open house

The last

2010-12-31T18:12:00.000+02:00

I started out this blog on Januari 1 with this post, in which I stated my new years resolution for 2010, but with all the words x:ed out. I promised to show what I had written on December 31 - and that's today!

Thank you for visiting my blog, thank you for giving my thoughts attention, and thank you for your comments on my posts.

Here's the post:

I dedicate the year 2010 to being open.

Open to speaking my truth.
Open to showing you I like you.
Open to being in all of my body, fully alive.
Open to telling you when you hurt me.
Open to taking risks.
Open to being a man in my community.
Open to being childlike.
Open to speaking up when things need to be said.
Open to asking for forgiveness.
Open to letting go of the past.
Open to opening up.
Open to anger.
Open to joy.
Open to love.
Open.

Julkalender: Lucka 24

2010-12-24T14:49:00.002+02:00

Pärmbild: duncan

Julkalender: Lucka 23

2010-12-23T23:36:00.001+02:00

Pärmbild: splorp

Julkalender: Lucka 22

2010-12-22T23:56:00.001+02:00

Pärmbild: stevendepolo

Julkalender: Lucka 21

2010-12-21T08:10:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: smcgee

Julkalender: Lucka 20

2010-12-20T23:24:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: Leo Reynolds

Julkalender: Lucka 19

2010-12-19T23:51:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: Lincolnian

Julkalender: Lucka 18

2010-12-18T20:14:00.001+02:00

Pärmbild: pigpogm

Julkalender: Lucka 17

2010-12-17T14:31:00.001+02:00

Pärmbild: pigpogm

Julkalender: Lucka 16

2010-12-16T21:20:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: Leo Reynolds

Julkalender: Lucka 15

2010-12-15T17:42:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: Lincolnian

Julkalender: Lucka 14

2010-12-14T07:59:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: Moe_

Julkalender: Lucka 13

2010-12-13T15:37:00.001+02:00

Julkalender: Lucka 12

2010-12-12T19:09:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: World of Good

Julkalender: Lucka 11

2010-12-11T10:57:00.001+02:00

Julkalender: Lucka 10

2010-12-10T17:44:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: pigpogm

Julkalender: Lucka 9

2010-12-09T10:01:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: Leo Reynolds

Julkalender: Lucka 8

2010-12-08T08:14:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: KLMircea

Julkalender: Lucka 7

2010-12-07T07:56:00.000+02:00

Pärmbild: Emepetreses

Julkalender: Lucka 6

2010-12-06T06:00:00.004+02:00

Pärmbild: DairDair

Julkalender: Lucka 5

2010-12-05T06:00:00.004+02:00

Pärmbild: cougarmicrobes

Julkalender: Lucka 4

2010-12-04T06:00:00.019+02:00

Julkalender: Lucka 3

2010-12-03T20:35:00.002+02:00

Julkalender: Lucka 2

2010-12-02T18:44:00.003+02:00

Det var nåt fel på videon först, nu borde den funka.

Julkalender: Lucka 1

2010-12-01T15:54:00.003+02:00

2010-11-05T16:53:00.001+02:00

Jag är ett med hela världen
För att liksom vara i mål
Från början

The future arrives from within

2010-10-08T17:27:00.007+03:00

Maybe:

- this world comes into being through us
- the stream we call impulse is coming through us all the time no matter what we do
- it simply comes

- we can resist the stream and have it pile up in the body
- we can let it pass through fresh out into this world
- we can color it with our own unique flavor
- we can shape it as we want and turn it into a dance

- the stream coming through us is not of our making
- we are the hose and the gardener holding it
- we need not be afraid of what is coming through us
- those who has seen a plant grow know the future arrives from within
- the rose never hesitates, not even when the weird fluffy red stuff starts emerging for the very first time ...

What do I know?

2010-10-05T10:51:00.001+03:00

What is true? What do I actually know? My experience in this moment is all I know. Everything else is memory, hearsay or speculation. I can talk about it, but it is not here. It is story.

Here. This. This I know, this being here. Here, writing this I am totally free. Here I am a bringer, I bring myself to this world, I bring these words right now. This word. And this. Dog. Woman. More women.

