I arrived in Berlin one day before New Year’s Eve 2009 with a few good friends and as we arrived we saw four words written in bold on the side of a building.
HOW LONG IS NOW
Not a conventional question, not quite a sentence, but a very powerful phrase.
Shortly after this incident, the phrase HOW LONG IS NOW became the theme of our trip. During our disoriented time in Europe there was never a moment when time felt ‘normal’. It was as if we had lost touch with reality and were living IN THE NOW. We couldn’t escape it. Time was irrelevant and thus we went back to surviving on basic needs – we ate, drank and slept.
It was so powerful knowing that the words written on that wall could affect us in that way, not to mention that the words were in English and we were in Germany!
On the walls of my bedroom I have several quotes written out – my favourite of course, Eleanor Roosevelt’s “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”. Then “This, too, shall pass”…. which lightens up darker days and makes bright days even brighter!
I also have a quote by Albert Einstein written above my desk, that is “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere”.
So what power can words have?
What role do they play in your life?
