February in the Netherlands, still with that awful Coronavirus repeatedly crippling us. I am here in the Dutch province of Zeeland as a social entrepreneur, traveling between our house for meeting and inspiration in Rotterdam and our new house for meeting and inspiration in Zeeland. One day after we commemorate the catastrophic floods of 1953 here.
The motto of the Zeeland flag says: ‘Luctor et Emergo’ – I struggle and I emerge! And it was from this struggle with the water that the fantastic Delta Plan was born at this location. But a search reveals that the motto in the Zeeland coat of arms ‘Luctor et Emergo’, strangely enough, does not refer to the age-old struggle with water but has its origins in the ever-escalating struggle with the Spaniards during the Eighty Years’ War.
So you see: struggling and coming out on top is an exercise in repetition. Like now, in this extended Corona time. But instead of seeing this time only as a curtailment of our freedom, you could also say: “Let me slow down and come up with a new Delta Plan for my life and our living together”. Because in order to come up with a brilliant plan like the Delta Works, you have to reflect and calm down. Find the space to wrestle a little longer than usual, and above all, rise again!
Have a blessed February.
Also on behalf of all the employees of The New Port,
Ruben van Zwieten