There are two things that we can not see easily. But we can, when we get attentive enough and know a little bit more about human nature.
The Frog View
A frog can not see a fly that sits still. It’s invisible to the frog. But when the fly moves, no problem! The frog can see it, he can grab it and munch it for lunch.
Well, even though you and me, we might not exactly look like frogs, we are a lot like this little amphibian.
That’s the whole catch of news. “Everything is changing! Something is different now!” That’s basically the message of every new broadcasting. It tells you about some moves.
The same applies to social media or the internet itself.
The message always is something like this: Something is new, something is moving.
A lot of movement is made in our society to catch our attention.
Which often leads to distraction. We then are little frogs with a bunch of flies over our heads, not able to catch even one of them any more.
Reducing the influx of moving things into our life may take off a lot of stress from our shoulders. On the other hand, whenever we see stagnation, whenever we want to improve life, it’s prudent to just look in the corners where nothing is moving.
Get those things moved and hooray, new opportunities arrive.
The Backpack Problem
Another thing we don’t see is our own backpack.
We all carry a backpack of uncomfortable things in life. We know we do have troubles with this, that, and the other. We sometimes may loose our temper, be impatient, forget about things, live at times in chaos. But still our backpack is not visible to us.
What we see so clearly are other people’s backpacks! We see them and we are tempted to make assumptions, pass judgement and gossip about them.
When we stop in our tracks and remind ourselves: “Wait! I do have a backpack, too, I just don’t see it right now!” we start to become much nicer people.
Training empathy is not a “fine to have” extra in life.
It’s the core objective, I would say.
Much love
and thank you for reading as always,
Anselma
An old man and a boy were traveling to town with a donkey. At first, the old man was riding the donkey and the boy was walking. When they stopped by a little tavern, the innkeeper critizised the old man: “How can you let the boy walk for so long? That’s inhumane!” 
– Making mistakes is normal.
A colleague helping out in our company wrote, she wishes much success for all the upcoming new creative projects in 2026 but she does not like the word success, she means joy, recognition and a positive resonance with others.
The European basic idea that all state systems are based on is rooted in giving support. I was never aware of this fact – until the day my orchestra made a concert tour to India. As artists, we resided in luxurious hotels, with huge bedrooms and bathrooms all in marble. I had never been to more elegant und exquisite accommodations than in India. We were driving around in air-conditioned busses and had all the conveniences a person could think of.
Nikolaus Maler is principal bassoonist at the Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz and holds a position as professor for bassoon at the Musikhochschule Nürnberg, Germany. His YouTube Channel „Fagottmusik“ is reaching a large fan community. Prof. Maler is known for his exceptionally wide repertoire, including contemporary rarities. Quite a few pieces have been dedicated to him in the past and he wholeheartedly supports young musicians and engages in educating the ambitious bassoon youth.
The other day I read about a guy, who gave his employees T-Shirts that say TGIM.
Dag Jensen is a world-famous bassoonist, a very unique soloist and recognised virtuoso. Born in Norway, he started his career early on as an orchestra player. He won the ARD competition twice and quickly established himself as a celebrated chamber musician and brilliant bassoon soloist, playing with eminent orchestras and high-ranking conductors of our time. Through his recordings he not only introduced famous works in new elegance, he also inspires his world-wide audience with new and rare repertoire. Dag Jensen shapes new standards in the bassoon world with his artistic oeuvre and holds the position of bassoon professor on the Academy of Music Oslo, Norway, and the Musikhochschule München, Germany.
Fall is coming and with it some new opportunities.
When I was in my teens, friends introduced me to a lady. I admired her for her wisdom. She became my beloved mentor. From an early age on, I liked to pick some heroes and tried to learn from these people. Instead of reading fantasy novels I bought biographies and studied how people with outstanding character and strength navigated their personal challenges.
