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Virus.

  Thursday, the 7th of May ’26. A simple cold A blocked nose, a cough, regular bouts of sneezing and a horrible slime that should be spit out. A regular cold, nothing more and nothing less, leading to sleepless nights and interference in my daily routine. I won’t die from it, it will have no long-lasting effects on my general health, it’s just 48 hours of my life put on hold while some invasive virus fights it out with my bodily defence system. I’m just the vessel that hosts this tussle. I drink hot tea, clear my nose every 5 minutes, dress up warm but keep the house well ventilated, and wait until it passes. We call it a cold, and yet I sweat my way through the night. The absurdity of life, us humans thinking of ourselves as masters of the world - check - Universe even, and yet the wrong little virus entering our system can annoy us no end, some can even kill us or eventually wipe us out. We’re only as strong as the latest virus is weak. Recently, we have all been made aware of ou...
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Meaning.

  Who knows the true purpose of life? Should we spend our lives seeking meaning, or is it enough to finish each day content? Is life a ‘struggle’? Or is it a ‘fun ride’? The rich never appear satisfied or whole; they always pursue more. The poor struggle and savour the rare day of abundance, carefree and creating memories. We hurry, we search, without direction or purpose. We chase ease and calm through material possessions and fleeting pleasures. We fill our homes and minds; thought turns into our adversary. So we eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow reality and bills will arrive. All the while, time looks on and smiles. Only time knows when it is ‘up’, watching as everything unfolds. Ultimately, only time will be your enemy. ‘Time will tell’, but never be told when to end.
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Monday March 9th.

 I’m a bit disappointed tonight. The seven o’clock news showed a story about a ‘fireball’ that lit up the sky last night, but I missed it. The meteor was a couple of meters long and eventually broke apart, landing just over the border in Germany. Luckily, no one was hurt. They showed some footage of a gutter that got hit, but the rest of the pieces landed in gardens and woods. Apparently, those small rocks can be worth a lot of money. At least it didn’t land on a pebble beach in Germany. That was about the only ‘fun’ news. Everything else was about Trump and Netanyahu’s war on Iran, the possible fallout in the Middle East, the stock markets, oil prices, and, of course, the fact that people are dying. Watching the conflict between Iran, Israel, and the U.S. is tough. I don’t like Iran because of its human rights record and support for local terrorist groups, if what we hear is true. But I’m also starting to really dislike Israel for its harsh treatment of Palestinians and any countr...
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Food.

 Full. Yesterday, I gained some weight— Ate too much, couldn’t hesitate. Stuff that looks like food, but it ain’t, Now my stomach’s a battlefield, aching and tight— Grease and fillers, they just ain’t right. Sugar’s up there too—sweet, dangerous, and sly. It’s what we crave, can’t deny. Today, my body begs to renew. Flush it away, send it down the drain— No more headache, no more pain. Time to return to food that’s real, Nature’s bounty is the better deal. But first, a pint of water, cold from the tap— Loosen the bowels, then take a crap.
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Authenticity paradox

  Authenticity Paradox. A man once asked me, “Who are you?” Back then, I couldn’t answer him. I was in India, searching for myself and trying to figure out who I really was. Later, I realised the real me was schizophrenic. So even now, it depends on how I feel. That last part was a joke, by the way. Can you picture a spiritual person with schizophrenia, always searching for themselves? That would be a quest with no end. Anyway, moving on. I often wonder who I really am. I don’t have many real friends—maybe none—and I never feel comfortable in large groups of people who aren’t me. What does it even mean to be ‘authentic’? Once you start thinking about it, you can’t really be it. Chasing authenticity is like searching for the holy grail—does it even exist? If you read too many books or watch too many YouTube gurus talk about authenticity, you end up so focused on it that it just turns into a kind of ‘cosplay’. This is how I act when I’m trying to be authentic… Humans are funny. The b...
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Bit Fight.

  Afgelopen week had ik het plezier om op te treden in een comedyclub in Deinze: Comedy Kelder Deinze. Het feit dat het eigenlijk niet in een kelder gelegen is, vond ik eerst een beetje teleurstellend, maar aan de andere kant zijn kelders vaak vochtig, en mijn gewrichten vinden dat niet zo prettig. Wat me opviel toen ik aankwam, was hoeveel mensen elkaar precies kenden: groepjes van drie of vier aan tafels of aan de toog, pratend. Er hing een buzz, een vibe, en ik dacht onmiddelijk: dit wordt een goede avond. Mensen praatten met elkaar; ik zag bijna niemand op hun telefoon tokkelen of staren. De medewerkers waren vriendelijk en attent; het publiek stond open voor de verschillende acts. Kort samengevat: ik reed naar huis op een wolk na een heel geslaagd optreden (de wolk was mijn Skoda Fabia, die ik ‘Lenny’ noem, naar Lenny Bruce). We hebben het allemaal wel eens meegemaakt: je zit met vrienden in een café of restaurant en minstens één persoon aan tafel is meer geïnteresseerd in hun...
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Dertig Minuten.

  Ik begin een echte ‘fanboy’ van stilte te worden. Niet zomaar af en toe een moment zonder social media, the big brother -apparaat in onze zak, of een dag zonder verkeerslawaai en machos met een claxon in plaats van hersenen. Ik bedoel échte stilte. De stilte die bijna niet meer denkbaar is in onze ‘wie niet druk bezig is, is fout bezig’-maatschappij. Recent ben ik begonnen om dertig minuten per dag stil te zitten, met sound-silencing headphones op en een oogmasker. Dertig minuten volledige stilte, zonder afleiding. Oké, in het begin eindigde dat soms in gesnurk, maar hoe vaker ik het doe, hoe meer ik opnieuw in contact kom met mezelf. Ik hoor je al lachen en zeggen: ‘ik ben altijd in contact met mezelf’ . Dat dacht ik ook. Maar is dat wel zo? Uit recente studies blijkt dat we (in het Westen) veel minder slapen dan vorige generaties, dat onze aandachtspanne steeds korter wordt en dat onze capaciteit om ons te concentreren afneemt tot het niveau van de gemiddelde goudvis. Ook ons v...
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