Inspirations from Kerstin Hack

Category: Better living (Page 3 of 4)

Discovering Life – Perceiving Needs

IMG_0351– Was I alive today?

Yes!

– What new thing have I learned about life?

Gifts “lurk” in places where one doesn’t expect them. In a coaching session, I was richly blessed. The coaching theme was “work” and my job was to help him gain some clarity regarding whether and how he can further a specific project. Yet, during the discussion, our topic wandered from work to another plane: “What I really long for I would like to express in the words that I once heard a counselor say: “To help people to stand upright and to develop under God!”

This sentence was/is a gift for me. Because he also expressed my own longing. This is the reason I write books, coach people, build the ship: because I would like to help people to stand upright and develop under God.

And yea: The first person that I would like to help with that is myself.

– What new thing have I learned about myself?

Like before, I’ve been occupied with the theme “needs.” It’s good for me to become clear about what I need. Sometimes I feel sad because some of my needs are not being met very well. Yet, most of the time I find it very helpful. When I know what I need the most, I can ask for it from myself, my God, and people who like me.

My Current Top 6 Needs

– Encouragement: Not generally “You can do it!” but rather specific and concrete: “Look what you have already accomplished… and how far you are… you can also do the next step…”

– Bodily Relaxation: Warmth, massages, reduction of tension for the back.

– Advice: Planning help: How in the world should I do this with the entrance and the machine room? Room layout and the right furnishings.

– Practical Help: Still about 18 hours of painting and cleaning that needs to be done by next weekend so that we can build the windows. Help with procuring things – buying on Ebay, picking things up in Berlin…

– Financial Support: Taking over one or the other items on the ship – whether big or small.

– To be Spoiled: A little indulgence… flowers, massages, body care, candles, good food…a pretty dress ;-) ….

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/allgemein/leben-entdecken-beduerfnisse-wahrnehmen/#sthash.9gq4KllW.dpuf

Discovering Life – Questions for God

IMG_0237 – Was I alive today? Yes! I had prayed that God would send me a senior that had time and skills and the desire to help me. God must have thought, “Well, if that’s all…” and He sent me a nice senior who has much building experience, likes boats, and has time. He has already helped me a few times and will continue on board. On Thursday evening he told me and another woman, who had also helped on board, while riding back together in a car (with seat-heating, which was wonderful for my stressed back) the story of how he met and fell in love with his second wife (he was a widower). It was simply wonderful to hear such a love story out of the mouth of a man. – What new thing did I learn about life? That people have very different questions for life and for God. After getting out of the car, the other woman said to me, “Sometimes I wonder why God gives some people a spouse twice and some like us not even once.” I was surprised. That question hadn’t come into my head at all. The next day, I was making a fruit salad. Again with hands that were oozing with mango juice. I am never successful with portioning mangos in a “civilized” way. I ask myself, “Why did God put such a delicious thing like mango in such an impractical package?” In short: The questions that people ask themselves and God are apparently very diverse. – What new thing did I learn about myself? Apparently, feeling jealous of happy couples is no longer an issue for me. For one, because I know that with most portions of happiness comes a good portion of work. But perhaps also because during a phase where I often struggled with jealousy when I saw happy couples, I learned how to bless them (like this unknown pair on the photo). Just say a short prayer for them that God will strengthen, preserve, and bless them and their relationship. Hopefully, this will be good for them – it’s certainly good for me. – See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/besser-leben/leben-entdecken-fragen-an-gott/#sthash.HoJSoxy7.dpuf

Discovering Life – God Can

2013-09-17-08.17.36– Was I alive today?

Yes!

– What new thing did I learn about life?

Two things are moving me right now. The first is that one harvests what one sews, even if it’s years later. This message came in a moving 3-Minute Video. There are prayers and “faith-investments” that I sewed more than 30 years ago, and of which I still wait excitedly for the harvest. In one areas, I “harvest” with a twinkle in my eye. A while ago, I published the inspirational booklet “Gebetsnotizen” (“Prayer Notes”) to encourage people to take note of their prayers and the ways in which God responds.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been moved by the story of the quails and manna. In this story, a leader is confronted with a challenge: a few hundred thousand people want meat. Even if they slaughtered all of the animals they had, it wouldn’t be enough. And soy burgers hadn’t yet been created. It was impossible for him. And then his God asked him, “Is anything impossible for me?” The answer is, logically, “No.” And then God seriously dished up – the Israelites had the BBQ of their lives. Mountains of meat. Nothing for vegans. But the others were happy.

This story moves me in relation to my boat. The beginning agreed-upon budget has now, through mistakes and unforseeables, been exceeded by one third. And another 50,000 Euros worth of costs are due by April 2014 – and then after that, I still have to repay the loans. I am doing what I can to offset the costs:

– I publish books

– I sell used things

– I coach people

– I give lectures

– I rent out my guestroom to vacationers

– I want to give blood

– I live economically

Impulsheft GebetsnotizenBut even with these efforts, obtaining the needed 50,000 Euros in 8 months is impossible – for me. But not for my God. Going back to the inspirational booklet Gebetsnotizen that I made a few years ago: I am currently using it myself for my prayers about the ship project. And while I was turning to a new page this week, I saw:

“Is anything impossible for God?”

