Greetings from Northern Germany,
Over the past ten days, I have been swept up in a whirlwind of news from the AI and financial worlds. Like many others, I've been trying to make sense of it all and anticipate what lies ahead. But for one day, I managed to escape the frenzy and step into a time capsule.
Since becoming job independent 18 months ago, I've found myself in a comfortable rhythm: taking turns with my wife to prepare, deliver, and pick up our daughter from school, working between, and spending evenings with my family. Most of our adventures are reserved for weekends or school holidays.
So I decided to embark on a solo adventure and visit Beelitz-Heilstätten, an abandoned hospital complex south of Berlin. The site bears witness to the many abrupt turns of history experienced by the region.
Built at the end of the 19th century to treat Tuberculosis, the hospital was a modern institution, offering state-of-the-art facilities and treatments consisting of rest, exercise, proper nutrition, and plenty of fresh air and sun. Most patients were poor factory workers from Berlin, and their stays were financed by the Berlin state, which needed healthy laborers for its booming industrial revolution.
The facility later transformed into a military hospital, even treating a young Adolf Hitler after he was injured in a World War I battle. The site witnessed fierce fighting toward the end of 1945, and the Soviet Army eventually took over, using it as a military hospital until 1995. After their departure, the site became a magnet for urban explorers, artists, and vandals, eventually evolving into a supervised tourist attraction.
Unlike other historical ruins I've visited, Beelitz felt both near and far. Many of the events that took place here occurred within the last century, yet the site has undergone more transformations than most places do in hundreds of years.
I was particularly struck by one building the Soviets didn't use as part of the hospital complex. Soldiers used it as a recreational foxhole away from pestering officers. They left marks on the walls reminiscent of ancient cave paintings as if to say, "I was here. Maybe someone will see this."
As I wandered through the ruins, I couldn't help but marvel at the original high-quality elements and grandiose German imperial architecture. It's hard to imagine that the people who designed and built this place could have ever anticipated the dramatic changes that would occur just decades later.
We often approach life assuming that the future will be a mere variation of the present. We strive to leave a mark or a legacy, but is that even possible?
For most of us, our grandchildren might be the last generation to remember us personally. Few people leave a lasting impression beyond two generations.
Billions of people have walked this earth, yet we only know a few hundred notable individuals from the past century and a handful from previous centuries. This realization should lighten the burden we feel regarding the consequences of our actions. What truly matters is the present.
The moments we experience now cannot be recreated once they are lost to memory. They are fleeting and invaluable, unique assemblies of atomic order that will never be repeated in exactly the same way.
Embrace the present and cherish the memories we create, for they are the only fleeting mark we leave behind.
I love this essay--the photos, the description, and the ultimate conclusion. Zooming out--whether by going into nature, studying history, or exploring ruins, is a lovely way to gain perspective. Even more recent ruins of things that once held great cultural importance (in the US, shopping malls, for example) can show how fleeting things are.
Thank you for sharing.
Indeed, present moment is everything. I just came out of my meditation and was reflection on the same thing that only "NOW" matter, past is in our imaginations only and future is always uncertain. Btw lovely writeup, it was almost like I was in Beelitz-Heilstätten. Vielen Danke :)