Or maybe assumptions....I see parallels between the FIFA cup and all other aspects of life. So far, none of the matches have ended the way I would have predicted them before the world cup started. I am now wondering if I should adjust my expectations going forward or my favorite teams smarten up and do not kick the ball to hard if they know it will fly to far....
Anyways, I see myself betting on other people´s success, and lack of it. But it does not always work out according to my expectations. And then it´s me: I bet on my successes and failures and sometimes it just happens differently. If I am sure of something, it can still work out differently then I thought. And that is when I feel very happy or extremely down. Thus it seems that breaking down expectations would help avoid feeling down if something doesn´t work out.
This sounds good, but that means also watching the final f the world cup without any emotion - to avoid disappointment.
And that thought is not too appealing to me. Life is supposed to feel like something after all, right?
Even though expectations and assumptions are generally not very helpful, we cannot live without them - they drive us, give us hope, give us worries, whatever to make us feel alive - to give us downs - and amazing, intoxicating UPS :-) (Not the United Parcel Service)
Global crises made fun
I am listening to the 2010 FIFA Theme Song by K´naan. And finally the long searched pieces of the puzzle came together: people ask why there is never so much excitement around UN general assembly meetings as there is around the world cup. Why Copenhagen failed even though people walked, cycled and swam there from all over the world? Why the whole sustainability conversation is becoming a nuisance before it reached it´s tipping point?
Was there a theme song associated with them? Were people betting on the outcome? Did people wave flags and wear colorful wigs? Did everyone move in one one rhythm, did people really connect for the purpose? Did people hang out with friends, having something to drink, to eat and staring glued at the screen while making jokes, yelling at the players thousands of kilometers away, jump out excited every time a player approached the goal?
It is true, sustainability has become a fashion thing, but it has never really become FUN, something that connects us out of joy instead of necessity.
So, to all those campaigning for a more connected, more responsible future - MAKE IT FUN! Make people´s feet dance, but fundamentally, not here and there every now and then!
Let´s see if COP 16 in Mexico can make the FUN and the change - the success. We still have time - good 5 months!
Summer's here
Not only have I not written for over a month, I am still out of ideas that could be topics of general interest. I feel like writing up a list of bullet points on all the things happening in the world and in my life. But that is not too helpful, either.
So I will write about the spring / summer in Amsterdam that again makes all my doubts about the city vanish. I have just had a not entirely pleasant tax attorney on the phone for 20 minutes, and not having resolved my issue, I still feel no anger. I must be because I see the Magere Brug from my office window. And the sun is shining.
Friends are coming to town, we are going to places, having a good time all over. What else? There are some major international issues as we speak (such as the BP oil spill, the Israeli attack on the aid convoy, the resignation of the Japanese prime minister, just to mention a few), but since I now feel an urge to enjoy the sun and do my job well to maximize my impact in my own position & live a sustainable life, I can only observe the development on the international scene.
And, the World Cup is starting. Summer is here. BBQ and picnic time almost every day. We live in the city with amazing parks all over the place. With canals to avoid dry air. With a comfortable background. It's fantastic, but maybe it's unfair and wrong. Nevertheless, would "not enjoying what you have" also not be wrong?
So, let's just let it flow... and go with the flow... and have an amazing early summer 2010 (I am still tempted to type 2009)....
So I will write about the spring / summer in Amsterdam that again makes all my doubts about the city vanish. I have just had a not entirely pleasant tax attorney on the phone for 20 minutes, and not having resolved my issue, I still feel no anger. I must be because I see the Magere Brug from my office window. And the sun is shining.
Friends are coming to town, we are going to places, having a good time all over. What else? There are some major international issues as we speak (such as the BP oil spill, the Israeli attack on the aid convoy, the resignation of the Japanese prime minister, just to mention a few), but since I now feel an urge to enjoy the sun and do my job well to maximize my impact in my own position & live a sustainable life, I can only observe the development on the international scene.
And, the World Cup is starting. Summer is here. BBQ and picnic time almost every day. We live in the city with amazing parks all over the place. With canals to avoid dry air. With a comfortable background. It's fantastic, but maybe it's unfair and wrong. Nevertheless, would "not enjoying what you have" also not be wrong?
So, let's just let it flow... and go with the flow... and have an amazing early summer 2010 (I am still tempted to type 2009)....
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