March 2014 - a brilliant month
The month has got off to a brilliant start… with a day in Potsdam spent reflecting and praying – interspersed with lots of lovely little encounters.
And I’m looking forward to everything this month has in store. Of course, you never know what might happen – you might stupidly twist your ankle, or something even worse might happen. But – if everything goes to plan, it’s going to be a busy month.
– Fitness programme: In the world in general, and especially when you’re refitting a boat from the 1950s, the liver often has to work hard. That’s why I’m going to start the month with a liver detox (first the traditional method with Glauber’s salt, grapefruit and oil, then later with milk thistle). And treat my body to a detox cure of garlic and lemon tincture (sounds awful, but it’s not that bad – and it’s antiviral and energising).
– New learning: I wanted to take a course at the Royal Horticultural Society on how to make your own plant pots – I’ll need that in future, as I want to grow as much of my own food as possible on the boat. I’d got the wrong end of the stick – it turned out to be more of a sales event. Still, I learnt something.
– Find inspiration: The event will take place in Berlin from 6 to 8 March Transforum is taking place. This is a conference held every two years that explores how we, as Christians, can have a positive influence on our society. Many of the ideas from the last Transforum still resonate with me today. I am grateful for this inspiring conference – incidentally, there is no conference fee, so that people on a tighter budget can also attend. Last-minute participants are still welcome to join.
– Provide inspiration: As the „Women’s Pampering Days“ were such a success for everyone involved – participants and the speaker alike – we have planned two follow-up sessions. There will be follow-up events on 14 March and 9 May – on the theme of “Embrace life to the full” (14 March) at 8.00 pm in SV Community Centre. I’m really looking forward to seeing these wonderful women again. In the afternoon, we’re offering the chance to book a coaching session with me – a special service for those who find the journey to Berlin too far and aren’t keen on telephone coaching. And at the end of March, there’ll be another women’s café in Britz with me, focusing on SWING.
– Writing. There’s quite a bit on my desk. On top of all the organisational tasks that come with running a publishing house and a shipyard, I still have two inspiration booklets to write. Friendship and Grief. I’d also like to start the new online course IDA – In Your Arms to work.
– Ship: Of course, let’s keep building. With all our might and as much wisdom as possible!
– Men’s teams on board: On 14 March (Treptow Parish) and 22 March (Lukas Parish), a whole group of men will be lending a hand. I’m looking forward to showing the „blokes“ my boat – and getting things moving with them! There’ll also be a „mixed team (1 man / 1 woman)“ coming for two days – which is brilliant too!
– Women in Paris. That’s probably the biggest surprise. For months now, I’ve been reading up on the life of Coco Chanel, arguably the first modern woman to build a global business from scratch – she came from a background of extreme poverty. I found myself wanting to visit the places where she worked. But it was more of an obsession than an actual plan. After all, I’ve got more than enough on my plate and expenses to cover with the boat. It was a fixed plan – until I started researching images for the special edition. It costs 180 euros or more – per image! That’s way beyond the budget for a newsletter. But we still need 3–4 meaningful images. A flight to Paris costs just 120 euros – far cheaper. On top of that, I haven’t had a proper holiday for over a year – apart from the boat crossing (4 days) and Antwerp (3 days, during which I was ill!).
So I asked a friend if she’d like to come to Paris with me (at her own expense). She replied: „I’ve spent the last few weeks clearing out, cleaning and sorting through my recently deceased great-aunt’s house – I really need a change of scenery! And I have friends who have a flat in Paris! They live right in the city centre – just a fifteen-minute walk from the Chanel flagship store!
So – I’m really looking forward to this exciting month!
