Summer is present in full glory. The warmth, sometimes even the heat , and the inevitable thunderstorms in the evening, take us into other atmospheres. The Netherlands is sizzling, the football fever has given us that special feeling of connection with each other. It's beautiful to see how a sports team can unleash such tremendous energy and sense of unity throughout an entire nation and far beyond, even if they lose at the last minute.
I wonder then: how does such a thing arise. Somewhere, at a certain moment, perhaps in a certain setting, that spirit has been ignited. Tiny little, a spark, in a little flash, maybe not even consciously, a germ arises and that triggers a chain reaction first in the team itself and then it spills over to the supporters and then to the whole society and it grows and grows. That germ may have been a single word at the right time, a gesture, perhaps a moment of silence. It's like the vibration of a hummingbird's Wing in the Amazon that can develop into an overwhelming hurricane in the Caribbean.
The question that arises is what preceded it? What is the origin from which that germ arises, What is the source of the inspiration, which seems to bubble up from nowhere?
This mystery seems to be a quantum-small energy impulse from the deep nothingness, which we all experience as human beings. It is the source of creativity and our imagination how it could be otherwise. Often a moment of silence precedes it. Great new scientific insights, Eureka!, fantastic artistic expressions, and moving music emerged from this. But we don't have to be Einstein, Van Gogh or Mozart to be open to these peak experiences. Every person has this potential. Everyone is essentially connected to this formless nothing full of potential, as every wave cannot be seen apart from the vast ocean from which it originates.
We too, as simple people, can inspire each other and bring about a surge of energy and enthusiasm and thus be of service to our environment. Allowing that little "service germ" can grow into something beautiful at any time, even if it's just a smile on your fellow man's face.
Boy Van Droffelaar, PhD
