Hey Daniela, I love how you’ve threaded personal reflection into proof that sometimes resolution isn’t what’s needed — just a refocus on what we can control, and a letting go of what we can’t.
And somehow, we still end up smiling through it all.
It feels like a move from trying to hold the world steady — even to control what can’t be — toward the realisation it's ok to let it wobble a bit, and that we never really needed to.
You begin with noise that steals focus and end with a poem that restores calm — because all good stories need a poem.
That final piece closes the circle beautifully, quieting the chaos and giving it form.
I’ll admit, I was a little disheartened to discover that not all German trains run on time — a small crack in my dreams of efficiency!
I’ll get over it soon enough.
Some pieces feel like a chat over coffee,
a recollection and a future-looking projection,
and this one holds that perfect space.
It turns the mirror inward to show what we face.
A wonderful piece of writing Daniela, and thank you for sharing!
"because all good stories need a poem." Well. I guess if you say so... 😁
"I’ll get over it soon enough." It took me longer to settle with the shock that UK needed to leave the EU actually... in 2000 I was like one week in England and one day in London.
Well, we here look at our whole-country train system as sceptic but used to it, therefore planning some extra time helps a lot... and comparing cities, I can say, that in Berlin, if suddenly one line was interrupted I just went down and changed 2 steps later for a parallel subway line etc. — which you can do in Munich, too, if you know which way to go.
Munich S-Bahn is famous for its interruptions, part because of weather and overhead wiring (Berlin mostly doesn't have that), part due to other/unknown interruptions (tipsy people stuffing the trains after their evening at the "Wiesn", there is a subway, which gets crowded, and the S-Bahn gets crowded, too) Well... the beer tastes better anyway if nobody can put anything in.
Managing to carry myself home without being looked at, even when I'm nervous or worried about something, being able to find a calm sanctuary in my scarf, the shirt I'm wearing, or just the weather; that's a quiet little skill I had to find out about, though I always seemed to have it.
Thank you so much, Daniela — yes, please feel free to borrow it 🕊️💛
And I love how you expanded on that moment… that quiet sanctuary in scarves and weather — it feels like a soft kind of magic, the kind we carry without noticing until someone names it 🍃☕️
This was a joy to read Daniela. Even though you’re telling a story of a hard time. The softness, the vulnerability and the resilience bringing on wisdom is really inspiring.
We can keep going, we can keep trying as long as we can. And whistle while ironing and listening to substack 🙂
That calendar which looks like a wired notebook bears part of the story in mind, as I bought it on an afternoon that didn't work out as planned — I was late, left a bus to then take a walk through the old town. While I'm writing this, some machine outside is making noise. I cannot and will not move just because the noise comes in. I can still write code and poems, doing my best.
Hey Daniela, I love how you’ve threaded personal reflection into proof that sometimes resolution isn’t what’s needed — just a refocus on what we can control, and a letting go of what we can’t.
And somehow, we still end up smiling through it all.
It feels like a move from trying to hold the world steady — even to control what can’t be — toward the realisation it's ok to let it wobble a bit, and that we never really needed to.
You begin with noise that steals focus and end with a poem that restores calm — because all good stories need a poem.
That final piece closes the circle beautifully, quieting the chaos and giving it form.
I’ll admit, I was a little disheartened to discover that not all German trains run on time — a small crack in my dreams of efficiency!
I’ll get over it soon enough.
Some pieces feel like a chat over coffee,
a recollection and a future-looking projection,
and this one holds that perfect space.
It turns the mirror inward to show what we face.
A wonderful piece of writing Daniela, and thank you for sharing!
Wow! ...
"because all good stories need a poem." Well. I guess if you say so... 😁
"I’ll get over it soon enough." It took me longer to settle with the shock that UK needed to leave the EU actually... in 2000 I was like one week in England and one day in London.
Well, we here look at our whole-country train system as sceptic but used to it, therefore planning some extra time helps a lot... and comparing cities, I can say, that in Berlin, if suddenly one line was interrupted I just went down and changed 2 steps later for a parallel subway line etc. — which you can do in Munich, too, if you know which way to go.
Munich S-Bahn is famous for its interruptions, part because of weather and overhead wiring (Berlin mostly doesn't have that), part due to other/unknown interruptions (tipsy people stuffing the trains after their evening at the "Wiesn", there is a subway, which gets crowded, and the S-Bahn gets crowded, too) Well... the beer tastes better anyway if nobody can put anything in.
Ahh - some beer can make the waiting all the more pleasurable!
This was very creatively put together. Well done.
from “it’s your fault” to “it’s not,” this felt like a little life-debug log with heart. loved the mix of code, coffee, and quiet self-acceptance 💻☕🌿
Thank you very much! 🌼👏
May I borrow that line from your work: "I am good at not being looked at"? (Source: https://substack.com/@asukahotaru/p-174540006)
Managing to carry myself home without being looked at, even when I'm nervous or worried about something, being able to find a calm sanctuary in my scarf, the shirt I'm wearing, or just the weather; that's a quiet little skill I had to find out about, though I always seemed to have it.
Thank you so much, Daniela — yes, please feel free to borrow it 🕊️💛
And I love how you expanded on that moment… that quiet sanctuary in scarves and weather — it feels like a soft kind of magic, the kind we carry without noticing until someone names it 🍃☕️
This was a joy to read Daniela. Even though you’re telling a story of a hard time. The softness, the vulnerability and the resilience bringing on wisdom is really inspiring.
We can keep going, we can keep trying as long as we can. And whistle while ironing and listening to substack 🙂
Again Daniela... You managed to make me feel part of this.
It's like I was there, experiencing your feelings and logic.
Thank you so much for writing! You're brilliant!
Also for me, half of myself was there again but the other half wrote it (jk, more of 80:20 writing:recap or something 😁)
I’m quite good at visualizing things out of books and producing brain films, that is quite ‚normal‘ for HSP.
That calendar which looks like a wired notebook bears part of the story in mind, as I bought it on an afternoon that didn't work out as planned — I was late, left a bus to then take a walk through the old town. While I'm writing this, some machine outside is making noise. I cannot and will not move just because the noise comes in. I can still write code and poems, doing my best.