At the end of the year, Erasmus Magazine wishes everyone an empty head, warm hands and a full heart

EM closes the year with six wonderful interviews with students and staff who, alongside their studies and work, have a special pursuit. For most of them it goes far beyond a fleeting hobby; they put their heart and soul into it.

Strange, I thought, as I read all those end-of-year stories. All those interviewed, three students and three members of staff, seem to find their happiness, hope and redemption in working with their heart and their hands, not with their head.

Day in, day out they use their head to run a university, teach medical issues, communicate in seven languages, or study mathematical models and the human brain. But they find their calm and their identity in singing and drawing. Or they gain more energy and self-confidence from lugging, preparing and cooking.

They do not mention the lecture hall, the office or the lab, but the museum, the olive grove or a bench on a rocky coast as their anchor point. The place where they are engaged with what touches them most deeply and makes them happy.

And this at an institution that thrives on everything that springs from our brains. Where the earning model is based on smart students and even smarter staff, and where almost all manual work has been contracted out. Where the only necessary movement of staff is caused by the endless search for an available flexible workspace. And for students, trudging to the tram stop or the gigantic parking area for electric scooters on campus. Not to mention the endless staring at screens while the body hangs in a chair and only the fingers still move.

I couldn’t help but wonder: are we doing the wrong things with our lives? Should we not get our bodies going instead of letting our heads spin non-stop, in order to truly become who we are?

Perhaps I am taking it too far, but in times when AI threatens to take over our heads, it certainly cannot hurt to be able to do something with your hands and your body to become and remain healthy and happy. You can read that back in all those interviews.

So, it is time to close the laptop and give the head a few weeks of rest. Time to fill your personal emergency kit with energy from actions that truly make you happy.

On behalf of the editors of Erasmus Magazine, I wish everyone this holiday an empty head, warm hands and a full heart.