Are you aware of what you are bringing?

Creating is accepting

2010-10-02T16:18:00.014+03:00

Imagine the joy in a drop of water
When it realizes it is the ocean

Any whole contains something more than its parts. Take all the water molecules in the world and observe them separately. No ocean. The whole comes into being when accepting the parts as one. Ping! Hello whole! You just created an ocean through letting go of something else. Very Yoda.

Because the intellect's only function is to analyze -- which means to split into parts -- the truth of any whole can never be grasped through thinking, neither can it be truthfully expressed in words.

The truth of any whole therefore, can only be experienced as a participant from within. Only players know soccer. Only you KNOW your experience.

And so, because this moment is all there is, then the truth of the whole existence can be found only by joining this moment as totally as a drop joins the ocean. And when watching the drop joining the ocean I can see that it is an undoing. The drop lets go of tension, which creates the separation. This surface tension created the drop in the first place and, of course, letting go of it seems like death to the drop. But the drop cannot resist ...

2010-09-17T08:28:00.009+03:00

There's a pile outside the pearly gate
Its light will make you blind
A pile of things we brought from here
But had to leave behind
They're all the words we never spoke
Ideas we thought we'd save
A pile of gifts outside the gate
The gifts we never gave

Faith

2010-09-15T12:54:00.004+03:00

It seems that every single cell in my body knows what to do in every moment.
I am happy that they do not hesitate

Oneness together

2010-09-14T15:49:00.005+03:00

We have all come from a place of oneness. Our first experience in this world was the belly of our mother, an experience without vision, water with no boundaries, warmth with no separation.

We have all come out in this world feeling the cold on wet skin. Soon the same connection is there again, when we are lying on mother's belly, but something is different. We now know the meaning of outside.

We have all opened our eyes for the very first time. The outside space is big, but not as big as the inside. The ocean inside had no boundaries.

When I surrender to experiencing fully this moment without thought, I am again in a place of no boundaries.

Only this time, my oneness has a taste of together.

Mielihyvää

2010-09-11T00:38:00.001+03:00

Finnish reggae. Mielihyvää is a beautiful word, which means pleasure or delight. Directly translated it's "mindgood". This song gives me mielihyvää.

Monday morning check-in

2010-09-06T07:18:00.000+03:00

My body is warm, as I have just worked out. The Secret if the Golden Flower is playing in the background, creating a dreamy space. I feel excited about the week ahead, there is much work to be done, work that only I can do. This is where I am. This is where I start from. Warm and excited. Hello friends here in Helsinki. Hello friends all over the globe.

The human possibility

2010-08-25T13:36:00.012+03:00

And so I am left with the possibility to do wrong
Against my better knowing
To go against my heart and feel the instant response
And do it again to make sure

That I am free
To go in all directions
That I am free
To violate my knowing
That I am free to avoid my obvious dream

For after all

What representation of the divine would I be
If I did not have the choice to say no to it
What joy would there be in the highest I have
Without the awareness of low

This is the gift of the Fall

And now is the time to let go
of the bottom

This moment

2010-08-18T14:23:00.008+03:00

This moment has never been before. No-one has been here before, not at this point of the unfolding. No-one can tell us what is usually done at this stage of the evolution.

We are the first ones here. We are the only ones here, and we are here together. We are absolutely free and no-one is against us. We are the universe. We have created this moment and we are creating the next. What are you bringing to this moment? What do you bring to the next?

Do you have the balls to bring the best you can imagine? Do I?

Or do we wait for everyone else to do it first?

Sheep or lion?

I am lion. And so are you.

On the two questions

2010-08-10T02:19:00.000+03:00

I posed the two questions to a waitress here in Toronto. Her answers:

1. Yes. But I'm not sure it can be put into words.

2. Don't be afraid.

I love the second one.

Two questions

2010-08-06T01:03:00.000+03:00

1. Do you believe there is a dream that is shared by all human beings?

2. If you had the chance to speak so that every human being could hear you - what would you say?

On worry

2010-07-29T22:16:00.000+03:00

Just_J asks: Why worry?

Because it works like magic. Putting your focus on bad things you don't have makes you feel like crap instantly!

Happy worrying!

