For the new year we wish you and ourselves

a stable civil society.

Contact and conflict courage

Courage to tell the truth,

and fits of courage.

Plurality,

Mindfulness and resonance.

peace of mind

and piece of cake. 

 

I asked my colleagues what this means to them. Here are their answers: 

Julia - What fit of courage would you like to provoke - just to see if others get infected?

Bouts of courage for quiet creativity

Maybe not a loud one.

Not a shrill one.

But a quiet, almost inconspicuous one.

The courage to take a little creative detour in everyday life.

Asking a naïve question that's really on your mind.

Trying something out without knowing whether it is „good“.

To say something, although someone looks irritated for a moment.

Micro-creativity.

Not the big idea, but a small moment of “doing things differently than before”.

Being creative without pursuing a purpose.

Game. Try it out. Get lost.

Enjoy colour and emptiness,

the crooked and the beautiful,

the unfinished.

Creativity doesn't have to prove anything.

It can arise simply because we are there.

And perhaps - by the way

someone gets infected.

Christian - What kind of truths do you need special courage for?

„What is truth?“ Pilate asks Jesus in Bach's St John Passion. And the story continues immediately. The impression is that he is not at all interested in the answer.

I am neither a theologian nor a musicologist; as a listener and choir singer, I regularly become sad at this point. How can people deal with „truth“ so laconically? Truth is not created in a vacuum, but in the field of tension between relationship, situation and responsibility. It is spoken, scrutinised, corrected or confirmed and sometimes painfully won anew.

Truth is not a ready-to-use object; it remains subjective and requires intersubjective cultivation and further development. At the same time, it cannot be invented at will - even if people are currently increasingly trying to do so. Truth is not a private feeling or an instrument of power, but a precious thing: it is created between people and remains bound to values, contexts and imagination. Having the courage to tell the truth means exposing yourself to this process again and again - even at the risk of failure, correction and straining or strengthening relationships.

Denise - what does pluralism mean to you? 

For me, togetherness means connectedness. It arises when we take time for each other, exchange ideas and are truly together. When we share experiences, thoughts and feelings, we understand each other better - and that's exactly what multitude means to me.

We are a team that rarely comes together completely. Remote assignments, different places of residence and other commitments make shared moments rare. That's precisely why I realised again during our pre-Christmas work week how good this togetherness does us. When we are together, it feels right. It creates a strong sense of togetherness - we are closer and simply more us.

I wish for more togetherness in relation to us. More moments in which we are consciously together: working, thinking, laughing, reflecting together - in all our individuality. As different as we are, it is precisely this diversity that enriches our togetherness.

These times together are good for our relationships. They create trust, closeness and remind us why we work together as a team.

My wish for the new year is therefore that we live and cultivate pluralism more consciously - for our cooperation and our relationships. And I also wish for this in general: more genuine togetherness, more connection and more time together in our society.

Andi - How can a piece of cake lead to peace of mind?

The Piece of Cake is not meant as a counter-programme to „...we want the whole fucking bakery!“. Rather in the sense of pleasurable lightness despite everything. And since I don't believe that you should get used to bullshit, I would translate „Peace of Mind“ in a combative way as: Confidence that we are stronger than those who want to eat the cake alone and turn back the tide of enlightenment.

Nicola - why do we need a stable civil society? 

A stable civil society is the foundation on which we stand. It depends on us listening to each other, not just tolerating diversity but recognising it as our greatest strength and defending human rights as the inviolable promise of our community. 

Democracy is much more than a cross on the ballot paper: it is a daily practice of creating spaces in which inclusion and diversity are not distant ideals, but are part of everyday life. Stability and stable structures are created where flexibility is possible. Here, too, courage is needed to enable togetherness and openness in encounters that place the dignity of each individual at the centre of our actions. At a time when voices around the world are becoming louder, questioning precisely this, we need to become even louder.

Cong - If we have the courage for conflict and contact: What would that inspire at the core of our/your work?

I believe that the courage to engage in conflict and contact makes it possible to utilise tensions and opposites as a productive force for renewal by making problems and old patterns visible and discussable. When this happens constructively, spaces for dialogue and integration are created in which different perspectives can be valued and creative solutions developed. This sparks the vibrant energy of renewal that we so urgently need today.