You smell… deliciously enchanting. You lure me in with your seductive beauty and your one-of-a-kind magnetic force field. You are sincerely one in a billion and there could never be another that speaks to me the way you do… And even among an ocean of beautiful other creatures that sparkle in their very own magical light, it´s you who dives deep into my soul and makes me feel a resonance of a thousand lifetimes past that all lead to us merging in this sacred moment in time.
“Ready to keep walking? It´s getting late and they are gonna close soon!” My travel companion doesn´t seem to notice my special moment with the deep red colored tulip that I have just connected with in the midst of a sea of gorgeous flowers while exploring the mesmerizing beauty of the Keukenhof gardens in Lisse, Netherlands.
Every flower is a world unto itself 
Colors of the wind
All these oceans of flowers exude effortless elegance and playfulness at once, is what I’m thinking while I’m trying NOT to think. Being in the moment is what the hype is all about, isn’t it? To bridge the barriers between ourselves and the object of our desire, or contemplation-admiration, to let ourselves fall fully into the magic of the unrepeatable moment. So why the f… am I still thinking?
A short sigh escapes my throat. I blame the thinking-overload on the long car ride of the past days: The Keukenhof gardens in Lisse are namely just one of quite a few stops of the road trip through the Netherlands that my travel companion and I had embarked upon five days prior. The adventure had taken us from Hamburg in Germany over lively student town Groningen in Northern Holland, picturesque beach town Wijk aan Zee, and Holland’s cosmopolitan capital Amsterdam to the world-famous tulip gardens named Keukenhof, located a mere 30 minutes from the life-affirming capital.
Cute houses with artsy facades in Wijk aan Zee 
The Dutch are super duper bike-enthusiasts! 
Flower art as seen on the roadtrip
And we have only just arrived at Lisse, where sweet countess Jacoba Van Beieren (1401- 1436) once gathered even sweeter fruit and scrumptious veggies from the Keukenduin (kitchen dunes) for the kitchen of Teglingen castle, and in this way lay the foundation for what would become the world’s largest and most famous flower park. The longer I meander along seemingly endless rainbow-colored fields and inspirational gardens full of mesmerizing tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, orchids, roses, carnations, irises, and lilies, the easier it seems to get for my thoughts to dissolve into nothingness. And the more the joy in my heart and soul take center stage, allowing me to deeply absorb the rejuvenating, sparkly beauty that’s all around me.
How often do our thoughts pretend to protect us from what we are observing, while in truth just creating concrete walls between the artificial life and projections of our minds on the one hand and whichever facet of life we are interacting with on the other hand?
Flower boating
“The art of living and the art of being must be intertwined“, I hear a majestic yellow-golden tulip whisper as I bend down to admire her unique beauty from up close. “Is that so?“, I ask her softly and with a hint of barely withheld scepticism, carefully watching out for the nearby Asian tourist group that’s taking happy snaps all around me.
“And the art of being is what exactly? “, I dare to throw another question at the flower-queen. My journalistic zest for inquiry cannot be halted, not even by a whispering flower. She remains silent, just gently swaying her head in the soft breeze as if mocking me a little.
The art of being is maybe, so I ponder while spotting a giant pair of traditional Dutch clogs in the distance, journeying beyond thought. Journeying to that place within that is always still, always at peace, always-eternal. That place that doesn’t know anything that’s not peace. That lies deeper than all the events and worries of this life, deeper than any losses we might experience, deeper than any heartbreak or pain. A holy, wholy place that can be reached when we become still, slow our breaths, go within.
I have arrived at the pair of giant yellow Dutch wooden shoes and swiftly jump right into them, a bubbling laughter paving its way out of my throat, a little piece of me entering the world like a joyful mandala of hope and trust.
And for a moment, all else is forgotten. Everything that was weighing on me before is healed by bathing in one of life’s best medicines, spontaneous, free laughter – a colorful and healthy pill we could pop much more regularly by simply getting playful, silly, grateful, and carefree. Who told us that being serious and restrained was more important than creating enough time to just be, and enjoying ourselves and our world with an open heart? That might be another question for the mighty flower friends to answer… Because nature is and has always been one of life’s wisest and arguably quietest teachers. And quiet brings forth truth… universal truth as well as the truth of your own heart.