If you ask, I will answer

2010-07-28T10:15:00.001+03:00

Hello friends.

If you would like to hear my thoughts on a certain topic, you can write a question in the comment field and I will answer it with a blog post.

No, I'm not expecting a storm of questions... However, this way I don't have to feel bad for not writing.

Photo of the day

2010-07-16T19:52:00.001+03:00

This is my friend Sam from Canada. Me met last fall when he couchsurfed at my place. I visited him in the woods north of Toronto where he did a 2-month apprenticeship on natural building. Sam is a good man and I like him a lot. He's got the unbeatable combo: heart+integrity. Plus he's smarter than me.

Love is ...

2010-07-08T14:52:00.001+03:00

Love is looking into a stranger's eyes and recognizing him.

Hello!

2010-07-06T19:07:00.001+03:00

I left the cable that moves the photos from my camera to my computer in Canada, and so I have not been able to upload any pictures. Christina, my wonderful couchsurfing hostess, was kind enough to mail it to me, so it's on its way to Finland, but it'll take a few days. Here's one picture taken with my webcam just now. Hello!

I'm thinking about what to do next in my life. And I start to worry, and worrying sucks. So I stop worrying.

It's a sign

2010-06-25T05:59:00.001+03:00

Tottenham, Ontario

Somewhere near Huntsville, Ontario

This is a bonus for my friend Bänä. Golden Lake, Ontario.

More Canada

2010-06-23T01:49:00.001+03:00

Hello in The Sleepless Goat Café, Kingston.

The water below Mark's house.

Mark above the water.

Napanee + Kingston, Canada

2010-06-21T23:32:00.002+03:00

This is Mark. Mark is my host in Canada and Mark's the best. We're standing outside of Tammy's Country Kitchen, where we enjoyed the premium breakfast: The Sportsman. 3 eggs ++

This is the interior of Earth to Spirit, closet hippie heaven. I got myself a few nice books ...

The bookstore next door. This is what a bookstore should look like.

This is a Kingston bus. Anyone from Helsinki will know what I mean.

This is Mark with Erin - our designated babe at Tir Nan Og, the Irish restaurant we lunched at in Kingston.

Photos from the week past

2010-06-19T23:54:00.001+03:00

This is Thomas. I've known Thomas for over 10 years and we got along from day 1. Thomas is a top negotiator - if you need a decent contract or if you need the sun a few nudges towards the left.

This is Peppe and Vidar. Alternatively it's me trying to squeeze both in, getting neither, really.

This is the Péter and Antti, two gifted friends at work. At a restaurant of course.

This is PU-klubben. It's a long story and it's all about love.

This is Simone and Till, couchsurfers from Germany staying at my place. They are both particle physics scientists working at CERN, and they are very cool.

Sampo & Edith

2010-06-17T14:59:00.005+03:00

Det här är Sampo. Sampo är en god vän och en mångkonstnär. Sampo är i regel upplagd för kalas och det är en väldigt fin egenskap.

Det här är Edith. Edith är huippu. Edith vet.

Här har Edith plåtat mig.

Parförhållande.

Anna

2010-06-16T18:49:00.008+03:00

This is Anna. I found Anna on Facebook. Anna is the sweetest one. Everyone deserves an Anna in their lives.

A Poem about the Good in Times

2010-06-16T16:11:00.016+03:00

(I wrote this one as an extension of the impulse in the last blog post)

When I was a child I asked my dad
Why newspeople were ranting mad
About good times in the economy
The best we'd ever had

What was it there in times just now
That made us call them good
Who was in charge of times and how
These times be understood

Or did it matter after all
Since everyone was fine
If ease was really borrowed
If joy was really mine

And then one day the news were out
The good was there no more
But bad instead and maybe
Even darker than before

I wondered where this bad came from
And where the good could be
I wondered what those people saw
That I just couldn't see

I opened up my window then
To see just what had changed
From then to now from good to bad
How things were rearranged

I felt the smell of early spring
Of melting snow on grass
I saw the neighbors waving hands
And laughing through the glass

I saw the maples and the pines
Just like the year before
And I could see at least as many
swallows, maybe more

If nothing else they must have missed
Those flowers that the sun had kissed
How they were growing gracefully
They sure looked good to me

The illusion

2010-06-10T13:29:00.005+03:00

When I was a child I asked my dad
Why the papers and the news kept talking about
Bad times with the economy
And good times with the economy
Why everyone was so happy for these good times with the economy

And why everyone was sad when the bad times came along

I wondered where the bad came from
And where all the good had gone

Cause when I was looking out the window
At the trees and the flowers and the sun
They all were like they used to be
They all looked good to me

Andrea Reuter i Lilla onsdag - sista avsnittet!

