# 515: BOOK OF THE WEEK — “The Edge of Things: A Story”
Story behind the Book Choice
“When you go to Fritzlar, you have to go to Café Hahn,” the lady in a beautiful small hotel at Edersee told me right after checkin. It happens that she also works at the visitors center. As always, I made a mental note of the information but I did not know what I was going to do the next day and if Fritzlar would really be part of the program. As it happened, it was. I spent half the day doing other things, including a long phone call with a friend and colleague of mine who is so dear to me that I hardly find words. Afterwards I made my way to the “Edertalsperre” and then I felt it was time to go to Fritzlar.
Even though this beautiful town has quite a few things to see, I never made it to these sights. I parked the car, walked down the main shopping street and then hit the market square where I saw “Café Hahn.” Usually, I am not a person who goes to coffee places when I visit towns and I hardly ever follow any “recommendations” by other people, simply because, quite often, other people like things I do not like. But this time, some magical force made me go straight to the café. And I only left the place about three hours later.
I have no idea how time could pass so quickly. Or, maybe this is a lie. I know exactly how it happened but it was one of these experiences that seem so unreal. As a grown-up you hardly ever experience these moments of losing any sense of time. But I did. And the reason is simple: Café Hahn turned out to be my “Café on the Edge of the World” in case you know the books by John Strelecky. I once met Strelecky at a startup convention in my hometown. But my John Strelecky here was far more impressive to me, far more fascinating, and helpful at this point of my life.
This John is called Cor. You can use the internet to figure out the rest. I will see Cor again and talk to him. There is no doubt. I do not know when it will happen but it will. This encounter assured me that the journey I am on is exactly the one I have longed for. I know, longing is stupid. I made a choice, that is more precise. In any case, Cor has already become somewhat of a mentor to me — a mentor I have not actively looked for. But that is the best sign telling me that I can learn a lot from him.
And he is right,
I have done too many things alone when it comes to my growth.
It is time to set the mouse free.
- Love at the center
I grabbed many books right after I took a seat on one of the cozy sofas. And this one here immediately got my attention. It had obviously been a gift to Cor because a dedication was written on the first page. As soon as I saw that and started reading, I knew that this place would have more to offer to me than just books or beer. The owner must be someone special, I knew that straight away. And it would only take about five minutes or so till Cor approached me and took a seat next to me.
By that time, I had almost finished reading this tiny book already. There are not too many words in it. But it has the most important word in the world in it: love. The book is all about love. And as you can read here, love is “at the center.” And I do think that people who truly know this and practice it reach an energy level that changes the world around them. You do not have to be Jesus or Buddha or the Prophet Muhammad for that. We can all do that. But only a few of us have (been) chosen to really walk that path and help others walk it.
Cor is one of them.
2. Fixed Paradigms
Yes, if you think that you can change people’s minds by convincing them or arguing with them or buying their opinions — you have understood ZERO of how humans work. The only thing that truly changes people is love. And if you spread that love, you can curse, you can smack people in the face, you can “fuck with their brains,” as Cor would say. That does not matter. If you do all this with this deep love in your heart that is immediately felt, you can change people irreversibly, or rather help them changes themselves. Yes, you cause “chaos” in their lives to an extent. But you do not care about this. You know that this chaos is the starting point of everything. You put them on a journey. They will first hate you for it. But it is totally worth it — if you are willing and ready to take the risk of letting go of everything that used to define you — concepts, things, goals, people, status...
3. Being and Dying
If you really decide you want to BE, you have to die first. I totally agree. It frightens the shit out of you but if you belong to the group of people who have been chosen by God or whoever and whatever you believe in to be this light for others, then you will most likely not stop. You will keep walking and with every step, dying is a bit easier because you feel light and free and you see all the new things unfolding already.
That is pretty much the core message of the Bible.
Sorry for fucking up your Bible studies in case you are into that.
You can have a lot more fun learning that message outside the church…
I think that I am still too busy thinking about myself. That takes away too much attention and energy for me to really see everything that is unfolding already. But there has to be a purpose in this too. And I do not reject it. When meeting people like Cor, I used to be tempted to try to “copy” their paths in order to be successful, happy, or anything. But that is not the point, even if I admire people like him because of the energy they pass on. The point is to see what you share and to trust that you have a lot of this transformational energy in you as well. But the journey is yours to figure out — your unique nature coming to the “surface.”
THANK YOU to CvL for the love you live.
Reflection Questions
1) Have you ever spent time in a café that felt like your “Café on the Edge of the World”? If yes, what has stayed with you from this experience? If not, would you like to visit such a place?
2) Do you put love at the center of everything you do? Why/not?
3) Name one paradigm that love caused you to let go of. How did it feel to leave it behind?