Florida

I'm here again, visiting Sameli and Sara together with André. I love it here. The land of opportunity. The state of rollators. And milfs.

Ooooh.

We're staying in Leif's and Laura's house. This is André walking their dog. We're taking turns because André wants to be soft on the gay factor.

A beautiful day outside

I'm editing our show. I have a deadline on Monday and it feels like too little time. It always does. But I've gotten through so far and I will this time too.

Editing Ulrika

Editing Magnus

How to overthrow a dictator

Stop driving him to work.

For my countrymen

This one is in Finnish. It's a nice comment on a dumb decision by the supreme court in Finland, which, in effect, allows agreements to be born without proven, explicit consent by both parties. The case was about the right of private supervision companies to give parking fines to cars.

The sign, which is to be placed under the windshield of your car says roughly: "Any note left onto this vehicle will be handled against a handling fee of 40€ (the usual fee on a parking ticket). If the note is a ticket or an invoice, the handling fee will be 200% of the invoiced amount, never less than 40€. By leaving a note on this car, you agree with the above terms."

I love it. Thanks Samu for the link.

More Sonja

Editing Sonja

Philly approaching

I'm sitting in the Johto café in Helsinki, waiting for couchsurfer Kai from Philadelphia. He'll be staying at my place for a week. Kai is also a Finnish name, which makes the whole deal even better. This Kai, however, has got nothing to do with Finland. Yet.

Åbo

It's a state of mind.

Uuuuuh, it's the sun!

The sun is shining in Helsinki. There's light. Amazing.

Soon, when spring comes after a deep-frozen winter like this, it shoots up from the deep and it comes with force. Green, green, green everywhere and people peel off their clothing.

I. cannot. wait.

An invitation

Hello friends and strangers,

It's been hard for me to find a natural voice on this blog. I've been having a bad conscience for not writing and at the same time not wanting to write just to say something.

So why did I want a blog in the first place?

Well ...

First of all I love the attention. That's a no-brainer. Positive attention rocks and negative attention sucks. The thing with attention is you have to take a chance. If you turn my head, it has to be worthwhile.

Second, sometimes I have an idea, which I'd like to share. Mainly to give you a chance to say: "That's a brilliant f**king idea!". Or maybe: "Oh my god, where have you been all my life, I will fund that shit for sure if you build it". That sort of stuff.

Third: Sometimes I have a feeling, which screams for an outlet. Sometimes the feeling has many layers. Sometimes it's anger or boredom or frustration and I'm looking for some comfort. Often, when I let the resistance towards that feeling go, another one emerges instead. This feeling usually comes with an insight and a strong feeling of gratitude. In this state I often feel like hugging the whole world. And I remember something, because I know this feeling, I've been here before. This is where I was before I started collecting problems. This feeling of emptiness and infinite potential feels, first like an old thing forgotten and then like something that is right here right now, has always been and always will be, beyond time.

If, in this state, I have no problems with a single living being, then this is where I'd like to be as close to all-the-time as possible. For me, the best way to re-discover this place has been to accept the truth of how I feel by expressing it. Because expression of emotion often often sets off emotion in others too, it is often unwelcomed if unexpected. Therefore it is helpful to create a space, where emotion is welcomed and where everyone present can enjoy the cleansing feeling that comes with a good cry or an unstoppable laugh and the deep feeling of togetherness that comes when I realize everyone else, too, is vulnerable. I call this kind of activity "circle work", because it is often being done in a circle, and the feeling of equality and support that sitting or standing in a circle conveys, is the foundation for all of it.

During the last 5 years, I've explored different kinds of circle work in Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Holland, India and Australia, and it's the most meaningful stuff I know of. If there is anything you would like to know about this kind of activity, feel free to ask. Or if you want to check in and share your present mood, that too makes me happy. The truth is always welcome here.