Monthly Review - April 2026

hi friends,

how have you been doing? are you taking good care of your needs?
i’ve heard from many people how they were longing for a cozy taurus season after a fiery aries month. same here, honestly.

i spent the month mainly job searching again - in a more rooted pace, though still chaotic. walking with the single-pointed focus of a warrior. repeatedly pushing my boundaries, not giving up. whilst radically recharging my body, mind & soul.
i’m showing up for myself every single day. there’s no one who will save me. i do ask for help, but i also know i have to do the work.
commit 100% - no excuses.

learning to take full ownership over my life in this way is the experience i really needed.

as they say: what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.

the sunny days have helped too.

i hope i’ll finally have some good news in the next monthly.
until then, i want to share some resources with you i enjoyed this month, and some thoughts that stayed with me.

enjoy reading!

with love, nina🤍

listened to

kiki rockwell

just one word: catharsis

watched

Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones

i wish we would all include more the longevity perspective in the way we interact and make choices every day. instead of getting lost in short-term dramas. the key ingredients to a good, long life turn out to be eating well, moving regularly, surrounding yourself with loved ones, and having a purpose. what a surprise. unfortunately, none of that is particularly profitable.

read

edith eger - the gift

edith is a trauma therapist, holocaust survivor and herself a precious gift to the world. i cried many times reading, couldn’t stop taking notes and will absolutely pick it up again in the future.

this book is packed with practical wisdom, strength and resilience from someone who has survived the impossible. a must read for everyone.

obsessed with

make art not content

the videos and podcasts by father bronques are masterpieces i can recommend to any artist. every episode either opened me up to new insights, kicked my ass, or ignited a creative spark.

double life & desires

how many people live a double life that only a selected few know about? does the secrecy make the time spent in the hidden even more sacred? more precious? is life during the day in a normal societal setting more bearable knowing that there is an escape waiting?

how do you even define a double life? when does it begin and end? how acceptable and visible does a desire have to be before it is considered normal?

‘There is no right life in the wrong one.’

— Theodor W. Adorno

i don’t have children, but writing is my child. while interviewing for tech companies, i constantly found myself imagining how i could build a writer´s life alongside the job. testing if the company is a cold, male-dominated environment that will drain me emotionally and spiritually. or whether i could easily context-switch into a writer after hours? salary, location, tasks feel secondary at this point, if i’ll have the a healthy *work-write balance*.

choosing light during darkness

providing comfort and solace to myself after rejections is a choice.

smiling even when everything feels devastating and hopeless is a choice.

getting up again and again is a choice.

something shifted after i received two rejections from companies at interviewed at on the same day. i absolutely cannot let a rejection or any external circumstance dictate my inner landscape anymore. i’m tired of questioning my self-worth every time i get bad news.

i know i’m stronger than this.

levelling up on: being my own biggest cheerleader.

living with an open heart

i want to end this monthly with a call for living with an open heart and steady awareness — regardless of external circumstance.

make it a practice to untie your worthiness, confidence and happiness from job titles, relationships, material possessions or social status.

• be grateful for what you have now, because it won’t last.
  
• receive uncomfortable feelings with open arms and let them go gently.
  
• enjoy blissful moments guilt-free.
  
• move on and forgive faster, because our time is limited.
  
• allow the change to arrive in its own rhythm.

it’s possible to cry, laugh, grieve, be ecstatic, anxious and happy all within the span of a single day or sometimes all at once.

this paradox called life cannot be figured out, only fully experienced. you’re never a victim of your circumstances. every challenge, every blessing is an invitation to remember your inherent strength and your capacity to love.