Archive for the ‘Thought of the Day’ Category
Sunday, February 15th, 2015
Life is like a camera…
Focus on what’s important, capture the good times and develop from the negative.
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: camera, focus, life
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Monday, February 2nd, 2015
People think of the path to the goal in terms of a straight line. In reality, that path is probably twisted, indirect and quite possibly much longer than anticipated. Stick with it anyway!
J. Elke Ertle

The imaginary vs. the realistic path to the goal
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.
Tags: determination, goal, path to the goal, perseverance
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Thought of the Day, Walled In Berlin | No Comments »
Monday, January 26th, 2015
A tailor carefully measures his patrons before cutting their patterns. Family and long-time friends, on the other hand, often label us by who we used to be instead of who we have become. Wouldn’t it make more sense to learn from the tailor and re-measure?
–J. Elke Ertle
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.
Tags: tailor, to judge, to measure to label
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Thought of the Day, Walled In Berlin | No Comments »
Monday, January 19th, 2015
Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age.
–Victor Hugo
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: age, old age, Youth
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Thought of the Day, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Forty is the old age of youth
Monday, January 12th, 2015
Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: flowers, Garden, mind, seeds, weeds
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Thought of the Day, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Garden of your mind