Retro 1

Day almost One: Wednesday May 4 2011

This is 2011, the year of Fukushima and of the war in Libya, the year of the death of Osama Bin Laden and the year of whatever will still come. For me it shall be another year of enlightenment and another year of science, two aspects of life and this world that seem to contradict each other more and more.

As regards science, for some reason I have found a close relation with biology. First, I wrote my diploma thesis on the press coverage of Darwin’s evolution theory in the Darwin year 2009. Then I started to work for a project about medical applications of synthetic biology. My part in this project seems to be to do whatever I want and in the course of this to find out about the ethical and social implications of the project.

On the other hand I have discovered Zen as my way of seeking my path through life. Unfortunately I have not found personal guidance to a sufficient extent that one could call master. Nevertheless I regard myself as a follower of the wise master Shinryu Suzuki.

I find a great deal of consolation and wisdom in his teachings and in the way of Zen Buddhism.

There are of course several other important aspects in my life, like for instance my love with X and our responsibility for our dog Y, my relationship with my parents and my personal health and wellbeing.

So this will be the story about my life, about the way through the field of sociology and synthetic biology with the help of Zen, about the way that led me to this place in life and about the more or less complicated turns that my life has taken so far and will take in the future.

This is a beginning. It seems to be a beginning. In fact it is just a place somewhere in time.