One of my earliest memory is that of listening to the sound of the wind blowing through the flat looking out over the north sea in IJmuiden. The wind spoke like a voice, words that I could not understand, but feel somehow. Growing up we tend to lose that curiosity to be present to a quiet mystery. I always felt it was important to hang on to it. To not lose it. But to keep listening to the wind. My work today is to articulate what is of the essence. Looking for that message that emerges from a place that is not seen with eyes. And bring it back into the world. So that we may all find that curiosity once again. 

I like coffee in the morning, afternoon walks, notes on scraps of paper.  atmospheric music, U2, Pine Tree Forests, mountains, oceans, airports, blackbird spring songs, the wind in the tree, attentiveness.

Dislikes: Cold feet, indifference, dental treatment, big spiders, almost missing a flight, a removed message in Whats-app (mistakes are the most interesting messages). 

I believe in…

Make a child feel seen. 

You grow if you help others grow. 

I believe we have been given an authentic core and a creative responsibility to create new realities in this world.

Look at this photo, and notice how happy I am. A happiness that still remains, but… different. Key components for creativity are wonder and determination. Children wonder about everything and are stubbornly determined to find out. They grow quickly! Jesus advised people to be like children in order to gain new understanding. People were invited to believe in something greater than themselves, something we find hard as adults.

Wonder will draw us out of the comfort zone. It shouldn’t surprise us that growth is about play as much as mature determination.

Be curious for discovery again.

P.S. Have you ever noticed that the colors in older photos have a certain density? As if life was lived differently.

There is a certain path in a park that I have walked for years, in every season and variation of weather. Recently, I asked myself: why does this path not bore me after so many years? The answer I came up with for myself was simple:

Because it is different each day.

There is just enough life to be found: birds high and low, ponds with fishes, frogs, and greens, rabbits hiding around the corner. Beautiful open views of the sky as well. Every hour, day, and season has its own signature. Have you noticed that the light is different after rain? Have you ever been taken by that musky odor in the evening? Each day brings something new, and it helps me to see myself more clearly. That path is an open-air exhibition of life. And that is the reason why I keep walking that path—because no minute in nature has ever been the same.

Don’t worry about tomorrow.

I love coffee. Though it affects creativity—caffeine stimulates the brain to think linearly, while creativity benefits from associative thinking. So, guess what? I drink what sets its will against me because I work creatively. Drinking coffee is an act that is controversial to my intention. Yet controversy is a known catalyst of creativity; it balances out.

And so I drink my coffee, with sugar. That makes me a controversial person. But kind-natured. Unless you take away my coffee…