Imagination, live it!

 “There is no life I know, to compare with pure imagination. 

Living there, you’ll be free if you truly wish to be.”

I believe that life is here in Second Life where you can set your imagination free. As children, we have dreams of what we want to be or where we want to live. These dreams change as we gain more knowledge of the world around us. I think we dream of our childhood because life had simplicity for most of us. You did not worry about money. Your main interest was your imagination of building something around you.

Here in Second Life, I can relive those imaginary stories I had written in my mind and still need to collect and write down on paper. As I look around the Retreat and Basement Club and in my Gallery, much of it has come from just that, my childhood in Germany. It makes me smile and I have that sense of happiness of simplicity I had as a child. Here is a little snippet of the story I wrote about fairytales:

"I loved going to the cemetery and reading the names of the tombstones and thinking about these people and if they ever traveled or what they had done to enjoy their lives. Not a wonderful playground for a princess to seek. My father hated it. My mother feared the dead. I loved the silence. One time I caught a beautiful salamander from a well in the cemetery and took it home. 

My father didn’t approve of this at all and thought I should never touch things in a cemetery. I wanted to care for him, my little August. I chose that name because I found a name like that on a tombstone. Little August would have his very own place on the balcony, his own pool in a bowl of water I provided for him. This was when I found out that what you hear and see is not always true. My father told me that August left the balcony in the night and probably returned to where he belonged. I was heartbroken. I wanted so much to take care of him and I knew he never made it back there without me.  

It defined my fairytale at that moment to find some creature in this big wide world to take care of." 

Anjelikka Kowalski from the stories about my childhood

I am still here

 I am overtaken by grief in real life, but I am still here.

“Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.”

Sharing some of my "Heimatland" sights in Second Life is for me a very special occasion. The castle in the background is " Burg Gleiberg" built around the 900th. The ruin is now a popular destination. Since 1879, the ruins have been owned by the Gleiberg Association, which strives to preserve them. The restaurant "Burg Gleiberg" with a beer garden is located in a building in the inner courtyard of the lower castle. As a child, we would visit this often because it was part of the neighborhood.

I appreciate the fact that I can bring back a little bit of home right here and feel the breeze (almost).

After you leave home, you may find yourself feeling homesick, even if you have a new home that has nicer wallpaper and a more efficient dishwasher than the home in which you grew up. I did a story during Halloween in Second Life where I explained the story about the "Hirtenbrunnen" in the forest I played in as a child. At the Shepard Well according to legend, a shepherd was found dead here. It was assumed that he was in love with a nun because he was doing errand work for the nuns. However, the truth will never be known. I have the plaque of the well at my cemetery now at the Retreat. 

I can be homesick, but when I log into second life I can bring my home back and that makes me happy. 

Life is all about being happy and finding ways to stay in that happy place. Life is too short for unhappiness. What do you do when you are homesick? Leave your thoughts in the comments for me.

My home here in Second Life is the Retreat and I treasure it very much. If you like to visit this place you are always welcome. 

Here you find a place to relax, visit the art gallery, maybe meet with friends and dance the night away in the Basement Club. Either way, you are all welcome to visit and enjoy.

Be good to yourself!!!

“Peace is liberty in tranquility.”

 The real-life world is so full of drama daily and I am very relieved that I have second life to escape to. Things can be so very peaceful and serene here and that may be the balance you need to be able to return to the world and function.

In a way, it is magical how it can transform you back to a peaceful and calm person, that second life. It reminds me of the lyrics by John Lennon: "Imagine there's no heaven, It's easy if you try. No hell below us, Above us, only sky. Nothing to worry about at all. 

Don't get me wrong, you can find drama here too, but why would you want to? 

Albert Einstein. “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”

I was recently asked by a co-worker why I keep coming here and what is the attraction? It is the tranquility that I find here that puts my mind at ease. I put on my headset and I decide if I want it quiet or loud and if I want to shut the real world out for a moment or if I want to listen in to both. Most of the time I just want some quiet moments and I can have them here.

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. Second Life makes me happy and hey none of the food I eat here, ever makes me gain a pound.

Wishing you all a peaceful and tranquil time in second life so you can deal with the wild wild west outside. Stay calm!!!

“Chag Sameach!”

Just like Hanukkah, the festival of Passover is celebrated for more than one day, it is 7-8 days. Easter and Passover are not the same, there are a few differences most people do not know.

I am not here to explain any of these religions to you, you have to research that on your own. I am here to wish you a wonderful Spring Time.

Springtime is just that, the earth springs into action. Even here in Second Life will you find many places with flowers and gardens. I love this time of the year just like I love the Fall season. All the beautiful flowers in so many colors.

"And when all the trees are with blossoms dressed,
The bird with her song so merry
Will come to the branches to build her nest,
With a view to the future cherry.

I hope you get a chance to visit some of the beautiful sims all decked out in Spring. It is good for your mental health to see the colors and hear the birds, especially if you cannot do this in real life. This is just as therapeutic as the real thing.

What are your favorite flowers in the Spring?

I love the trees when they bloom, they look so pretty.

Even the dandelion in the fields can be pretty and beneficial to not only nature but to people and other living beings. 

Did you know that dandelions are edible? Yup, they are.
However, study up on that before you cook them up for dinner.

Whatever you may celebrate to welcome Spring, may it bring a smile to you.

 

Lucky Seven

Why is "seven" so important? 

It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, superstition, and philosophy. The seven Classical planets resulted in seven being the number of days in a week.

This week the Basement Club celebrates seven years in Second Life. We are very lucky to have this for sure. I give credit to the wonderful people who stop by and say hello. Some come back week after week, and some visit ever so often. Whether you come once or many times we welcome you to listen to the incredible DJs and people with music knowledge. 

I learn new things all the time from the visitors and that is also lucky.

“The reason why the seven stars are no more than seven is a pretty reason.
King Lear: Because they are not eight?
Fool: Yes, indeed: thou wouldst make a good fool.”
― William Shakespeare, King Lear

We hope you stop by and enjoy the celebrations with fantastic music, gifts, laughter, and some aliens.

Happy 7th anniversary, Basement Club!!!

Creations of Minds

"I am not sure why we call it second life here in this beautiful world of creation.
Every life here every avatar is connected to our real lives in many ways.

It is a learning process of discovering the beauty of our minds creating visions of happiness and sometimes even sadness, yet we are drawn here together like a magnet that has a hold on us.

We can connect our visions with others or spend it in solitude, but I sense we all seek that connection to some great mind that spins on the same frequency as ours. Adventures here are endless and they do not limit us, because here we are free in a sense for as long as we need to be.

I have seen many things our minds have created and here we admire this work and we never judge the physical human behind it all. Real Life should be like this! Where race, religion, gender, age, or disabilities don’t matter, but love for creating joy does." ~Anjelikka

After all these years, it still holds. The creations of minds are still here in Second life making connections, creating visions and dreams, and throughout the years have made it easier to create exactly what you want.

I cannot imagine having no second life at all. My very own Basement Club, a vision I dreamt about is now seven years old. How amazing! I am grateful to the people who come here and spend their time right here in my dreams. Time is valuable and I value their time and commitment.

I created the video below many years ago and yet, I still feel the same. Most of it was filmed at the Retreat. (I am even friends still to this day with the guy you see in the video)