Franka Henn begins the conversation with Bart Vanmechelen by asking him about his capacity to be humorously self-deprecating. Bart says that he grew up with the ethos of not taking himself too seriously. Self-deprecation is no doubt part of his expertise in social therapy, the field in which he works. How can you support people in their limitations if you are not familiar with your own shortcomings? To be more precise, anyone who talks to Bart Vanmechelen soon experiences the magic of self-irony: not taking yourself so seriously opens the door to being able to accept and even love your own weaknesses. Self-love for the imperfections in one’s own soul is, in turn, what enables us to love the rough edges and imperfections in others. So whenever we make a bad impression, we can hope that someone like Bart Vanmechelen is nearby to smile with us about it. There is heavenly support for this forgiveness—as the Talmud says: God does not laugh at his creatures, he laughs with his creatures.
Translation Laura Liska
Image Bart Vanmechelen with Wolfgang Held, Photo: Xue Li
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