Back to you, dear reader: Where in the world do you most feel yourself? Which surroundings bring you back to a peaceful, content state? As always, I would love to hear from ya! Stay well and curious:)
Awesome and superb place are the Netherlands, Maria. Adventure at its best. A lovely post dear.
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Hello dear Kamal! Thanks so much for your sweet feedback, much appreciated:) Sending much love and many hugs to you:)
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Always welcome dear. Much love and lots of hugs to you too Maria.
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🤗🤗🤗
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🤗🤗🤗🤗
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Beyond lovely! Hugs and much love to You 🙂 x
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Ah!! Hello dear Suzanne:) Thank you for your very sweet words! I hope all is well with ya over there in Texas? Much love and big hugs right back at ya xoxo
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Always a pleasure, Marie Elena:)!! Thank you! I hope all’s well with y’all over there too:) xoxo
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Thank you, yes dear! Keep up those amazing vibes, lovely soul! Big hugs 🤗🤗💖💖
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💖🤗💕
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I love the photo of you in the giant yellow clogs to match your cap! And I enjoyed your conversations with flowers. It reminds me of a book series I love called Conversations with Nature. I bet I would really enjoy Amsterdam with all the canals to stroll, bike riding, and that beautiful flower garden. Thanks for sharing Maria and nice to see you online. Hugs! 😍
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Brad, thanks so much for your charming feedback 🙏🤗 I am so glad you enjoyed this. The book series you are mentioning here sounds very intriguing, thanks for sharing it with us:) I can totally see you fitting right in in beautiful Amsterdam! It’s a very cool, unique, and relaxed place. I’ll probably post more on Amsterdam itself soon, too. Stay tuned:) Big hugs 🤗
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Thanks Maria! to cool towns and friends, 😎 🚴
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Cheers to that, Brad! 😎 🚴
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Thanks so much for posting this. Seeing Keukenhoff even in the vitural sense makes me smile widely! How can one not feel in a happiness awe when seeing those tulips.
If only pharmacists could capture that in a pill.
As I have not been to Keukenhoff irl, I would have to say certain places in Denmark and Norway provide me with that boost from naure and for the moment I am there, forget the world’s dramas.
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Thanks for your lovely feedback, Amanda! Glad to hear this made you smile:) Yeah flowers and nature in general are just the best surroundings to get one’s mojo back, I feel. Denmark has a lovely vibe to it, very peaceful and gentle – great to hear you enjoyed your time there and in Norway! Big hugs over to ya in Queensland 🤗
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Thanks for the big hugs! Grateful for your blog friendship!
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Thank you, Amanda:) My pleasure as well to be your blogging friend! I miss Down Under and its lovely inhabitants, both furry and non-furry 😀 Have a great weekend! x
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You’ve got big klogs to fill 🦶😎 💛
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Lol that I do 😃💚 🤗
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Most beautiful flowers like a bed of universe.love and hugs❤🌹🌹🌹❤
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Bahut dhanyvaad, dear dost! Much love and big hugs ❤💚 🤗💚 🤗
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That is really most beautiful.Alas,my bed may be as beautiful as your roses garden and take my sleep like a fairy.Much love and big hugs,my dear yaar!!❤💚💜💛💙🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗😘😘😘😘😘
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What a gorgeous post cara!!! As always, full of colour, life, laughter, joy and the wonders of travel. I love your words “Who told us that being serious and restrained was more important than creating enough time to just be, and enjoying ourselves and our world with an open heart?” Oh yes and you do that so well my lovely friend. You also brought back many memories of the Netherlands (from wayyy back!! So wonderful.
Thank you for your enchanting post, your wise words and gorgeous pics. Big hugs and tanti baci. Love ya lots. xxxx 🌸⭐️🥰
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Grazie tanto, cara amica! I just love it when you come to visit and leave a bit of your unique Miriam-word-magic with us. You are undoubtedly one of my favorite writers and hope-inducing inspirational human lighthouses 🙂 🥰 So glad you enjoyed this and that this post brought you back in touch with some of your treasured travel memories 💮🌻🌺 Thanks for your wonderful support and amicizia! Love ya molto, too 🙂 🌺❤️
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Aww, so very kind. You, my dear, and your wonderful writing, always evoke such special memories. Thank you for that and for our soul reaching friendship. Molto love back beautiful Maria Elena. ❤️💐💫
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Aw Miri! You really do humble me. Thank you!!! You are such a rockstar my friend, you really are! Mil abrazotes ❤️💫
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❤️🥰❤️
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So many years I’ve been in Europe… and I’ve yet to visit Amsterdam 🤔. This post of yours is the perfect incentive to make a trip there as soon as possible (which I hope will be next month). You describe it as rejuvenating, and after the past year and a half of limbo we have all experienced, speaking to nature and the flowers may be the perfect remedy to get back into things once again. Beautiful photos and even more, beautiful writing about the simplicity of nature that brings us right back to our very being and soul. Wishing you well, Maria Elana ~ take care.
