Dialogue Garden
“Dialogue is not a means for assimilation in the sense that one side expands and incorporates the other into its ‘self.’ We want to allow what is good, beautiful, and meaningful in the other to transform us.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
I have always been searching for the deeper layers in life.
Growing up in efficient and organized Switzerland, I followed the path I was supposed to, earning a Business Diploma – yet I felt deeply unhappy and guilty for feeling that way. Didn’t I have what I could wish for? Shouldn’t I be happy? Conflicted and lost, I struggled secretly while remaining very functional and ‘successful’ in the outer world.
Things started to shift, when I set out in my early twenties to see the world for myself. I discovered my love for the ocean and became a scuba diving instructor, which allowed me to travel through South East Asia for an extended period of time. I still remember my many adventures vividly, from living on a remote island in the Philippines, to steering a sailing boat under the full moon on it’s way from Singapore up the coast of Malaysia to Thailand, to diving in uncharted territory to evaluate if a diving school could be set up in a particular place and many many more. Further on my journey brought me to India, which opened another completely new world to me. I found a spirituality that I didn’t know I was thirsting for so deeply. I traveled up and down the country, which left me full of gratitude and appreciation for the richness and fragility of our lives.
My path has taken many more turns since, and along the way I worked in a Kibbutz in Israel, at an airport in Switzerland, raised a son and moved to the Netherlands 10 years ago with my then-husband. In the past years I studied extensively the works of Marshall Rosenberg’s nonviolent communication and completed a mediator’s training based on his principles. I was struck by the different approach to conflict I experienced in these courses to what I was used to.
It’s very liberating to me to move away from thinking about who is right and who is wrong in conflict. Instead, the focus becomes finding the needs behind the parts that get so triggered and hurt in a conflict. This approach gave me a whole new blueprint on how we can live together with more connection and understanding and it has helped me develop an inner compass that I am trusting more and more. I’m clearer about my own values and am eager to explore with others new ways of holding community.
With a deep care for our living planet and all its inhabitants, I am committed to contributing to a world that works for everyone.