ACTUALLY, MUNICH IS MY HOME.
Actually. But for the past year, the thick air in the “cosmopolitan city with a heart” has been getting on my nerves more and more. Literally. The daily newspapers are full of negative reports about poor air quality, and even when I don’t stick my nose in the paper but hold it up to the air, I start to feel short of breath. It’s become stuffy, musty, and hazy. My own efforts—“cycling, recycling, etc.”—also seem more and more pointless to me. Especially when I hear that car emissions data is being manipulated and plastic is being dumped into the ocean. That’s why I now prefer to go to Balderschwang even more than I have over the past 14 years, during which I’ve felt a close connection to the Traubels and the Hotel Hubertus, where I’ve been offering mindfulness retreats. My heart already lifts when I’m driving on the highway toward Sonthofen and see the majestic mountains. They radiate peace and strength. Beauty and grace! And when I drive up the pass and into the valley toward Balderschwang and park in front of the Hubertus, every cell in my body relaxes immediately. Then I take a really deep breath! A zest for life! Yes, exactly! Here, I feel once again what that really means. Fresh air and green meadows lie at my feet right in front of the hotel terrace. What a treat! The green of the meadows relaxes me, and the ringing of the cows’ bells soothes me. What a high quality of life! What a gift! What used to be taken for granted has become rare today.

NEVER BEFORE HAVE I APPRECIATED FRESH AIR AND NATURE...
...as deeply as I did last year. And never before have I enjoyed my days at Balderschwang as much as I have this year. Many guests from Munich, Zurich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Berlin, and Frankfurt feel the same way I do. We sit there, breathe in, breathe out, take deep breaths, and savor every breath. And as I sit there enjoying the privilege of still being able to breathe in plenty of fresh air, I think of the Native Americans and indigenous peoples who regard the Earth as their mother and treat her with respect and reverence. And then I find myself wishing that we, too, would finally realize that WE need the Earth—and not the other way around. After all, we’re all just guests here on this beautiful blue planet. And it shouldn’t be that hard to understand that we can’t eat money or breathe poisoned air. Really. Right?