Then I added another sentence with a light touch and in German words: ‘Mein Schwersinn rettet mir heute das Leben!’ [4] Last night's microwave lasagne was still sitting heavy in my stomach and my head was throbbing heavily from the bottle of wine I'd knocked back around midnight. Lightheartedly, I thought to myself: You don't treat yourself to anything else! [1] Leichtsinn = recklessness - literal translation: ‘light sense’ [2] ‘Schwersinn’ is not an official German word. It is reminiscent of the word ‘Schwermut’, which means ‘melancholy’ and is intended here as a play on words. [3] In German, ‘difficult’ and ‘heavy’ are the same word: ‘schwer’ - Similarly, ‘easy’ and ‘light’ are the same word: ‘leicht’ - In this text, I constantly play with these words. [4] = ‘My melancholy is saving my life today!‘ Julia Gerlach, DPG/German Psychoanalytic Society The day began with heavy rain, but the mood of the group was still good. Today was the day everyone had been preparing for for a long time. The sky had cleared and the sun was drying the last raindrops when everyone gathered on the terrace. The two group leaders stood together while the others spread out around them. "Yes, we are now almost at the end, and we have been thinking about what setting we could choose for the farewell," Günther began. "We'll have you spread out across the grounds," Ursel continued. "Find a place where you feel comfortable and settle in. When you're ready, you can visit each other and say goodbye, or wait for visitors." She glanced around briefly and nodded to Günther. "We'll join in too." Tension arose, some grumbled, others already began to disperse purposefully. I sensed it would get warm, perhaps shade would be good during the day. And then the spot should be well protected. I had an idea. Hopefully no one had yet discovered the cozy spot between the hedge and the orchard. I bent down and picked up my backpack with a bottle of water and a few apples. I was glad I had remembered to pack a blanket. Then I set off happily and soon saw a few other group members setting up their spot. After slipping through the gap in the hedge, I immediately saw that my intended spot was still free. Here, the grass was short and the hedge dense, but next to it, the meadow grew unrestrainedly into the summer sky. I spread out the blanket and lay down on it to gaze at the now almost blue sky for a while and daydream. A few white clouds were still drifting by. The air was fresh and clean. It could be a beautiful day. I had just decided to take a nap and close my eyes when I heard a rustling sound. To my surprise, I saw Günther squeezing through the hedge and looking over at me.
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