and simply allow yourself this little breathing space. Sometimes that is all it takes.
When a mistake becomes a beginning
Sometimes a mistake feels like a definitive failure . One has tried one's best, and yet the result simply does not measure up.
That was the experience of the chemist Spencer Silver at 3M in the 1960s: tasked with developing an exceptionally strong adhesive, he instead invented a weak one. Useless, one might think. Yet years later, that very "mistake" became the foundation of a global bestseller: Post-it Notes.
A biblical story describes something similar: many people are hungry, but there are only five loaves and two fish, far too little, the people say. "Share it anyway," says Jesus. And it is enough.
Both stories tell us the same thing: what appears small, insufficient, or flawed is not without value. In the right moment, in the right context, it can become something good.
There is no need, then, to judge everything immediately as a success or a failure. One can give one's best, and then let go, trusting that even what is unfinished is in good hands. That something can still come of what one does not yet understand.
A mistake is not the end. Sometimes it is only the beginning.
