AvianAine

... is bird chirping weather. 🌳 🌞 🦜

Oh, birds, these flying jewels in the sky. There are few things that make me happier than watching birds. I am a bird woman. Whether it is the shrill call of the buzzard, the robin's melancholy song or a gang of high-spirited goldfinches chirping their heart out - every sound is so familiar to me.

My name is Anja and I live a contemplative life in a busy German city upon the River Rhine. I love to stroll through forests and parks with sharpened ears and my eyes turned to the sky. Roam, if you want to. Nature is where I feel safe. It is the place where I feel home.  

🍁 🌱🌻 🍃 🍂

I love to receive:

• feathers
• pressed leaves
• small objects from nature like seeds and pods  

• a reflective and intuitive introvert
• a writer, an artist, a poet at heart

• a survivor of horrific childhood trauma

• ☀️ Leo, 🌙 cancer , ⬆️ libra

• learning to know myself
• expressing myself by exploring the arts
• healing personal, ancestral and collective trauma

during a painting workshop

 What I like about swap bot is to get these glimpses of other people's lives, thoughts, stories and creativity, of course. For me the spice of swap bot is getting inspired. Hosts come up with so many unusual ideas and the broad variety of swaps is stimulating. I learned quite a few new things here on swap bot such as making envelopes and creating zines. Groups are a wonderful idea. Somehow swapping within groups feels safer because everyone seems to be more committed. I guess it is time for hosting some swaps myself. I am also considering founding a group for introverts which will focus on letter writing.

Rating is an important part of swapping. I will rate your swap the day it arrives so that you know that I have received it and I will usually leave more than a 'thank you'- note on your profile. Moreover, I am generous with hearts... I will give you a heart for the swap you send, not for the extras.

• PS: Lernst du Deutsch? Wenn du ein paar Zeilen auf Deutsch bekommen möchtest, schick mir eine Nachricht mit dem Betreff 'Ich lerne Deutsch' und ich sende Dir eine Postkarte. Einfach so. Adresse nicht vergessen!

           

  I belong to those who feel called to preserve the art of handwritten letters. I tend to isolate myself and appreciate writing as a means of slow and thoughtful communication. Writing to someone is like spending time with a friend. It feels good to address my words to someone unknown and I will always include something handwritten in my swaps. If you are into fabric, you may love wool or silk; for me it is paper in all its magnificent variety which makes my heart sing. I am a paper lover through and through and it hurts me to see good paper treated badly. In a previous life I certainly was a monk who spent his days in the scriptorium transcribing valuable manuscripts.

glimpse into my sketchbook

Could you imagine a world without books? I could but I wouldn't want to. In November 2021, a brand new library will open its doors in our town. A library with a coffee bar and a roof garden!
I read books from many genres (except thriller and horror, I had enough of this in my life) and I like to read a novel and a non-fiction book in parallel, preferably on the same subject. Early autumn is my favourite time of the year when the shorter days invite me for long reading sessions in my cosy wing chair, a cup of oolong tea in my hand. I love to read at dusk. Oh, and I definitely have a soft spot for smart teen investigators from Flavia de Luce to Sherlock's little sister Enola Holmes. If you have a favourite young sleuth, please let me know! 🕵🏻‍♀️ 👀 🔎

In 2020 I regularly saw a poetry therapist who showed me ways how to approach my biography through writing. This led also to me rediscovering my love for poetry and I began to write poetry myself. Poetry can contain so much in one single line. It is the 'language against which you have no defenses', as the Anglo-Irish poet David Whyte puts it so aptly. Because of this, I even have a poetry subscription and I regularly receive poems from a talented German writer in my letterbox. 💌

In May 2021 I took an online writing class with Lauren Sapala, a writing coach for intuitive introverts (INFJs and INFPs) and I highly recommend her work.

