Would it help?

A short philosophical thought today: "Would it help?"

One of my favorite questions in life, facing difficult situations - the idea is to take a bit of distance to the emotions that ride ourselves in crises and a potent instrument, at least for one, to calm down and be cool. Be pragmatic. Being pragmatic means being flexible and adaptable - someone who can adapt, can survive almost everything. 

Watch and learn.

Btw: Given the situation, I have stopped to watch the news non stop - I do tune in only once a day, around 18.00 in the evening - early enough to still calm down before going to bed after the latest updates on new catastrophes and doubled numbers of dead people and failed businesses, and late enough in the day to have spent it trying to get some routine going, apart from working from home and wondering, if my hairdresser David 's business will survive the lock down for more than 3 weeks ( yes, the one I once wrote a blog about, years ago...). 

You have certainly seen the film "Bridge of Spies"? It is a good movie, worth to watch, for me mainly because of the stunning performance of Mark Rylance - yes, I am a fan of Mark Rylance and cannot wait until the next series of Wolf Hall is coming out.. He is such a good actor and such a humble person.  Lourenco and I met him in London, after seeing "Farinelli and the King" - kind and normal and no star stuff around this man. Clever eyes, warm smile. A human being.  Fantastic actor.

Anyway. In Bridge of Spies he is The Spy - being caught and put in court. Standing there, waiting for the verdict to be announced, whether it is death penalty or a sentence for life, his lawyer, played by Tom Hanks, asks his client: Are you not nervous to be sentenced to death? And his reply is one of the most impressive replies which I know. 

He simply looks quietly at him and puts the question back: "Would it help?"

This is stoicism as Epictetus or Marc Aurel would have it:  pragmatic, not over exited, not under exited, just clear and present and calm. What else can a thinking person be in such circumstances?

I therefore invite all of us to stay calm, be vigilant, take our responsibilities and ask ourselves, before sending on the 45th horrible video on people raiding shops in France, of crying nurses and doctors and of army lorries transporting off the countless poor people who have died in Italy.... Would it help?

But then  I might be terribly old fashioned and not in tune with the new world.. I prefer to keep calm and crack the 45th stupid joke, while knowing very well indeed how serious the situation is and what is necessary and my responsibility to do: Staying at home, staying in touch with friends, family and colleagues, keeping spirits high and carry on.

And play this disc with the Viennese Waltzes  - very loud!!

Hi - how are you??

Unexpected Things are not always welcome - who would have thought some months ago that we would find ourselves in a situation which almost none of us have experienced before here in Europe: A virus has stopped our daily lives as we used to know them, took them for granted and thought it would be like this for ever and ever. And now this.

As so many of us I am working from home and am surprised that one can in fact do a lot in a very effective way - I keep in touch with my few colleagues, calling them to hear how they are and have started to organise myself in a different way, my lists keep me up to date so that I will be not too much behind once I am back in the office, mails are replied to and I even have a coffee while chatting with a colleague on the phone.

We are all in the same boat, and it is amazing to see how unpersonal contacts via mail get a touch of humanity and kindness again and again. So we are humans after all.... I do not feel - until now - really stressed, even if I can see that my youngest son is missing his friends and the opportunity to get out and about. To be very honest, I am almost grateful to have a breather, the last months had been too exhausting and there was little hope of things slowing down. But now they do slow down, if we want or not.

There are some modifications in my life which I really find even comfortable: I wake up an hour later than normal and hear birds sing. I have not to rush to the office in a horrible traffic jam every day. I started to cook again for my son and me. I sit and chat with friends and children and family on the phone, instead of Whatsapping once in a while. I have started again to listen to music at home. I plan even to tackle this still slumbering cupboard which has never been arranged since I moved in this flat, but the stuff just literally dumped in there and I had never a moment of peace or the energy to start sorting it out. I could do it now, while I have to stay at home anyway and find ways to occupy myself. Like shopping in one's own wardrobe - I could find things I did not even remember I had?

Cleaning a kitchen cupboard is also almost therapeutic: at least something is under control.

And, perhaps, let's see, start to write a little post here and there again, on this and that and nothing at all. Why not. One always has to see the good in everything, always. Especially when one is wondering what is going on in our world.

So, let's see what might still be hidden in this old handbag here....