find deep fulfillment in everything you do
“We need more strong women—show yourselves.” That, or something similar, was a post on Threads by Maxim Mankevich some time ago. Actually, it was well-intentioned, wanting to support women. One would think. And yes, it was definitely well-intentioned, and yet there are more and more nuances showing up here as well.
For a long time, I searched for connection without realizing that I was looking in the wrong places. I traveled around the world, searching for it in other cultures and other people. I was uprooted. I was a wanderer. I was like a leaf in the wind. Constantly searching. Constantly looking for a home in someone else or trying to build it there, or building it in such a way that I could leave at any time because it wasn't quite ideal anyway.
Everyone says “follow your path,” but where is that path? Who knows it? And whose path is it really?
When we set out to find our own path instead of following the one that has been prepared for us by our environment, opinions about what our path may be are sprouting like mushrooms. Everyone who “only wants the best for us” has an idea in their head about what our path is. And when we hear similar stories from different people about where we should go, we can easily be tempted to believe them. But that can be one of the biggest traps on our path…
I have been self-employed since 2018. But I have only really felt that way for the last 1-2 years. And since then, I have slowly realized how the enthusiasm I originally had for this venture died the moment I wanted to make something of it. Where it was no longer enough for me to enjoy doing something, but where it had to serve a purpose. Where it had to make money. Where it had to attract potential customers. In short, where I was no longer doing it for myself.
Tad Hargrave has observed that as self-employed people, we have to figure out where we are on the spectrum between artist and entrepreneur. Basically, the spectrum between creativity and goal-oriented pragmatism. And it’s a very important insight.
Almost two years ago I had the spontaneous, crazy impulse that I would like to put another Tiny House on my property, and I had to find it immediately, because after that one offer I found, there would probably never be another one like it on offer…
I had previously had my eye on another hut, but it was no longer available, so I went online to look for a second-hand hut. Basically, you can always find a wide variety of wooden huts either for free or cheaply for self-dismantling. But what these ads don’t tell you are the hidden costs involved.
As a writer, especially a rather unexperienced writer, I constantly ask myself: what the hell do I actually know that I can write about? The quote "write what you know" that I somehow strongly connect to the movie "Never been kissed" fuels this question.
Everyone says that building a house is exhausting and costs a lot of time and money. And yet probably everyone underestimates it. And above all: it doesn't matter how small or big the house is. The cost is almost always higher.
After the preparations and the addition of the new rooms, my house is unfortunately far from finished. After another break of about 3-4 weeks, the time had finally come: I got a roof over my head!
"How could I ever trust someone if I have been betrayed?" This is a question we all ask ourselves at some point in our lives. Either consciously or subconsciously. And from what I've observed, there are a lot of different layers to this question.
Inspired by the original building, the extension was also to be built with cross-laminated solid wood panels. But since there was not enough space to use straw-insulated walls as well, we chose thicker wood panels instead. And in this case that means 18cm thick! If you want to cut a board like that, you need a circular saw so big that at least I almost can't carry it.