What does it mean to belong?

According to the definition, there are many options.

You can belong to a country, a city or a house.
You can belong to your family, your friends or co-workers.
You can belong to a community, a cult or a religion.

The amount of things we can connect to is exhaustingly long.
So how come some of us can still feel alone, lost or without a home?

If the World was a large puzzle, then every person on Earth is a piece that has a perfect place where they fit in and belong.
But what if you feel like a piece of Lego?
Unable to contribute to the “big picture”; the puzzle everyone is trying to solve.

The World – with or without you – seemingly works on its own, as a whole.

When you spend a Lifetime looking at this issue from the same angle, wondering:
“What went wrong?”
“Why can’t I just be normal?”
“How could I finally live the way I’m supposed to?”

You may miss to realize that there is another side to the story, just like with coins:

You are meant to have these attributes.

These qualities you may call “flaws”, those strengths you consider “unusable”, and all the thoughts you have that are “unconventional” – They are there for a reason, with a purpose you may not yet be aware of.

Do me a favor and look at your hands for a few seconds after reading the following sentence:
You are the only one in the history of the universe who ever had, and will have this exact perspective.

No other person, creature or intelligent microchip can come close to copy the way you see, think and feel.

In the World of puzzles, the pieces make up an image.
Everything is pre-determined – the number of pieces, their exact location and shape – even the picture you get when you finish it.

When it comes to Lego, however, your options to build something are limitless.

Day 1: The Excavation Site

Our little team arrives to the train station of Almelo, awaiting transport to our physical HQ.

This was the first time all of us met outside Zoom, our virtual office and playground.
The impressions were strong.

You could smell passion, warmth and intellect with every breath, even when a person passing us with his dog allowed the puppy to take a big ass crap 7 meters from the main entrance. [The guy was unbothered]
Welcome to Almelo, I guess?

After a 10 minute chat, the vehicles arrived to safely carry us through the city and a portion of muddy farmlands, fully packed with our bags and ourselves.

Upon arrival to our temporary castle, we were greeted with this view:

In less than an hour we discovered and conquered every square meter available for our disposal, filling the kitchen from bottom to the top, along with the comfortable bedrooms and – to our surprise – a basement with a luxurious infra sauna.

Before we would dive into getting to know each other below surface level, we had a toast-lunch with the most delicious bread ever.
It was so good, in fact, that if there was a Nobel-Prize for bakers, the person who made this would get one straight up for the invention.

With our butts fixed and our bellies happy, we were ready to take in the tactical briefing that followed the heavenly dining.

The objective was clear: Let’s use our knowledge and skills collectively to create something amazing.
[+ Have fun, bond as a team and get to know each other better as a side dish]

Such an opportunity must not be taken lightly.

With our intentions set and mental fine-tuning finished, it was time to lift up the curtains and introduce ourselves properly. Not the ordinary way, as you may have already guessed it.

The catch was to tell our story wrapped in a myth; to show who we are by imagining a character who has the same issues, experiences and dreams as we do, but without being “too personal” about it, as we would do with our pre-selected jokes, stories and behaviors we always exhibit in new environments and people in it.

After an hour of brainstorming on how to convey who we are (accurately) through a myth, the time came to step on stage and present it.

With the greatest pleasure, allow me to introduce the Team:

The Word-Bender (aka. The Rabbit)
Countless of tales has been told over the centuries, but only the most remarkable ones remained.
It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
Even the greatest story is just a gossip if you don’t know how to tell it.

Mozart (aka. The Bird with a Pink Ribbon)
The tongue is an instrument, but only a few can make the words feel like music.
There are stories to be told, where the sentences feel like an orchestra’s flow.
You can compose a song from the most majestic sounds; without harmony, they’re just noise.

The Guardian (aka. The Bear)
Protecting the time frames and structure is crucial.
One does not simply wander off-schedule.
The Flow of Energy – no matter how powerful – scatters to waste if unfocused.

The Architect (aka. The Wolf[ie])
You can have the most brilliant ideas, unless you put them on paper, they remain just that.
No thought can change the World without making it tangible first.
Grasping exceptional ideas is hard. Extracting them is Art.

