A Postcard from Me to Me

A postcard sent to me from me with LOVE from Rome, Italy:


Where does inspiration come from?

As I sit at a café sipping my cappuccino in the early morning (well early for Italians.... 8am)in Piazza Farnese, this question finds itself on repeat in my head.
 

Is it the ornate façade, with every Florentine perfectly aligned?
 

Maybe it's the black cobbled stone that reflects the illumination of the city at night but during the daylight serves as the foundation from which Roma stands?
 

Perhaps, is the enormous fontana that have proven their worth with centuries of longevity?
 

Inspiration may be drawn from the simple white dress that perfectly frames the femininity of her body as she confidently navigates the bumpy road in her stiletto heals.
 

It's the simplicity of the trickling water and it's reflection of the early morning light as it moves over the fontana.
 

Creativity could be found in the dance of the business man's hands as he closes an every day business transaction like a perfectly executed ballet.
 

It's the flapping of the common pigeons' wings, defying boundaries and breaking every rule.
 

It could come form the irony of the white jacketed doctor who chain smokes in the piazza.
 

Or the nun in black and white who paradoxically keeps in step with a young girl in cut off short and belly exposed to the world.
 

The guitarist who smiles a little brighter with every string he strums.
 

It could come from the three wheeled miniature truck with a bed filled with a rainbow selection of flowers as it wobbles down the narrow lanes.

Love,  April Netschke

Bound Nostalgia

 

 

On the cobbled Roman street
my path would purposefully divert
to stroll under the cover of the old book stand.
For the old tattered pieces of literature
offered me not the usual pleasure that books give,
for I am unable to read Italian.
However,
my path diverted so that
I could breathe in the incredible aroma of nostalgia
that these old books held.
There smell whispering a secret of their history that is bound between the covers,
begging to be told.
I'd watch the beautiful souls that rummaged the stand.
One by one
unwrapping the history with the opening of a book.

Tether

Torn between worlds

The rusted chains made of the past and the ode to it

Tether her bright soul to a place in space that exists because of 

promises

a home

a life

Internal acceptance of a long hidden secret acts like a violent tornado of wind

Sweeping her whole pale lifeless body up with unrelenting fury

But the rusted chains hold tight her ankle

The harsh smell of rust permeates the air reminding her of where she should remain

tethered

The internal wind continues to whip

Throwing her hair in every directions

Body like a rag doll

Caught in a tornado of fury

The heavy chains begin to dig into the soft flesh

The thick warmth of her blood begins to drips but splatters with the wind

She cries out but sound is not heard

She can't even hear herself 

Unwilling to command the winds to seize

to give in

She closes her eyes in the midst of the madness

You see in her white knuckled fist she holds the key

The key that could unlock her promise of the past and send her into a whole new world

A key that could end the pain

Yet she remains clenching the key in that white knuckled fist until it's jagged ends tear into her palms

Afraid to unlock the chains

Afraid to let the winds die down

A Catalyst for Change

     As time marches on, we homosapians are constantly changing... evolving if you may. Just like in chemistry, we are taught that a chemical reaction can be sped up in the presence of something scientist like to call a "catalyst." I've become cognizant as my life has continued on how the presence of certain people, situations, and environments can act as a catalyst to change. I've noticed that during periods of my life, when I was not open to change.... I myself didn't change. As we age our minds change and therefore our perception of the world changes, however, I don't think that this kind of change in ourselves is enough. I began to ponder what in my life has served as a catalyst to change. I concluded that every time that I travel, a modified me emerges. Interestingly enough, I don't realize that the change has occurred within myself until I have come home and rested my head on my own quiet pillow. You see, when we live our lives driving to the same job every day, working with the same people, eating the same food, and doing the same things in our spare time we rob ourselves of new information. We become stagnant, letting fear of the unknown drive our lives instead of the innate curiosity that lies within all of us. It becomes a rarity to encounter situations or ideas that make us question our stance in life and what we believe.

     Every new realm that I visit, spits out a new revision of me much like a book that is being written. France brought out my inner feminine and taught me to embrace it. Italy unveiled the art of slowing down and savoring every simple moment. Ecuador reminded me that one is rich as long as they have the love of family. Peru, that this earth is not to be taken for granted. Turkey invited me to unveil how lucky I am to have the freedom to fly, dream, and pursue as well as any man.

Croatia opened my eyes to the beauty of self sufficiency and sustainability. Alaska made me aware of the earth that we have to protect. India taught me that I had so much to learn in regards to population density and what really defines a "humanitarian."

