Oubey Mindkiss

Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Salvator Mundi" was sold at auction for $400 million. Since then, it has been under lock and key in one of the Freeports that have sprouted up around the world in recent years. They offer wealthy buyers of valuable art a duty- and tax-free space to store their art acquisitions.

Kevin Costner’s film Waterworld, in which he also plays the main role of the Mariner, a lone drifter on his trimaran, creates the end-time scenario of a world nearly completely submerged in water. In this world it’s not water but soil that is the most valuable commodity.

Why do we actually do what we do? Forty percent of our daily actions are not based on conscious decisions, but on habits. We acquire such habits over the course of our lives. We also get rid of some of them. Some have become dear to us, others annoy us - or our fellow human beings. Do you know your own habits?

The name might not be familiar to you, but everyone probably knows this board game, in which one player annoys another by sending him back to start just before he reaches the next goal or perhaps when he is just a few moves away from winning the whole game. There are a lot of games that work like this, including Ludo, but only this one has the German name "Mensch ärgere dich nicht", which, as the title suggests, means “Man, don’t get angry”. Whoever thought out the name must have had either a great sense of humor or pedagogical intentions! Or maybe both?

Once again, a new year is upon us. What are we actually celebrating? When December 31, 2020, becomes January 1, 2021 overnight, nothing changes except the date. Some may wish that everything will stay the way it is. Others eagerly hope for a change. How do you feel when you think about next year?

You’ll know Aretha Franklin, the legendary singer and her famous song "R.E.S.P.E.C.T". In it she sings about what must be the most fundamental principle on which all life in human society is based – respect. The song is now over fifty years old but its lyrics are more topical than ever.

What’s art? There are many views of what art means and the role it plays in people's lives. For some it’s a commodity or even an investment opportunity. Others see it as a luxurious pastime for so-called elites that ordinary people can well do without. And then there are those who believe that art is an absolutely essential part of people’s lives.

Ten years ago I dared to do the very first step going public with the MINDKISS Project. The following years were characterized by an amazing development, astonishing even for me. After a pause of more than three years the project is now at the beginning of a next stage, titled “The Art of Resonance”.

There’s seldom been so much talk about normality as in the past few weeks and months when everyday life has been completely turned upside down – practically from one day to the next – by the spreading of a novel virus called COVID 19. Is this the new normal?

Driving through a bank of thick fog is a hazardous enterprise. You can hardly see a thing and have very few points on which you can reliably orient yourself. This means that you have to drive slowly so you can brake in time if some vehicle suddenly emerges and crosses your path or some other obstacle looms up in your line of sight. Driving by sight is the only way you’re going to get out of such thick fog safely.

Wir Menschen neigen dazu, uns für die Herrscher auf diesem kleinen Planeten im großen Universum zu halten. Doch hin und wieder tauchte in unserer Geschichte ein mikroskopisch kleines Wesen auf, das uns daran erinnerte, dass dem nicht so ist. Genau das erleben wir in diesen Tagen und Wochen als Menschen auf der ganzen Welt. Eine Krise wie wir sie bisher nicht kannten. Und doch liegt in ihr, wie in allen Krisen, auch eine Chance.

Short-term thinking is pretty much the norm nowadays. Shareholders are much more interested in a company’s quarterly results than they are in its long-term sustainability strategy. Targets must be met as quickly as possible. Wishes must be satisfied at double quick time. Quick success, quick profits, everything as quick as possible. I call this the “Amazon Prime Principle”. Want it today, have it tomorrow. In the fast-paced life of the 21st century there’s little room for patience.