Sensei Splinter (aka. The Knight who Fucks Up Teachers)
Though we are not Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles anymore, wisdom is required.
There are pitfalls to avoid, strategies to use and a goal to achieve before the clock runs out.
A great mentor will guide you through a process without telling you what to do, and the outcome will still be marvelous.

The Rookie (aka. The Unicorn)
That’s me. Being the least experienced in the group, paying attention is key.
After all, every senior was once an apprentice.
The Road to Mastery is paved with questions, action and curiosity.

Now that it’s out of the way, we got to dive deep.
Everyone was ready for a long round of Ultimate Marking Brainstorming.

The Knights of the Round Table gathered, placing their sharpest wit in the process of thinking.
Each and every brain present worked like a machine, outperforming all the nuclear powerplants without the risk of another Chernobyl.

With the goal clarified, all we needed are the ideas to be purified.
The sketch of a skeleton plan was up on the board in a blink, followed by muscles, veins, nerves – until our intellectual Frankenstein was one step away from functioning.

Questions were flying around neatly; in order, with barely any interrupting.
Our attention was at its peak, higher than the Mount Everest’s summit.

The discussions sparked our genius in every topic; without becoming too academic.
Such detailed mind-work has never been so ecstatic.
Even in Dutch, I could follow the long string, until around 8 pm, when my batteries were drained.

Translating back and forth every minute has it’s limits. My brain has probably burnt more calories than any marathon runner under the whole year.
I politely asked everyone to give me a 30 minute break in English – and voilà, back to playing the role of a living dictionary.

The whole thing felt like doing a YouTube vlogger gathering in Bali. Talking about content, learning, sharing ideas and skills to help each other grow and spread our message.

After we concluded that the plan was ready for the next day, an unearthly & gezellig dinner was our reward for persevering:

To stamp the end of the day, we cracked open a cold one in the company of an in-depth explanation of the music industry, introducing the challenges and rewards of being a Musician – Creative Creator – or Manager on the field.

To utilize the last drop of brainfuel of the day, our task was to come up with a concept in music.
After all, music isn’t just about the sounds that reach our ears.

It’s an experience with a deeper message, starting from the lyrics, through the looks and artworks around it, all the way to the rhythm and melody – presented in harmony.

The concept I came up with was about challenging social norms; breaking down the rules of society.
It begins with the outfit:
Wearing suit on the upper body, with punk hair – colored to something strong, like neon or pink – a pair of badass biker gloves with spikes and missing fingertips, combined with a diaper as underwear for the lower body, and the largest clown shoe you can find on craigslist.
If you’ve managed to conjure up that imagine, you’re a amazing.

The music would be singing with a guitar under it, but with a twist: Every song would be in a different language, to color the room with the different cultures and unleash a rainbow on everybody.

For the show? “Everyday is Halloween if you’re brave enough” – you are most welcome in the strangest apparel you can assemble from your wardrobe.
Nothing is weird if everybody is as silly as you are.

That idea was so inspiring, it might just become a reality someday.

But for now, it’s time to sleep.

Day 2: Digging Deep

Or keihard aan het mijnen.

The alarm clocks were set for 8 in the morning – if I’m correct –
They did work, the whole house woke up in the exact same minute.

That, though, doesn’t equal getting out of bed.
At about 8:04 when the whole crew was still fighting with the comfort of the warm blanket, our lovely Guardian took matters into his hand by grabbing a wooden spoon and smashing it against a pan, causing a loud row of *klonk* sounds (~42/minute) until people were out of bed.

When the first 40 seconds still didn’t bring the crew to gather in the kitchen, their attempts of soothing the sound with pleading didn’t soften the heart of our man.

“Come and snooze me!” – He said, with a broad smile of a happiest 3rd grader.

Eventually we had no other option but to submit to the plan – we had a schedule to follow, remember? – and assemble downstairs.

Guess what, we were going to take a dip in the nearest river, in the middle of the winter.
Though the thick mist made it look like we’re about to be decapitated by the headless horseman, we bravely slipped through the muddy road until we managed to get to a passage where we could sink and scream without being noticed.

If you’ve ever take a cold shower, you might be familiar with the shock that comes with it.
No skin is prepared for it.
Yet, we were about to face our fears and dive in it.