As someone who 'lost' so many memories due to trauma, journaling is essential to me. I set up journals for many different topics, there is a bird journal, of course, a therapy journal, a journal for tarot, one for my favourite words and poems, a journal for year reviews and year previews, a journal exclusively for my ideas and many more. I am constantly looking for the perfect notebook but I keep coming back to the Leuchtturm1917.📚🖋

  took a long time to find me. My creativity laid dormant for many years and it was only through art therapy in a trauma rehab clinic that my creative spark got reignited. My favourite medium is watercolour because it does its own thing. It's a bit stubborn and I adore this paint for its transparency and its ability to let light pass through. Right now I'm into drawing portraits which is a fascinating new subject to me. I never thought I could do it because I mainly focus on abstract art but following the instructions from a Jake Spicer book, I made fast progress. Another favourite is to include objects from nature into my art. I like to use leaves as canvas for dot art paintings.

Artists whose work I like: Frida Kahlo, Vincent van Gogh, Egon Schiele, Wassily Kandinsky, Joseph Beuys, Marina Abramović, Yehudit Sasportas. I also love Aboriginal Dot Art and Andy Goldworthy's Land Art.

Altai woman, portrait August 2021

• I have a MA in sociology, psychology and sport sciences and worked in public health for many years

• I would like to work (at least a few days) as: postwoman, wildlife camerawoman, bodypainting therapist, stationary shop operator, children's book illustrator, German teacher

• I speak German, English and also Italian (B2 level), perché amo il paese dove fioriscono i limoni; I would also like to learn Russian or Polish

• the most beautiful places I've been to: Altai mountains in Siberia, Russia, Femundsmarka in Norway, Bieszczady national park in Poland, Venice in Italy, Soča-Valley in Slovenia and Ring of Beara in Ireland...

• I have neither a garden nor a balcony but I'm growing herbs on my outside window sills. I could die for baked potatoes with rosemary 🌿

• seven things I love: the sound of a harp, being understood by my therapist, having dinner outside in nature, travelling on horseback, friendliness among strangers, sitting by the fire, receiving swaps

• I value personal experience and I believe that everyone has special talents and something unique to offer to this world

• I am a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and I love everything Celtic, from Celtic art to Celtic symbols and Celtic music. Druidry is not a strange cult but a community of people who follow a spiritual path close to nature. We also develop our artistic and healing abilities along the way.

• I play classical guitar and I recently bought my first ukulele, what a cute little instrument. 'Moon River' was the first song I learned

• I maintain my many Pinterest boards and if you are interested in art, writing, druidry or CPTSD, you might find something inspiring there

Leonard Cohen, The Cure, Counting Crows, Morrissey, Oasis, Blur, Crowded House, Heather Nova, Patty Smith, Cranberries, R.E.M. Skunk Anansie, The Walkabouts, Sting, Tito & Tarantula, Pippo Pollina, Angelo Branduardi, Klaus Hoffmann, Herman van Veen, Konstantin Wecker, Herbert Grönemeyer, Farin Urlaub, Tom Liwa, Farfarello, Buena Vista Social Club, Tommy Emmanuel, Hélène Grimaud

unfortunately not seen live: the Beatles (in the 60ies), Supertramp (in the 70ies), Simon and Garfunkel (in the 80ies), Peter Gabriel (in the 90ies) Red Hot Chili Peppers (in the 00ies)

  birdwatching, birds in general, robins, crows, birds of prey, nature, trees, mountains, herbalism, horses, druidry, spirituality, shamanism, tarot, storytelling, poetry, symbolism, astrology, archetypes, mythology, rituals, sacred geometry, spirit communication, animal symbolism, tennis, handball, horseriding, canoeing, hiking, smovey walking, rebouncing, playing guitar, playing ukulele, trauma healing, near death experiences, human and nonhuman consciousness, synesthesia, energy medicine, animism, ancestral medicine, dream tending, mental health, art therapy, music therapy, sound healing, meditation, biographical writing, psychological aftermaths of WWII, art, creativity, watercolour, calligraphy, drawing, journaling, art journaling, nature journaling , sketchnoting, illustration, design, labyrinths, mandalas, street art, urban sketching, magazines, sociology, psychology, sports sciences, feminism, language learning, tea, minimalism, genealogy  

Look at this life - all mystery and magic. - Houdini