Since childhood, I’ve loved being in nature. Summer days could never be long enough: hopping around barefoot in fields and on streets, swimming in lakes, or observing animals. Life was colorful—full of sensory impressions. And very often, when people share memories of their past, they describe something alike: moments when they felt deeply connected to the world around them—most often when they were children.

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But as we grow older, responsibility often also means spending more time indoors. We become cut off from the nourishing nature around us and within us. In this way, we automatically become part of a system that not only harms ourselves, but also our planet.

A question burned within me: How can we live again more in harmony with nature—with nature in us and around us? And how do we manage not to get swept away by the fast pace and endless “to-dos” of everyday life? The path toward sociology and psychology therefore seemed like a natural one—later, too, toward mindfulness.

 

Through my own life experiences, travels, and activities, I’m convinced that for personal challenges—as well as for the planetary crisis—there is one decisive step needed: from the head to the heart. And from there, toward compassionate, wise action.

 

Today, I work as a psychological counsellor and mindfulness teacher. In addition, I’m increasingly involved in system change —individually, socially, and globally. It’s time that we shape a world in which we stand side by side—so that dignity is not only a promise of the future, but also something that applies to the living beings of today.