2010-06-08T10:18:00.003+03:00

This post's in Swedish. It's about the last episode of our tv show - airing tonight!

Idag sänds sista avsnittet av Lilla onsdag, kl. 21:30 på FST5. Andrea Reuter är gäst, André och hon myser sig igenom film, tysk techno, språkfascism, Leonard Cohen och groupies. Det är nu bara så att Andrea är väldigt rolig och André är i toppform.

En liten överraskning utlovas på slutet. Varmt välkomna!

Monika Fagerholm i Lilla onsdag

2010-06-01T20:48:00.002+03:00

This one's in Swedish, it's about our tv show here in Finland and this night's episode.

Idag är Monika Fagerholm gäst i Lilla onsdag. Det var mitt favoritråmaterial att jobba med i klippet, eftersom jag var så begeistrad av henne under bandningen. Det blev 1,5 timme diskussion och jag satt som förtrollad där på baksätet bredvid mittenkameran när André och hon körde den kurviga vägen.

Det blev också det svåraste avsnittet att klippa, eftersom Monika för vidare en känsla som hon lägger ord på, istället för ord som beläggs med känsla. Jag vet inte om Monika skulle skriva under denna beskrivning, men det är så jag upplevde det när jag satt där. Och varje gång jag klippte i materialet måste sömmen beakta så mycket mer än ordens betydelse. Det tog mig över en vecka att klippa det och pratstunden med Monika hörde till dem som skulle gjort sig som helt oklippta. Men jag är glad över programmet.

Strange feeling I'm not alone

2010-05-22T18:37:00.001+03:00

DONE!

2010-05-07T15:30:00.002+03:00

Eight episodes of Lilla onsdag produced and delivered! OOOOH! Yes!

One to go !!!!!

2010-05-03T14:26:00.000+03:00

The number zero

2010-05-02T16:07:00.002+03:00

I love the number zero. If I can choose, I want to be zero. This is my player number: Zero. Weightless, unlimited and absolutely filled with everything that can be. All potential is intact, no possibility is occupied. And that's the way I like it.

Out in the porridge yesterday

2010-05-02T10:49:00.000+03:00

Got a few hours at Kaivo last night with Tobbe and Susanna ++. I had a good time, it was a little bit like walking into that space cantina in Star Wars.

Now it's breakfast with Anna and then it's editing. Tjingeling!

Video greeting on Vappu

2010-05-01T16:47:00.002+03:00

Vappu is Labour Day. I'm stuck working, because I ... haven't gotten far enough and I have a deadline on Monday. So I thought I'd make a video greeting. Who knew?

Lunch with André and the Umbilical Brothers

2010-04-29T13:29:00.003+03:00

I went to lunch with André and suddenly we were joined by the Umbilical Brothers, which was a fun surprise! The reason for this coincidence is that André's company is producing the happening tonight. They were very nice. When I told them I was coming to the show, they promised me to try not to be shit. Here's a clip:

Lilla onsdag on Youtube

2010-04-27T16:36:00.005+03:00

If you don't understand Swedish or Finnish you'll still get the laughter ... The first clip from the first episode of Lilla onsdag 2 popped up on Youtube - which is nice! And Sonja is sweet, sweet, SWEET!

What a day!

2010-04-26T18:56:00.000+03:00

The weather is awesome. It's springtime in Helsinki today - a perfect day for being outdoors ... I think. Greetings from the editing booth. Just two more episodes to go!

The owl movement, part 2

2010-04-21T10:37:00.001+03:00

Turn it up and let the joy flow ...

... and now: the album back cover!

