Time and Choice

A thing I often notice, is that people complain that they don't have the time to do things they want, should, or ought to do.... I have some thoughts on that matter I would like to share here....

Gandalf (yes, the wizard from Lord of the Rings) says some pretty true words about the time-choice dilemma:

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" (Gandalf/ J.R.R. Tolkien)

And I am convinced this is true. One day, I was rushing to my work on my bike, racing through the center of dear old Amsterdam. My mind was rather occupied: I was thinking of the meeting and dinner I planned after work, with a real good friend. I realised that that would bring me great joy, but left me no time that day to study, while a deadline was waiting impatiently. I looked around, feeling troubled.... the phrase "I have no time" buzzing through my skull.... Suddenly, I realised that I had just as much time in every day as everybody else.... there's 24 hours in a day, no matter what you do.... So, basically, time itself could not be the problem.... then what was the problem? The fact that I had to work all day which brought in money, but prevented me from studying or meeting friends? The fact that I choose to meet up with friends after work, which brings me joy and life lessons I cannot figure out on my own? The fact that I studied, and that keeps me from working or meeting friends? None of these are any problem on their own... The problem was, I think, that I did not consciously choose the things I did that day... When I choose to do one thing, I must thereby accept that I cannot do another simultaneously.... Not making this choice consciously, seemed to be the problem to me. With a happy sigh of relief, I realised I had chosen to work and earn money that day, AND chosen to meet my friends. When I fully realised this, I did not mind at all that I would not have time to study anymore that day, for that would be my priority tomorrow! And I would do well at it, for I had made some money, and had great chats with some beloved souls, now if that does not make you up for studying!

I realised that life is not so much about time, but much more about (conscious) choice.

Ever since this moment, I try to choose very consciously what I do today, and what I do tomorrow, and on the few days I succeed to do this, I am even more happy than usual :-)

Thanks for reading! And please feel free to comment or discuss, I will be happy to see your way of viewing this dilemma :-)

Animals and Wildlife

Animals&Wildlife around our house, Summer 2011

Swallows in our barn

They seem to live quite a happy life here. They return every year and have more babies, little sweethearts :-)

The ghost-bird

Coocoo!!! :-)

Thundering hooves.... at rest...

Nice view

Hooves up close

Alfred

I 4 Detail :-)

Bart

Good Bye!

Isabella

Bye again....

Pretty Bumbles

Bumbles Closeup

Rikkert

Hiding down the hole

Double Chocolate Brownies

Today I made some supernice brownies, and I decided to share the recipe with you, and not only that, I made a picture-guide! :-)

Enjoy!

Melt 140 grams of butter

 Butter needs to cool down before you add it to the mixture, because of the eggs. This is why I do it first of all.

Take three eggs

Measure 150-200 gr. of dark sugar

 This particular sugar is a Dutch sugar named Basterdsuiker, I haven't seen it in any other country yet, but the darkest sugar you can find will do. Cane sugar also works fine. The amount should be added according to your own taste, 150 is not very sweet, 200 is rather sweet.

Add the sugar to the eggs

Whisk together until it's smooth

Measure 75 grams of cacao

Add the cooled butter and cacao powder to the mixture

It should look like this.... yes, I like closeups ;-)

Cut up 150 grams of chocolate

 In this case I have used both white and dark chocolate, but you can use your imagination when it comes to adding stuff into the brownie...

140 grams of flour

 To make this brownie gluten free, you can use rice flower, this does not change the taste of structure much at all, so it is an easy, tasty alternative for coeliakies.

Mix in the chocolate

 CHOCOLATE!!!!!

Pour everything into the baking dish

The final temptation

It bakes for about 35-40 minutes at 170 ºC, depending on the oven you use of course. Keep a close eye on it, it's a shame to have it burnt :-p

Name of the blog

About the name of this blog:

In Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil is the the world-tree. This tree in a way, connects the nine world that exist according to Old-Norse and Scandinavian (and also modern Norse/Germanic) belief.  Yggdrasil stands at the center of the worlds, and it's origin is unknown. The tree exists as long as the world exists. When, after the final battle between the Gods and the Giants, fire consumes the world, Yggdrasil too, burns. After any fire, there are ashes left, and ashes are fertile. I imagine that ashes from the world tree, are very fertile indeed, and from them may grow many new and beautiful things. In Voluspa too, is written that after the burning, a new world arises. Fresh, green and a source for new life and new beginnings. The idea that life has its cycles and that even if things go down bad, good things may arise from it, is very dear to me.

This inspired me to create this blog to share things I consider worth sharing.

o_d

Autumn Bliss

Here are some pictures I took in the Autumn of 2009

Winterwood

Mushrooms and an old chestnut shell

The simple beauty of a leaf.... always there for those who know how to appreciate it :-)

Colours of Autumn

Autumn's subtlety

Forest Road

In the Woods

Embracing the Sun