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Dear ,
In this newsletter I want to take you on a walk through the village where I am living since 10 months now and that has become my village.
It is a typical Bulgarian village which means it is very different from the villages in Bavaria, where I was born.
Its existence goes back to the middle Ages, having its time of prosperity at the end of the 19thcentury with more than 2000 inhabitants and a pulsing economic, political and cultural village life. Now it has a population of more or less 400 people including the roundabout 50 foreigners who call it their home.
Can you imagine what that means for a village? Well, it means that many of the houses that were once home to Bulgarian families have been vacant for quite some time. They are abandoned - the young have moved away, the old have died.
For some strangers walking through the streets, it may seem strange, gloomy, eerie. For me, however, it feels different - and I want to share this with you today.
Bulgarians have a tradition that they put pictures of the dead in front of their houses, on their gates. They do this in remembrance of their loved ones. So you walk through the streets and you see these pictures. You become aware of who lived here, 10, 20, 40 years ago. And all of a sudden, houses that now are in ruins become alive again and start telling stories.
A week ago I was part of an online workshop where I had the experience, that life without death would miss something very essential. In our “tidy and clean” western civilization, we tend to lock out and exclude death whenever we can. In my village it is present – every day, and life and death feel so close to each other like I had never felt it before.
Another lesson my village is teaching me on my daily walks is through Mother Nature. Looking at some lost gardens sometimes I catch myself thinking “How lovely would that garden be if only …. “ But then I take a closer look and I see the beauty in everything that is there. And I see the power of nature, much stronger than us humans. We limit her, trim her, trying to subdue her. But only one year in the absence of a human being – she has taken over again – proudly showing her beauty in every leaf, flower and fruit.
My village reminds me of the cycle of life and death. That they belong together, that they are one. And when I see the beauty of life – I can also see the beauty of death.
My village helps me in staying humble, grateful and in expanding my awareness. It makes me understand what it really means to acknowledge what is and to be in the presence of what is. It teaches me that it always and only depends on me how I meet someone or something.
When I listen, when I fully open my heart, I can hear it breathing and I can feel its heart beating. And when I connect like this - although I am a stranger - I feel welcome. I feel at home.
May this month of May contribute to your trust in the cycle of life so that you can fully enjoy what is given to you. May you feel welcome and at home wherever you are.
In the spirit of love and reconciliation
Ursula |
