Storm

In case you hadn’t noticed yet, the sun has returned to The Netherlands! And honestly, I couldn’t be happier about it. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved the snow, the ice skating and the hot chocolate, but I think we all needed this so bad. It’s funny that this enthusiasm and these almost ecstatic reactions to the first sunshine aren’t just of this time. If you look at Dutch literature there are thousands of poems by famous poets about the spring returning and the happiness that it brings with it. For example ‘lentekus (spring-kiss)’ by Hélène Swarth.

I’ve heard so many people complain about how they feel like they’re becoming zombies behind their laptop screens, going in and out of endless teams meetings and online classes. And rightly so. However, simply put, for now this situation cannot be solved. There are some things that can make it a bit less horrendous though. It’s very easy and tempting to just lay on your bed after all of those online classes or continue watching yet another Netflix show on your laptop, but you can also decide do something completely different like going outside. I really hope the sun will encourage more people, including myself, to go outside more and enjoy their surroundings more. It doesn’t even need to be a long walk. Just by sitting in your garden/on your balcony or by simply opening your windows and letting the sunlight touch your skin, you can improve your day so much. Put on your favourite relaxing song and just take a moment of your day to appreciate that there finally is some sunshine again. Some of my personal favourites to listen to when I’m enjoying the sun:

Summer Lovin’ – The Tuesday Crew
Good News – Mac Miller
Hell N Back – Bakar
Lucy – Still Woozy, ODIE
Lava – Still Woozy
Habit – Still Woozy
Window – Still Woozy
Loving is easy – Rex Orange County, Benny Sings
24/7/365 – Surfaces
Imagination – Foster The People

These times are so challenging for our wellbeing and mental health and I’m definitely not saying that chilling in the sun will magically fix all of your trouble. However, I do believe that taking small steps in taking care of ourselves improves our happiness. Small steps such as taking ten minutes of our day just to sit in the sun doing absolutely nothing. So, dear Stormers, please close that laptop after your classes end and enjoy these extremely rare moments of sunshine in The Netherlands.