(inner) winter - Schwägalp, St. Gallen / Appenzell

“It is the time of my cycle where the need for protection rises, not out of fear, but from a deep instinct to honour what is tender within. In meditation, I meet myself in a quiet, raw, sacred space.

A warrior on the outside, powerful, fierce, commanding. But inside, there is softness. Vulnerability. A delicate inner kingdom asking not to be exposed, but to be held with reverence.

I imagine myself in a bubble, a shimmering soap sphere. For me, just for me, floating, untouched. On a horse, in armour, the world sees strength. Yet the bubble's surface is delicate, a needle away from bursting.

And still, the strength is not here for battle. It is here for boundaries.

The fierceness I show is not a wall against the world, but a devotion to what is mine, myself. The armour does not hide my tenderness; it honours it.

The need for protection is not only to defend, but to preserve. Because the strongest warriors are not those who never feel, but those who know how to guard their softness while still facing the world.”