I thought it was funny to be reminded through my own booklet of the assurances of God that are currently moving to me. I think God also smiled. Now I am excited to see when and how the quails will fly to me.

– What new thing have I learned about myself?

I am soooo alive when I coach. Today, I had a coaching appointment about cravings. To coach about this theme is essentially a really simple skill. One discovers where the customer has bound eating, or a specific food, with certain emotions, and then breaks the bond. Through this, “the spell is (more or less) broken” and it loses its power. It makes me happy every time to experience how things get unbound in people’s minds and new thoughts and feelings are now possible for them. It’s simply wonderful.

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/allgemein/leben-entdecken-gott-kann/#sthash.407hu1a1.dpuf

Discovering Life – Learning Manual Skills

2013-09-11-16.35.08– Was I alive today?
Yes! And at the end of the day, I was so bone-tired that after the evening prayer with my neighbor (beautiful tradition), I fell into bed like a stone!

– What new thing did I learn about life?
Ok. Right now, I”m learning a lot about manual skills. I now know that wet-dry vacuums come to their limits at a certain angle. How to solve this, I don”t know yet.

And… I would have never thought that sandblasting could leave behind such a huuuuuuge mountain of sand. Phew!

– What new thing did I learn about myself?
When I have a problem to solve – such as getting about 200 liters of oily water

a) out of a tank
b) away in an environmentally friendly manner
then I”m not really open for interactions with people… which is a shame… perhaps this interaction is exactly the most important thing I need today.

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/besser-leben/leben-entdecken-lernen/#sthash.eCUlDDe8.dpuf

Discovering Life – and Making a New Friend

2013-09-11-19.00.50

– Was I alive today?
Yes! And how! The best moment of the day was when I successfully got all 12 balls into the faces of the Astrid Lindgren figures with my new friend, Lukas (3rd grade), and he asked me at the end, “Will you be here again tomorrow?” Heartwarming.

 

– What new thing have I discovered about life?
When a water pipe is clogged, it doesn”t necessarily mean there is grime in it. I was on board and was trying to unclog an overflow pipe from the roof and was poking around in it. And I was surprised when instead of grime, a huge spider came out. NO, I did NOT scream! But only just! Screaming is only useful when someone else is nearby who can hear it. It”s only half as fun alone.

– What new thing have I learned about myself?
It”s really difficult for me to go along when someone is whining and complaining. Today, the sandblaster told me how difficult it is to get the coating off of the floor of the main room. He said this in a whining undertone that automatically released in me these feelings:

– He”s not doing well.

– I am responsible.

– I have to do something so that he will be doing better.

My auto-program offered to pay him more (before the freecar racing car racing games mobile rest of me even had a chance to think about it), even though we had already agreed upon a price. Ouch. That wasn”t necessary. How someone feels is really their own problem. He could have said instead, “Gosh. This coating is being difficult. But I, the MacGyver of Sandblasters, will be the master of this project.” And he could have felt like a hero. I hope to get something from life for the expensive premium I paid… What I already know in theory – that I am not responsible for the feelings of others, but only for my own behavior – I hope I can internalize this even more!

 

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/erlebnisse/leben-entdecken-und-einen-neuen-freund-finden/#sthash.FJoLzFcm.dpuf

Discovering Life – An Experiment

2011-03-14-22.08.33-300x225

I recently read about Jess and Tim, two New Yorkers that have been friends for years. They asked themselves whether they could fall in love if they spent time with each other every day for 40 days. So they began the experiment “40 Days of Dating,” and told about it in a Blog. (For those of you who are curious, they fell in love – and it remained complicated).

One thing that really moved me, other than the cool and unique idea, was that every evening they would ask themselves:

– What new things have I learned about the other person?

– And about myself?

I think these questions are exciting and great. First of all because the reflection surely helped them to keep things in their memories that otherwise would easily be forgotten. It often wasn’t the “big” things that they noted, but rather small ones: his shopping behaviors, her smile, something that they learned about the other person’s childhood, and much more.

I thought to myself: I could try this. Not necessarily with a man, but with life itself. To ask myself every evening for a while:

– What new thing have I learned about life?

– What have I learned about myself?

And share the answers with you (perhaps not daily, but some evenings).

This is also similar to the spiritual practice of asking yourself every evening: When was I most alive today? And when least? (A great book on this topic: Sleeping with Bread)

This is also a bit of self-care for me. At the moment, I have a ton of things to organize and manage. First, for the publishing company. But I also have to make daily decisions and organize things for the ship project. And then the lecture season with seminars and events across Germany begins next week. In times like this, the danger is high that one will forget to enjoy life; to notice the small, beautiful moments of daily life. For this reason, I would like to really pay attention to this, especially because so much is going on right now.

