Live intensively and take breaks

The last few days and weeks have been very intense: final spurt for an article City. Country. God, that I wrote for a magazine. And a successful final spurt for the Crowdfunding for my new book. We have made it. It's wonderful and a huge gift for me that I can now tackle the project without too much financial pressure.

Then on board Coaching - Basics: a workshop on the basics of coaching including an explanation and practice of some helpful coaching techniques. Based on my book of the same name Quadro.

I was proud of my participants. They successfully put what they had learnt into practice straight away. After an exercise, I asked the customers how helpful the coaching session with the newly qualified „coaches“ had been. On a scale from 1 (not very helpful) to 10 (problem solved), 1 participant scored 3, several scored 7 - 8 and 1 even scored 10, which is pretty good for a start. The youngest participant was my 14-year-old goddaughter, who I was very proud of.

And then on Sunday I spoke to a congregation about how you can Song of life discovered.

In addition to my goddaughter, there was another visitor on board. And we continued to build next door. The guest kitchen now has drawers for food and my own kitchen has two more crockery drawers. The seminar room has a glass entrance door, which offers some privacy and protection from draughts. The toilet now has a cork floor and there's a swimming ladder that allows you to elegantly get from the boat directly into the water and back again.

Another visitor was the daughter of a friend whose mother died very suddenly and quite young almost exactly a year ago. The anniversary of her death was very recent and it was important to her daughter to be in a place and with someone she felt safe with on that day. I am touched that she chose me and my boat for this.

A total of 21 people were guests on board in 2017. To reflect, to relax, to take time out. To find new perspectives. I had in-depth conversations with some of them. Others were „just“ there and enjoyed the time for themselves and life on board. I can't write about many of the things that happen quietly because the issues that people come with are often very personal: Relationship crises, health or weight problems, self-esteem issues, future prospects. These are issues that are so confidential that I can't and don't want to disclose them.

Sometimes it's ok to describe something. The three young women in the picture were on board for a few days to clarify the question of whether they see their professional future in Germany. We had intensive conversations, including times of prayer, and I gave them several interviews in English on various topics. And I am happy to tell them about it. The ship is intended for people like them and others who are looking for new perspectives and orientation.

In order not to overload the space and my personal capacities, the ship is not available for „normal“ visitors to Berlin who are looking for accommodation for their stay. Although I have mentioned this on my Internet page quite clearly, I receive enquiries almost every day: „I'll be in Berlin soon. Can I stay overnight with you?“ Sometimes that saps my energy.

But overall, I am happy that the ship is increasingly picking up speed.

After a year on board, I've slowly found a good rhythm between work at the publishing house, coaching, meetings and rest breaks. I'm currently enjoying a nice coffee in Kreuzberg after running errands. And a break where I can recharge my batteries.