[ 04.2016 | Charlottenburg ]
during one of my city-tours through Berlin, I found a moment of peace in the beautiful baroque-style park of Charlottenburg Palace. the palace was built in 1695-99 by the first Prussian queen Charlotte as her summer residence. as an intellectual and artistic person, she would have loved the play of the sparrows that I witnessed in April 2016.
sometimes, when you’ve been sitting still long enough at one spot, you begin to comprehend the environment. and your surroundings become familiar with you. and you understand; e.g. the complex interplay of plant and animal communities as a functional unit. while I was sitting on the paved waterside of the lake, some birds came by. right next to me, a group of sparrows gathered chattering excitedly at their late lunch which they had found where I thought was nothing but tiles and dirt. then another sparrow approached and landed in their very middle. immediately almost every other bird turned their back on the new arrival – every sparrow except for the tit. it seemed as if the new sparrow had proclaimed a very different opinion to his kin; and only the unlike looking tit was following the social maverick, the fanatic, lunatic of no common agnatic descent. time for buddy building, obviously.
today is International Mother Language Day, proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1999. it is especially to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. so let us please be particularly conscious of communication and community today.