Current/Yesterday
– What new things did I discover about life?
A man that I’ve known for a long time told me about a practicum in an industrial enterprise, shift work, and sandblasting. I know him primarily from working together in committees and prayer-actions. To hear about his experiences in a completely different area of life brought us closer together. I found this valuable and pleasant.

– What new thing did I discover about myself?
It is not easy for me to concentrate on only one thing for a long period of time. As we prayed yesterday on the ship that God would give his blessing, I prayed with my whole heart… and occasionally cut away (with bolt cutters) rusty screws that I noticed when I opened my eyes. For me, this was the perfect mixture of concentration.

I invite you to participate and to tell in a comment about a moment that you experienced when you felt really alive.

– See more at: http://kerstinpur.de/erlebnisse/leben-entdecken-ein-experiment/#sthash.cEbNtRJD.dpuf

A spark of happiness in the humdrum

Now it is spring….I wrote this 3 weeks ago, when it was still icy and cold…it took a while to translate…the story is still good…

There are very few weather conditions that can deter me from cycling. Today was one of them. An ice cold wind was blowing, (it was minus 17 degrees centigrade yesterday!) and I knew that after 2×40 minutes of cycling I would be frozen to the bone. So I decided to take the tube for once.

On the way back I bumped into a homeless woman who I had met before. The last time I ran into her, she told me that she was in a lot of pain. We had got off at the same station and what I actually wanted to do was to offer to pray for her – but I was too cowardly. So I “secretly” prayed for her on the way home and one other time before the next time I saw her.

Now I’d runinto her again, selling the German equivalent of the Big Issue in the underground. I gave her some money and asked how things were with her pains. She said that everything was fine. I then actually wanted to tell her that I’d prayed for her, but by that time she had already turned around and got off. Maybe another time.
I’m happy that my God obviously answered my prayer – without me knowing it. I wonder how many other prayers there are that God has answered without my knowledge.

The Resurrection of a Dream

Each year in preparation for Easter I ask the Lord if there is anything I should abstain from for Lent. This year the answer that I heard in my heart after prayer came to me as a surprise: “Abstain from doubting.”
Not doubting Him. Not doubting his goodness towards me – in spite of obvious challenges I was facing. And in spite of disappointments, broken dreams – the challenge was: “Do not allow yourself the 'luxury' of doubt.” Doubt is an easy way out. When you doubt you do not need to dare. Dare to trust. Dare to try new things.

And boy – do I need courage. For 12 years I dreamt about having a space where I could host people. (Young) people who would want to learn with me and from me. Who would like to stay for a few days or weeks to learn, be mentored, and share life. Twice it looked as though the dream would come true. And twice it crashed again. Painfully. Violently. I cried. I couldn't understand God. After all – wasn't it his dream, too?!

In the last month the dream surfaced again. But not in the form of a flat that was big enough for living as well as hosting as well as holding seminars, but a SHIP. It is simply cheaper to buy and renovate a ship than to buy a flat. And so much more fun. So I found a great ship on Ebay (!!!). I had a look at it with professionals who understand more about ships than me. And now I am going to buy it in the next twelve months.

I will renovate it. And make it a

place for sharing life. And most likely I will name it “Heart of Berlin”.

Do you want to share the dream?

You can. You can make it possible in three ways: Prayer, p, and practical help.

– Prayer:
I know how much can go wrong in any project. I've had my share of painful lessons. Things going wrong that cannot possibly go wrong. But I also know that the opposite can happen. Things going incredibly smoothly. God's favour on all sides. Deadlines met. So I really do appreciate prayer for wisdom, God's favour and blessing…and I don't mind a word of encouragement now and then.

– Gifts and loans:
In spite of the ship being relatively cheap I still need more than 40,000 Euros by the end of April 2012 for buying the ship, transport and building materials. From May onwards I have regular payments in installments for the work that needs to be done. So any one time gift – no matter how big or small, regular gifts and loans will help. For gifts you can use paypal: Kerstin (AT) down-to-earth.de

Practical help: Do you need some good exercise and want to grow some strong muscles? I do need a lot of practical help – both from people who know what they are doing (plumbers, electricians) and those who don´t (everybody can scratch off rust and paint a ship). So if you're up for a working holiday on the outskirts of Berlin or know of people who are – let me know. And sooner or later I will need flower pots, cushions, curtain materials and lots of other practical things.

I am really excited about this project. Looking forward to creating a space for disciples, learners, nomads, and people who want to grow.

I will keep you updated.

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On a Park bench

Kerstin Hack 2010A while back my friend Hannah Stoney made two short videos with me. One reading some Rilke Poems in German and English. The other one explaining my concept of a balanced life based on the seven days in the story of creation.
You find them in her “on a park bench” series – No. 6 + 7 (also watch the other great characters)

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