After a round of Wim Hof breathing, our time came to jump in the water and pretend to enjoy it’s tormenting.
Mozart bravely came in with me without a second thought stopping him.
Slowly all of us made it into the freezing liquid – strengthening our bond and team spirit.

No man left behind – the rules apply to everybody.

It was a glorious moment of brotherhood, until suddenly:

“Laten we even optyfen” – said the Bunny
I’ve never heard him swear before, but now his patience ran thin, politely asking everyone to make their way back to the house as soon as it possibly can be accomplished.

We began running in slippers on the slippery sludge that led back to our fortress, risking falling either on our face or ass. Upon arrival, we were just about to settle in the soothing warmth, when the whiteboard bearing the weight of yesterday’s thoughts fell right onto Mozart’s toe, seemingly with the force of the meteor that killed all the dinos.

At we first we thought: “Nah, a light-ass white board can’t do no harm“
Until we tried to move it from the ground, realizing that it’s either made out of gold, or it was made for a weight lifter world champion.

It was so heavy, it could flatten out a kid, like a fly swatter does with bees.
One wrong move and you’re deleted from society – and it took a big toe as its first casualty.

Right after the dip, we were supposed to enjoy a live meditation session in peace, but the excruciating pain wouldn’t allow our musician’s mind a minute of peace, so he decided to seek comfort elsewhere, until the pain begins to ease.

The rest of us hopped on a spiritual airplane to travel to a land of creativity, allowing us to get in the flow of producing quality mental property, until we were instructed to gently relax our feet.
A wave of giggles took over me, almost instantly, making me think of our freshly wounded mate.

By the time our session was finished, our mind-space was ready to be furnished with solutions, ideas and strategies – if only the toe issue would’ve disappeared.

None of us could work properly, knowing that a crew member is suffering.
Is it broken, bruised or somewhere in-between?
A painkiller has delayed the issue temporarily, until Wolfie took him to the Doctor to get it fixed.

Fortunately, the bone wasn’t damaged, though to the question of
“How strong was the pill, 50mg?“
“Yeah no, 400 actually“
8 times above the Doctor’s estimate.

With such a dose, the Doctor could easily drill a hole in the nail bed, allowing the excess blood to come to the surface and stop the building pressure from growing even further.

By the time our heroes came back, we were fueled up by those heavenly bread slices, ready to work until the late evening.

• 

• 

Though I cannot share any tangible details about the project, the most wonderful part was perhaps that everyone had his own share in the building process.

There was the product itself that had to be invented – it required research, structure and congruence.
It had to be solid in value and unique to conquer in the market.
I’m not saying we started from scratch, but we certainly had to build it up brick by brick with precision and care.

Then, of course, the plan.
A list of necessary steps that lead us from where we are to where we want to get, along with milestones and concrete numbers to see the whole picture – thus the road ahead.
It was polished to the point until we managed to get rid of the pitfalls and blind spots that we would’ve encountered, if not for the mind of our genius planners.

Lastly, the framing.
You could write with the talent of Shakespeare, with the capability of dominating the whole world of literature encompassing all human history – if the book you just finished is never opened by anybody, it’s all in vain.
You have to be clever about how your unveil your masterpiece, and present it in a way that draws the attention of all the eyes and ears that encounter it.
By conveying a message properly, you get to be heard decently – and that’s exactly what you need.

The whole day went by, barely distracted with a few squirrels running around the property. For the rest, our mind was put to work with the dedication and work-ethic of the miners at the famous gold rush of 1848. Our gold fever was hot and heavy, letting no drop of sweat fall without meaning.

At the end of the day, the mining brought no gold, but a diamond of the highest quality.

To let off the steam, we cracked open another row of beers and enrolled on a journey of sharing two personal stories – one that we’re proud of, and one that makes us feel ashamed.

It was my turn to share a lesson I’ve learned over the years, and it felt most authentic to talk about how our egos stop us from building the Life of our Dreams.

The idea behind this exercise was to show – in a safe setting – that our need to be seen as powerful, intelligent, funny (you name it) is stopping many of us from executing on ideas or using our creativity.
Mainly because we’re afraid to damage or image.

