{"id":10253,"date":"2026-05-26T19:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T17:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/?p=10253"},"modified":"2026-08-02T00:36:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T22:36:46","slug":"zwischen-mir-und-den-anderen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/zwischen-mir-und-den-anderen\/","title":{"rendered":"Between me and the others"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-msat3g7f-cfcedade984b67189a60c72760213f6a\">\n.avia-section.av-msat3g7f-cfcedade984b67189a60c72760213f6a{\nbackground-color:#f0fff0;\nbackground-image:unset;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section av-msat3g7f-cfcedade984b67189a60c72760213f6a main_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-0  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap fullsize'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><main  role=\"main\" itemprop=\"mainContentOfPage\"  class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-10253'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<div  class='flex_column av-2vl6wlp-e9663f673df04cb633e4e4351fc7a856 av_one_full  avia-builder-el-1  el_before_av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div'     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-msat5e3x-858729def281886e636b30aa126ae08a\">\n.avia-image-container.av-msat5e3x-858729def281886e636b30aa126ae08a img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-msat5e3x-858729def281886e636b30aa126ae08a .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-msat5e3x-858729def281886e636b30aa126ae08a av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-2  avia-builder-el-no-sibling'   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class='wp-image-10229 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-10229 avia_image' src=\"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Kiva-Ladder-1210x423.jpg\" alt='' title='Interior of Kiva in the Pecos Pueblo of the Native Americans'  height=\"423\" width=\"1210\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"  \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-2jcdkb1-731a6cd374e79eced1341e220865ba04 av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_three_fifth  first flex_column_div  column-top-margin'     ><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-20mh0od-11e89e50a81c3e3f49fedd1b63a1effa av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_one_fifth  el_before_av_one_fifth  flex_column_div  column-top-margin'     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-1tvfvjh-ce8ad92af6b0f9fb818ebe72def3accd'   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><h3>Between Me and the Others<\/h3>\n<p>There are these two voices within us \u2013 yes, not only within us, but also in society.<br \/>\nOne whispers: \u201eTake care of yourself. Go to the sauna. Breathe deeply again. Just be you for a moment \u2013 without expectations, without roles, without this constant feeling of having to function. If you love yourself, nothing else matters. Be free, free yourself from everything that binds you.\u201c<br \/>\nThe other one calls out: \u201eYou are needed. Be there for others. Get involved. Do this volunteer work. Don&#039;t be selfish, but give your life meaning.\u201c<\/p>\n<p>Both voices are right. And both are inhumane in their one-sidedness.<\/p>\n<h3>Man becomes I through Thou.<\/h3>\n<p>Martin Buber, religious philosopher and mystic, summed it up in a sentence that still resonates today: &quot;Man becomes an I through the Thou.&quot;\u201e<br \/>\nNot: first the self, then the other. And not: first the other, then the self. Rather: both arise together, in conversation or encounter.<br \/>\n<!--StartFragment --><\/p>\n<p>What we lose when we isolate ourselves is not only the connection to others \u2013 it is also a piece of our own vitality.<!--EndFragment --> And what is lost when we only have duty and sacrifice is not only our own strength and longing \u2013 it is also our capacity for genuine encounter.<\/p>\n<p>Spirituality can be a guiding principle in everyday life. Religions have their role precisely here: on the one hand, to be ethically and socially active, shaping our relationships \u2013 and on the other hand, to nurture our inner foundation, to orient ourselves towards the transcendent (God, the divine), and to integrate the divine mystery. Both belong together. A spirituality that leads only inward and forgets the world becomes hollow. An ethic that only pushes outward and neglects the inner foundation burns out.<\/p>\n<p>We usually wait too long \u2013 and let ourselves be torn between self-care and obligations. Pausing here is not an emergency measure, but a way of life.<\/p>\n<h3>The Kiva of Life: Returning to Encounter Through Withdrawal<\/h3>\n<p>Some Indigenous traditions of North America feature the kiva\u2014a circular space sunk into the earth, serving as a place of reflection, purification, and spiritual renewal. One descends into the depths, into the womb of Mother Earth, into darkness, into silence. The kiva was not a place of escapism. Indigenous peoples knew daily life with its hardships, injustices, beauty, and burdens. The descent into the depths was for the purpose of gathering strength. Then, after a time of reflection, meditation, and retreat, one returns to the light via a ladder, so that one can stand upright once more in the world. (adapted from: Steven Charleston: Ladder to the Light. An Indigenous Elder&#039;s Meditations on Hope and Courage, 2019)<\/p>\n<h3>The cross as a symbol of the connection between heaven and earth - and the world.<\/h3>\n<p>What the Kiva means to indigenous traditions finds a parallel in the Christian tradition in the image of the cross:<br \/>\nIn the vertical beam, we connect heaven and earth \u2013 we are aligned with the foundation of our lives, with that which sustains us. In the horizontal beam, we connect with others, with the outside world, with that which needs us.<\/p>\n<p>And in the middle of both bars: the heart.<br \/>\n\u201eLove your neighbor as yourself\u201c (Mark 12:31) \u2013 this is not a choice between two options. Nor is it: first one, then the other. It means the integration of both poles.<\/p>\n<p><!--StartFragment --><\/p>\n<p>I need others to know myself. And they need me.<br \/>\nI need silence to rediscover myself and grow.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><div  class='flex_column av-167vkzx-6125c9da9bac7ee1e71ad5234b0b1797 av_one_fifth  avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_three_fifth  avia-builder-el-last  flex_column_div  column-top-margin'     ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To maintain balance between ourselves and others, we also need retreat, like in a kiva \u2013 again and again, to regain clarity about our path. The synthesis: integration of both sides.<br \/>\n\u201eLove your neighbor as yourself\u201c (Mark 12:31) \u2013 this is not a choice between two options, nor is it: first one, then the other. It means an integration of both poles.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":10229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weg-impulse-fuer-dich"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10253"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10444,"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10253\/revisions\/10444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gottimalltag.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}