Life Philosophies

I have had a very thoughtful week. A lot has been on my mind and I have been discovering new things about myself and the world. Throughout this process, I have been coming up with little life philosophies. I am not attempting to be Aristotle or anything. These are just my thoughts....

On Friday we saw The Marriage of Figaro. It was phenomenal. One of my favorite performances I have every seen. Here is a picture of the stage:

It was very well cast and all of the characters were exactly as I imagined them. The singing was impeccable. And, the plot was hilarious! As I was laughing my head off, I was reminded that Germans don’t often vocalize their amusement. Our group of Americans got some weird looks, but it was too funny to not laugh. So I laughed. Which brings me to my first life philosophy:

When it is hilarious, laugh. Also, it is acceptable to find many things hilarious. They are. I plan on laughing my way through life. 

Saturday we decided to wander around Berlin and get “out on the town”. We went to what was supposably the biggest chocolate store in Europe. They had cool chocolate statues like this:

I bought some delicious chocolate truffles. And you know what?

Everyone deserves a little chocolate now and then.

We walked by the Brandenburg Gate and discovered a little known place called the Room of Silence. It was founded by a group promoting peace. The idea is that people of all religions, colors, and backgrounds are welcome to enter the room, meditate, and be silent. At first it felt a little uncomfortable to sit in a room and be completely quiet. However after a few minutes it felt amazing. I couldn’t remember the last time I had “quiet time”. Life philosophy #3:

Take a moment to be quiet. Your mind and body need it.

We also went to the Holocaust Memorial. It is very modern and controversal. I love it:

Through a strange string of events, we found ourselves at the East Side Gallery on Saturday night. The Gallery consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, painted in 1990 on the east side of the Berlin Wall. It is an international memorial for freedom and one of my favorite things I have seen so far. It was real, authentic art. Here are some pictures that do not do the gallery justice:

Later that night we watched the sun set from a beautiful bridge. It was so picturesque and perfect. It was one of those moments that I will go back to when I am asked to go to my “happy place”. Which brings me to philosophy #4:

It is fun to reminisce. However, it is more fun to recognize the magical moment while it is happening. Recognize it, and enjoy it.

And now for my last thought: The longer I live (not that it has been very long) the more I realize that everyone is affected by pain disappointment and tragedy. It is unescapable and we are all doing our best.  So, we have to decide if we are going to add more pain to people’s lives or if we are going to try to help alleviate the pain. In the wise words of Ingrid Michaelson:

“Everybody everybody wants to love. Everybody everybody wants to be loved”.