Switzerland - The happiness of the moment

By the way, today, 24 July, is Joy Day!

After many years of our lives, after many years together and after about 4 years of being on the road, we can say that we realise quite well how recognising and enjoying happiness enriches our lives.

Whereby we often don't talk about happiness at all. Rather joy. Happiness seems to be something random, joy something deeper. Perhaps also something more permanent. We often associate luck with the lottery, with chance. But we don't believe in that either. So all in all, it's an exciting thing, the thing with language.

Happiness on the road

For us, travelling means feeling free and broadening our horizons. We love immersing ourselves in other cultures, enjoying impressive landscapes and more or less leaving everyday life behind us. (Apart from our own routine) Whether we stay in a beautiful hotel or park our Felix on a pitch with a spectacular view, the beauty of the place and (for us in particular) the peace and quiet are essential. The view of a mountain lake or the sea, a pitch in the deep forest with a refreshing coolness or high up on a pass with a gentle breeze: all these places offer us a space in which we can let our thoughts flow or organise them and develop our relationship. Where we can simply be ourselves, without major external influences.

The routine of everyday travelling, the familiar things around us and the many mementos we now have create an atmosphere of homeliness, security and joy. And yes, perhaps also of happiness.

Elke Heidenreich writes that happiness is not a state that you have to desperately seek, but a moment that you have to learn to recognise and enjoy. This realisation accompanies us on our travels. In the midst of adventures, new discoveries and unfamiliar experiences, we find moments of happiness - be it while watching a breathtaking sunset, savouring an exotic dish or simply in the silence of a remote place.

And yes, we have learnt to recognise these moments, yes, let's call them moments of happiness, and to anchor them deep within us. After all, we are probably the sum of our memories, our thoughts and our relationships.

Happiness at home

The next word comes to mind: Home, at home, homeland. Yes, what is it now? Home is something geographical, for me somewhere in Germany and Switzerland, for Gerd it's Switzerland. A home can be anywhere, at the moment our Felix is our home. But a home? Yes, what is that? For us, home describes more of a feeling, a cosy warmth that unfolds within us. The smell of baked apples at Christmas, the clattering of knitting needles, laughing together about our experiences and snuggling up in Felix when it rains loudly on the roof outside, as it has done so often this summer.

After each stage of our journey - somehow it has become established that we always take longer breaks at home - coming home has its very own magic. Even if visits to friends and relatives, visits to the dentist, car repairs or pension fund cheques are waiting for us at home (unfortunately planned well in advance), the happiness of having a home in a safe country is incomparable. Home, indeed a home, means stability and security. It is the place where we can put down roots again at any time and feel secure.

Happiness often lies in the small, everyday moments - in a smile, a conversation, a cosy dinner at mum's or a sunset over Lake Murten. Recognising and appreciating these moments is a skill that we have developed over time. As Elke Heidenreich says, it is the sum of happy moments that makes up the happiness of life.

Now we've been back home for weeks and are seriously thinking about what to do next. Where, when and always the why.

In any case, it is important for us to recognise moments of happiness or joy at home too. Looking at our rather small to-do list, dreaming unrealised dreams, looking to the future in old age, spending time with family and friends - all these things are sources of happiness. They create a sense of familiarity and security that does us good. And we realise how much we have changed. How little we still care about everyday stress, how much we can simply shake off.

And we question a lot of things. Yes, because we have time. Which we take. We have long conversations about how we want to live. What if the family needs us, if we no longer have the freedom we now enjoy so much. Yes, the question arises more and more often: "How do we want to live in old age?" Well, we still have plenty of time. But who says we can't have visions early on? After all, we would rather decide than be decided. The vision thing has always worked wonderfully for us, so why not now?

The happiness of the moment

True happiness lies in recognising and enjoying the moment, whether on the road or at home. Travelling allows us to take a step back, gain new perspectives and rediscover ourselves. But coming home brings us back to our roots, to the familiarity and security that only a home can offer. It is this oscillation between freedom and security that enriches our lives and shows us again and again how valuable both are.

Today's photos reflect the moments of joy. Just as we were able to experience the first part of the summer in Switzerland, here and there the little moments that touch our hearts and become deeply engraved in our memories. So that one day, when we are sitting in a rocking chair with our feet up in the air, holding our teacup comfortably in both hands and looking back on these memories, we can say: That was a wonderful summer too, the summer of 2024 in Switzerland.

My current favourite newsletter: Incitement to joy.

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Merci for "travelling with us

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