     My point is this, when we close ourselves off to new experiences we are robbing ourselves of the catalyst that we need to become the people that we were intended to be. Fear should never be given the ability to define your fate. Open yourself up to new possibilities. Jump in the car and drive with no destination in mind. Meet people and ask them to tell you about their story. Hike a mountain and don't make any noise the entire time. Fly to different places in the world and observe instead of trying to morph the environment to your specifications. Read books that make you uncomfortable and force you to evaluate your ideals. Most importantly open your mind to the idea that change is not only important, it is damn right essential in not becoming stagnant. When you have opened your mind to this idea, don't forget to keep those eyes wide open because you have a lot to learn! 

Possessions Owning Possessor

 

Do you own your things or do your things own you? I find myself pondering this as my husband reports that his bicycle was stolen from under our front porch today in broad daylight. There is a common mentality (and one that I previously had had) that surrounds acquiring material possessions and I have begun to realize that the more you own the more it owns you. You see the problem is this; when a person works hard to earn a substantial amount of money that is then spent on a costly item the item is deemed "valuable." With the title of a valuable possession you are now left to be it's care taker. It is your responsibility to tend to it and make sure that it remains in your possession (not stolen). With all of these added tasks of caring for your new purchase comes the undeniable stress that comes along with it. Today I was reminded, when a bicycle is purchased at a thrift store for $10 it carries worth... but not the type of worth that has you padlocking it up. Although you enjoy this bike, why would you stress about it being stolen or breaking? And let's be honest, no physical possession is really ours anyway. One day we will no longer have the breath to worry about the status of all our possessions. One thing that we will not have at the end of our lives are those wasted moments that we concerned ourselves with such petty and insignificant worries. When you have nothing (or little to nothing), you have nothing (or little to nothing)to loose. When you begin to put value in Sunday morning tickling matches with those little ones, that embrace that warms your entire being, or those moments that the stars are so bright that they take on a living presence... you are left to realize that there really is no value in any inanimate object. Quite liberating...

Prada =EQUALS= Nada

     In our culture from a very young age we are taught that the more we obtain and the richer we are the better off we are in this life. Nearly eight months ago, I began to venture down a path that I would have never envisioned myself going down. The road of anti-consumerism. The more I learn of the lack of sustainability in our culture's chosen path the more I despise this constant need for bigger and better things. The consumer has fed into, therefore supported, an endless cycle of consumption. In the attempt to understand where this desire comes from I think back to my younger days.... the moment of thrill that I would have walking out of the store with a new item swinging from hand in a shiny plastic bag. Often times, that new item would be a different version of something I already had cluttering my home. My point is, that it is that fleeting moment of joy that has somehow enamored us.

We know deep down inside that the lack of or abundance of material possessions and money does not create happiness, respect, love, security, or anything that all those commercials insinuate that we will gain if we purchase their product. We are smarter than that!

 

I quickly began to correlate that the less I picked up that remote, crossed the threshold into those automatic doors, and perused the magazines at the grocery store queue...... the less I felt I actually needed. The other day I found myself in a store which I had formerly loved, and I felt ill as I looked around and saw all of these young girls pouring their time, energy, and resources into something so completely pointless. Then I stopped and thought to myself,

"AH! April, you have truly jumped off the hippy deep end!"

But have I?

 

Countless studies have shown that money and material possessions does not make one happy or fulfilled. Studies have actually gone to prove just the opposite, that in fact people that see an increase in their money and possessions report a decrease in their general feelings of happiness and fulfillment. Opening my mailbox this morning I was captured by these bolded red words on an envelope with a return address from Vogue magazine that read:

April, We miss you!

 

 

Dear Vogue-

I bet you do! This is my response to you, I have no intention of renewing my magazine subscription... even if you give me six free issues. I will no longer waste my precious time on this earth filling my brain with the idea that I am less of a person because I don't have a runway worthy handbag or the iPhone87.

Material possessions do not make me.

Yes, I may be blonde... however I am far from dumb. I see how young girls struggle with self image on a daily basis as they look back at themselves in the mirror.... and the message that you send them is one that if they submit then they too will be pretty and acceptable. I call bullshit!

Sincerely,

April Netschke

 

P.S. And by the way, keep your lies away from my young influential daughter! My daughter will know that she is amazing because she has vision, drive, humor, empathy, class, humility, strength, perseverance... not because of what is on her back, what she drives, or what is in her wallet.





 

Present in the Moment

At the base of Exit Glacier, where the gray run off waters run over the smooth black pebbles, I sit beside the stream watching the sun dip behind the snowcapped peaks. Naturally I equate this moment as the ideal moment to find my inner peace so I meditate. Like so many of my meditation practices, in my attempt to be fully present in the moment during meditation I find my mind wandering to insignificant moments in the days prior and plans for the days to come. I glance to the flowing water beside me and realize that in this present moment in time the water that is called stream, was once called glacier, and eventually will be given the title of ocean. However, in that instant, in that present moment, what it was and what it will be are insignificant to what it is now. The water is ever flowing, ever changing, and the beauty was in the significance of noticing the present, acknowledging it, and being mindfully immersed.