There was a twist to this, which was meant to pinpoint out this issue by showing the contrast between the two ends of the scale.
Utter shame, an absolute lack of dignity versus the greatest pride and superiority you can display.

To reveal our egos at play, I asked everyone to pick which one they would like to start.
Either by eating a humble pie or bragging their brains out.

I was blown away by the openness and commitment they started sharing with.
Perhaps, they took it even more seriously than I did, and showing such dedication after a whole day of working is no small feat. Luckily, this was only the warm up to begin with.

In round 2, we were about to perform in a much sillier setting.

At the beginning of the workshop I asked everyone to bring a pair of socks and an underwear as a prerequisite. Without an explanation, they began to assume things I would rather not mention here.
When the time finally came, I politely invited them to pull the socks on their wrists and use their underwear as the most glorious crown of an 11th century King.

The task was simple and easy: Tell the other type of story, just in a slightly different outfit.
Now the questions come into play:
How can you proudly brag and be serious about it, when your socks are endlessly flopping on your hands with every movement you make, while your underwear is hanging in your face?
How can you feel any embarrassment or shame, when you’re already dressed up in such a silly way?

The fact is, none of these change your value, significance or qualities.
You’re just as smart, venerable and worthy as you were 5 minutes before this.
This is idea – if realized – can change your Life profoundly.

It was a spectacle to experience their stories, and a beautiful way to get to know each other more deeply.

The finishing touch of today, along with the rest of evening was, perhaps, the purest form of bonding.
We rolled a J, emptied our beers and played a few rounds of the famous board game: Secret Hitler to see how talented we are at spotting bullshit.

The catch was that Mozart – the only person who knew how to play game – was already hammered by 3 ibuprofen pills. That’s 1200mg at this point, enough to put a horse to sleep.

By the time everybody got the hang of the game, the events were happening “so fast”, at one point his reaction was over 3 seconds late.

“Zware Ibuprofen, he?” [Heavy pill, huh?] – The Guardian remarks in a blink
We all died of laughter, without any delay.

It marked the end of a wonderful and productive day. The best part his, the next morning didn’t have to start with a pan being smashed at 0800.
We survived the military.

Day 3: A Diamond to Polish

“I recommended him to buy a mechanical keyboard, not a fucking disco” – The Architect explains the reason behind Splinter’s keyboard.

We were in the midst of adding the final touches to our artwork, while the constant flashing of rainbow colors made it difficult to exchange epilepsy into focus as a result.

Though our job was done in the early hours, there was one crucial part to be handled before we left our HQ.

A session where we share our feedback, insights and lessons.
Making the event climax in a detailed conclusion.

While I can’t speak for others, being a part of this heavily influenced my vision on the future.

As a Rookie, I tried my best to be useful.
Even if I couldn’t fully contribute to a certain portion of the procedure, due to lack of skill, creativity or comprehension; I made sure to listen, learn and develop as hard as I could.

This involves asking questions – both complicated and simple – every time something was unclear or intricate, and committing to the answer with curiosity and attention at every step.

I deeply appreciate how everyone took the time to patiently share their knowledge, allowing me to get a better grasp on the underlying processes and subjects.

Being a good student is easy; but I can’t say the same about teaching
When it comes to skills where you rely more on creativity or intuition rather than logic, it’s a true challenge to convey the wisdom you’ve gathered over the years; yet each and every one of them did it with ease.

The fact that they spoke Dutch 80% of the time during those 3 days was the perfect way to measure and strengthen my language skills.
This constantly pushed my limits, broadening the edges of my comprehension and overall ability to stay focused for hours and still manage to translate & understand everything.

Achieving this milestone with them in my third language is extremely fulfilling and just as inspiring.

To reciprocate and make use of my hidden skills, I gave a massage to everyone in the team, making sure to ease up and relax everybody after such an action-packed cooperation and fellowship.

A third of the group left right after to get home by the evening, the rest of us remained for a divine salmon dinner before we, too, would part ways.

Though our adventure ended for the time being, there are many more ahead on this lifelong journey.

That’s how these pink pieces found their home after years of searching.
They built it up, brick by brick.

2020.12.15-17 – Day 694-696

Writer’s notes:
– Featured image source: Anna’s Hummingbird