seen from TĂźrkiye
seen from United States
seen from China

seen from Lithuania
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United Arab Emirates
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from Maldives
seen from Malaysia
seen from China

seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from Kuwait
seen from Japan
De hele wereld maakt valse beloften.
Herinnering voor mezelf
an oldie from quarantine
Homilie voor het hoogfeest van Kerstmis, de geboorte van de Heer
woensdag 24/donderdag 25 december 2025 â Wezel/Rosselaar/Hulsen lezingen: Kerstavond: Jesaja 62,1-5         Titus 3,4-7(BGT)   Lucas 2,1-14 Kerstdag: Jesaja 52,7-10           HebreeĂŤn 1,1-6     Johannes 1,1-18 Beminde broeders en zusters, wat aangekondigd was, is tot vervulling gekomen. De beloften van God, die ons de voorbije weken in de advent zijn herhaald, die ons vervuld hebben metâŚ
journal excerpt no.2
19.10.23
âWhat do you live for?âÂ
ââŚWhat?âÂ
âMy new therapist asked me that today,â he said, a slight chuckle in his voice. âIt was my first visit with her. Itâs a pretty standard question when you get a new therapist.âÂ
I was silent, plunged into a speechlessness that I wasnât expecting on a casual ride to the Spirit Halloween store. In my 31 years, I had never asked myself that question. Hell, I had never even thought about asking myself that question. âWhy am I here?â Why are any of us here? Obviously it wasnât a choice that anyone had made. You were brought into this world on the volition of two other humans. But staying, itâs something I never thought about. You always hear about suicide rates climbing. You know it exists, it happens. Maybe sometimes and errant âwhat ifâŚâ flits through your mind, its origin unknown, but I realized in that moment how scary it must be to live in a mind that thinks about it. Has to find a reason to stay.Â
I couldnât answer the question right away. Why was I here? It certainly isnât for my job - anyone working in retail can agree there. Itâs easy to say youâre living for other people: your parents, siblings, significant other, family, pets; but a reason to live for yourself sounds like it should be so obvious. Is it obvious for other people? Is it weird that it isnât obvious for me?Â
âIâm still here because I want more dogs,â I finally reply. âAnd thatâs a serious answer, too. It sounds silly, but I know having a dog in my life has always made me happy.âÂ
He chuckles and lets it go. We make it to the strip mall where the Spirit Halloween store is, and he tells me his dad loves the Chinese Buffett a few storefronts down. I mention Iâve never been to one and we start making plans to find âthe best one, so it doesnât ruin it foreverâ for me to try sometime soon.Â