Rites of Youth in Trier

On any given summer weekend... you will find groups of Trier’s youth gathering downtown in the ”Haupt Marktplatz“....

This gathering will consist of anywhere from two people to a dozen teenage friends...male and female... More than likely, there will be a bottle or two of red wine and/or white wine being shared amongst them (legal age, of course)..... They are causing no trouble; no fights will break out, no vandalism will occur..... They are just the youth of Trier celebrating life; enjoying each others friendship, enjoying being outdoors and soaking in the atmosphere around them as tourist and residents alike bustle about them..... Animated conversations over love, life, the opposite sex and laughter fill the air! No subject is taboo and no one is ridiculed. All are included.... None of the “grown ups” sneer at them (some even engage them in conversation). No one is harassing them. They are accepted and treated as people. A part of the city life... They are not hustled off to any dark out of the way areas or pushed aside because of their youthful innocence... The police walk by unperturbed by this common gathering as it does not cause any alarm... It is an accepted ritual that has been repeated many times throughout the years, decades and perhaps centuries in this over 2000 yrs old city....the rites of the youth in Trier.....
:)

Two Birds

Watching two birds in the sky.....

A small black bird is frantically flipping its wings in an attempt to stay afloat against the currently prevailing high winds. Soon, another black bird, obviously a fully grown bird, swoops in next to the other, smaller bird. It is coasting, flapping its wings only occasionally as he uses the wind to stay afloat in a seemingly effortless display of beauty that only birds can do. He swiftly flies nearby the smaller and younger black bird as it is feverishly flapping its wings. Then, the larger bird, using one thrust of its wings, drifts in front of the other bird as if to show him how it is done; how to properly use the wind beneath its wings to stay afloat. After a while and after a few futile attempts on its own, the smaller bird finally begins to float, to coast along using the wind to its advantage and to soar higher and higher in the sky. After a few flights around in a circle, the smaller bird following the bigger black bird, they part ways and head off in different directions. The smaller bird, now flying high, confidently and soaring with grace ... on its own .....
:-)

Dirty Dishes

Sometimes, during the daily hustle and bustle to get through our day, we forget those who are nearest, dearest and most important to us. We lose track of our priorities. It happens.

Example: When your child (or spouse etc.) wakes up in the morning, be sure to smile at them and say “hi!” When you get home from work or when they come home after school, be sure to stop what your are doing for a minute, smile at them and say “hi”, again, when you see ‘em. Don’t force it but let it come naturally and honestly from the heart. Let them know and make them feel (it) that they are the most important part of your life (hopefully they are); least of all, make them feel that they are more important than the “dirty dishes”!
:-)

Rear view mirror

As I've said before...
In the car of life,
the rear view mirror does not matter
throw it out
for, what has happened has happened
we cannot do anything about it
learn from it then put it away
always move forward
never backward
life is life...
enjoy it
become it
live it...
today!
:-)

spirits in material world

We are spirits in

a material world.

--sting

:)