Spot #3 It Grows Best Inbetween Two Intervals.

Now and then we publish articles in our Spot series that are a bit out of the ordinary: Extraordinary so to say, but fitting nonetheless. This time: A small collection of unspectacular everyday quotes related to the topics of chaos, uncertainty, reflecting and the time(s) in-between.

"Brushing your teeth in the evening, before the first day at your new job."

"When you're on stage, the last sound has faded away and the whole concert hall is as quiet as a mouse. This moment before the first person begins to applaud. Maybe not the classical time of reflection, but simply one of the greatest feelings – in this moment of silence." 

"Waiting on the platform. Knowing there's nothing you can do to make the train arrive sooner. Just enjoy this time for yourself. Do nothing. Just look." 

"At the moment I find it crass that I can make plans but that they can only be carried out if someone has a negative test or you haven't met anyone. Nothing different than in spring, but this time I feel it is somehow different. Sometimes I just sit there and let the chaos and uncertainty encompass me.”

"Pregnant with my first child. The tummy grows and grows and grows. Somehow you know that everything will be different, but you can't really realize it. Until the little one is there and turns your whole life upside down."

"What did Trump say in the last duel? - What are the current Corona numbers? – Can my brother come to Germany? – The ethical acceptability of Oatly oat milk? – Do I need a new yoga shirt? – News from Munich’s socialites? – Do you also invest your money in ETFs?  – ... To take a break and to breathe deeply is like an inner 'pause button' that I regularly press to readjust my compass in the daily chaos and amidst the bombardment of input.

"To sleep. Just sleep. For me the epitome of uncertainty – nobody really knows what's going to happen and nobody can really tell me if I'm going to wake up again. Let alone what the next day is going to be like."

"At the airport in Bangkok: the sliding doors open, you bump into this wall of humid and hot air – with no idea what the next few weeks will bring."

"The jump from the 5 meter tower in the outdoor pool. This moment in time between the jump and the plunge into the water."

"I find it hard to pause. I have a restless nature. My superego doesn't seem to bear idling. So the day, the evening and sometimes the night as well, have to be filled with plans, activities, tasks, appointments."

"At  uni: Around me the works that were created during the last six months of my art studies. The place was tidy, the works were perfectly staged; everything was ready for the presentation of my art to the professors and fellow students; ready for my final examination. Which should have taken place three days ago. But then it was postponed. How was I supposed to continue working artistically in this strange interim period, in which everything was actually already ready, but then I had to bridge three weeks until the actual exam? ... In the end, it was exactly during this phase that I created one of my best works of art.”

"When my father was buried, a long time of uncertainty began for me. Standing at the grave, saying goodbye, being there for the family, and at the same time totally losing the ground under my feet. This grief has been my most intense time of uncertainty, of chaos."

"A few weeks ago at the cafe Tinder-Date. Sitting at the table, not knowing if I can even stand the guy who's about to join me."

"As a DJ, my work schedule is by definition this time in-between. When most people go to sleep at night, I pack my records and drive through the night to the club. When I get out on the street after work, it's light and for everyone else the day begins."

"In a book that I received from friends for my 30th birthday, there is an illustration and a short sentence for every year of life from 1 to 100. Even though I’ve been over 30 for quite some years now, I found the sentence very fitting at the time: 'It grows best between two intervals.'" 

Author: Elisabeth Pilhofer

Elisabeth has been walking through the city the last weeks with pricked up ears to collect beautiful, inspiring, but also annoying quotes for us.
When she doesn’t happen to be searching for quotes, Elisabeth works as a freelance editor as well as an art and cultural manager in Munich.

Published: 30st October 2020