When following the news I see the following: endless and repetitive reports of how each side of a certain topic is trying to convince the other of their position with self serving logic and who seems to win the argument.

When looking more carefully I see something else: marginal differences on the desired long term outcome (as our deeper needs as human beings are quite universal) but a great divide around the short term measures necessary to get there. This divide is triggered by our fear for the potential consequences of these choices at a personal level and our urge to avoid those.

Feels not only like a waste of time but also as an ineffective way get our needs met: we all loose in the end.

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‘de kleine Chef’ (dkC) is based in an industrial zone called Nieuw Overvecht (NO). Most common reaction I get when sharing this location is: why on earth would you choose NO to start your espressobar & restaurant?

Overvecht clearly carries a somewhat negative image due a combination of (perceived) social tensions, safety issues and various non-legal activities. Sadly this perception is currently also shared by many of its occupants, resulting a level of resignation and passivity. And a loss of faith in the possibility to nudge this area to a more wholesome place.

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Santa Maria de Leuce, Puglia

Is my resilience improving in the ‘community, family & friends’ quartile I was aiming for?

My increased focus on these relationships is resulting in more, more diverse and more conscious interactions. And an increased awareness on the quality of each interaction. I enjoy the process, my reduced identification with ‘introversion’, overcoming prejudices and related fears, pleasant surprises, my broadening social network and improved mental agility.

Homemade ‘connector’ meatballs

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One of the reasons for the ‘kleine Chef’ experiment was to counter a perceived double ‘confirmation bias’ trend.

One trend being triggered by a, partly life phase driven, gradual tightening of my social bubble. Even though my non-work related social circle is, somewhat surprisingly and due to weakening introversion, growing in numbers the level of diversity of its members stays relatively limited.

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now open

als je een kleine break kan gebruiken vindt je bij de kleine Chef
een heerlijke combinatie van eenvoud, aandacht & smaak!

www.dekleineChef.nl
Opening Januari 6, 2026

‘an attempt to bridge bubbles’

40 years later, I can still clearly remember the doubtful look in my fathers eyes when I told him in 1985 that I managed to escape the then still mandatory military service. He didn’t voice his feelings but I could tell, that as a fairly recent WW2 veteran, he was worried about this new trend.

Now that the world is becoming less stable I sense a need to invest in my personal resilience in order to be ready for whatever is ahead of us (as I have taken my own resilience for granted for a while).

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Over the past few weeks I felt somewhat ambiguous about my ‘progress’ towards equanimity. It now however seems to me that ’progress’ didn’t stop but took another shape: my energy has shifted from expanding consciousness towards further integration of previously acquired consciousness into the various aspects of everyday life.

Gonno vdSB (Schelpen dGvE)

Looking at it from this angle I can see a decreased frequency, reduced duration and reduced impact of situations that cause destabilisation. Some patterns have disappeared all together. Main challenge remains staying aware during extended involvement in certain social activities.

A glimpse of mother’s creative energy through the exhibition
she somehow never held whilst among us.

The open field was a challenge these past few weeks. And that even though the conditions were optimal: no specific stressors, no must do’s, good outdoor weather, no health issues, imminent attractive new activity at doing level, etc.. Inactive moments nevertheless led to small flights in food, drink, sleep, media, judgement, social contact, consumentism etc. An acquaintance with a deeper level stillness that clearly requires a new level of equanimity. An experience that might be interrupted by the increased activity around Slow.

After a year of ‘letting go’ and migration from doing to being, I have now finally landed in an open field. Full acceptance that the outcome might not be a specific activity but more a state of being was probably the hardest bit and still a challenge. Intention for now is to stay in this zone and let life unfold itself…

Maybe it just comes down to simple loving presence (thereby modifying the quality of my DNA).

AI generated Podcast on Gezond.nl

Gezocht: Table du Chef

Utrecht / 150 m2
met vergunning / buiten de Singel

Instinctively I knew some of it. And that is why, in the last phase of her life, I mostly supported my mother in her sometimes seemingly complicated wishes and impractical choices around the conditions she wanted to live in. But only now, having consumed Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, do I fully realize what she was fighting for.

More consciousness around this topic would have helped me to have better conversations with her and possibly also to find alternative, better fitting, solutions. It would also have helped me to have more productive discussions with my siblings.

ps: aside from contribution of a higher general level of acceptance. which is hard work for all of us up to the actual moment of transition.

I have often struggled to stay close my self whilst participating in every day life. It was either one or the other. Over the years I have gradually migrated towards a ‘sound’ balance between the two.

Only recently have I finally experienced transcending this self inflicted duality. No more either or. That feels like an enormous relief! And an opportunity to leave a sizeable chunk of control mechanisms behind.