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Hi Dalo, wow that is awesome that you’ll experience Amsterdam for yourself so soon! It’s really a very unique place, and now might just be the perfect time to visit to avoid the usual tourist-masses! The Keukenhof gardens are a 30 minutes drive away from Amsterdam, I am not sure whether they will open this year… But in any case, Amsterdam itself will surely inspire you with its unique and laid-back vibe 🙂 Thanks so much for your encouraging and uplifting lines my friend. Many blessings over to you in Czech 🙃
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Thank you for the smiles! The giant shoes reminded me of photos I’ve seen of myself as a three year old wearing wooden shoes from The Netherlands. They were adult sized and too big for me. Not very comfortable, but fun to play around with. May your travels always be joyful and safe!
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Hi dear JoAnna, thanks so much for your lovely comment and for sharing that very cute memory with us! The Netherlands are a fun country with indeed very fun shoes 😃 Many blessings and thanks for your well wishes 🙏
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My dear gypsy soul!! Are those flowers are tulips?plz reply.here in Kashmir,a big garden of tulip’s flowers named Siraj Garden.
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Yes, they are 🙂 Siraj garden must be stunning! Hugs dear dost
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Yeah.you are right.every flower has a world unto its.
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All those place at this time you are presented-I love very much,Querida amiga🍁🍁🍁🍁🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
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Wonderful dear dost! Happy you enjoyed!🍁🍁🌹🌹
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Hey my dear dost!! Have you hidden in Tulip garden still now.Much love and big hugs💕💕💕💖💖💖
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Hola meri pyaari dost! How are you? Yes, I’ve been hiding under flowers for a while. Will post this week though:) Have you create any new art? Much love and big big hugs dear friend. Thank you for your sweet comment:)💕💕💕💖💖💖
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Hey Querida amiga,please see my new sketch and reply.much love and big hugs,my dear dost💖💖💖💖💕💕💕💕💝💝💝
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Beautiful photos. I would feel blessed on a river bank with cool breeze.
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Hi Sanchita, nice to e-meet you! Thank you for your kind words. Glad you enjoyed it!
River banks with cool breezes are a treat indeed.
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So many nuggets of wisdom here…I love ‘The art of being is maybe… journeying beyond thought. Journeying to that place within that is always still, always at peace, always-eternal. ‘ Yes how often do we get submerged in thoughts when sometimes it only serves to undermine/ suffocate a more harmonious state of being…. I need to find this space again in life! Nowadays it’s only ever just over-thinking…
‘How often do our thoughts pretend to protect us from what we are observing, while in truth just creating concrete walls between the artificial life and projections of our minds on the one hand and whichever facet of life we are interacting with on the other hand?’ is so thought provoking and I have to reflect on this further!
And your tulips photos so prettily reflects the vision of Netherlands for me 🙂
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Hello again lovely, I really rejoice in reading your lovely comments. I feel so glad to connect to likeminded spirits like yourself💕 Thank you for your beautiful feedback here. Its so easy to fall into patterns of overthinking and so liberating when we let ourselves fall out of them, isn’t it… I really appreciate the depth of your loyalty and kindness. 💕💕💕 Feel warmly embraced my dear 💕💕 Much much love to you!!
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Yes its true dear overthinking has become the modus operandi especially these days… such a gift you have to articulate it so well and let it be food for thought for others to digest ❤️❤️❤️
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aww thank you so much, sweet soul. I have missed you and feel so blessed and happy to read/ hear from you anytime!! Thank you for your sweet words dear. So glad you resonated. Much love and big hugs ❤️❤️❤️ I hope you are well!!❤️❤️❤️
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