Monika Fagerholm

2010-04-21T10:30:00.000+03:00

I am putting the Lilla onsdag episode with Monika Fagerholm together now. She was soooo mesmerizing, very cool. Totally connected to the feeling of the moment. I'm a fan.

Early morning

2010-04-20T05:01:00.002+03:00

Stopped by at Micke's studio to make a quick photo collage for tv. On my way to co-host the local morning show.

Letting go of vitutus

2010-04-17T15:47:00.002+03:00

The ball in the upper left corner is my left index finger. It symbolizes the earth. The black disc symbolizes my vitutus (a great Finnish word for the essence of disappointment-based mental agony).

The Earth, as you can see, is in orbit around my vitutus. To get things in proportion. I think I´m gonna do some breathing exercises now.

JFK-HEL

2010-04-15T15:39:00.000+03:00

André lyckades sova och jag lyckades vaka.

Last day in NY

2010-04-14T23:13:00.000+03:00

The owl movement, part 1

2010-04-13T03:05:00.000+03:00

The owls are not what they seem.

Brooklyn Prospect Park

2010-04-13T03:03:00.000+03:00

This picture is from yesterday, we met Andrea and Michael and Adam in Brooklyn Prospect Park. We didn't know where in the park they were but we walked straight into their lap on gut feeling. Sweet.

New York, New York

2010-04-11T04:26:00.002+03:00

This is where the day started. At the Landmark hotel, outside of New Orleans. Those of us who have been to North Korea are easily fooled. Is that .... ? Nope, it's the States. This one had certainly not seen a refurbishment since, well, ever. It's probably where naughty Best Western employees get sent as a punishment. For fairness' sake, I have to say the personnel was nice. But the place ... boy, oh, boy.

Here we are, New York, New York. The sun is shining and André is excited.

Editing Andrea

2010-04-09T18:49:00.002+03:00

I'm editing the episode with Andrea Reuter now. She's cool. I like it when she says what she thinks. She's very funny and she's not afraid of being bitchy. I like bitches. In small doses - and Andrea has got a nice balance ... And a warm heart too.

Temporary office in NOLA

2010-04-08T21:40:00.000+03:00

I found this bar called Pravda, with a sunny backyard complete with turtles in a pond. I was all by myself and did some editing in the sun.

The chairs were really cool, they we're actually rocking chairs thanks to this spiral mechanism. Right there, under the seat. Nerds, enjoy:

This is me before taking a bath yesterday.

Handmade window signs New Orleans

2010-04-08T00:21:00.001+03:00

Last call for the cemetery woodoo tour

2010-04-07T18:42:00.005+03:00

It's 9:45 in the morning. I'm sitting at Café Beignet on Royal Street in New Orleans reading a book, when this black woman walks in. She's in her 60's and she's wearing a big, white hat. She calls out for participants to the cemetery woodoo tour, which seems to have the café as a meeting point. A small bunch of people gathers and there are practical questions about payment and this and that. An older couple walks out of the café and, passing by the group, tells them that they're not gonna regret it, that they themselves did the tour last year. "It's not what you expect," they say.

I'm back in my book when I hear "Last call for the cemetery woodoo tour". It's the woman with the big white hat and I can see her walking out of the café where the group is waiting. "I'll join them," I'm thinking, and I put my book into my backpack and walk out of the café to catch up.

The street outside the café is empty. No group. No corners they could have turned. They completely vanished.

Fuck! As in a positive thing!

2010-04-07T02:56:00.002+03:00

I just wrote this complaining post about how I never get any feedback on this blog and then ... WHAM! -- a long, great comment on an old post of mine! First I thought I had missed it, but then I realized it was written just a moment ago!

Thanks Byggmästarn! You really made my day.

Boca beach

2010-04-02T00:57:00.000+03:00

Today we went to the beach in Boca Raton. Lots of untanned unfit guys like us. Lots of tanned young chicks too, but that's alright.

Florida

2010-03-31T16:55:00.002+03:00

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

2010-03-24T10:20:00.000+02:00

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

2010-03-22T21:30:00.002+02:00

Editing Magnus

2010-03-22T02:23:00.002+02:00

How to overthrow a dictator

2010-03-18T20:46:00.000+02:00

Stop driving him to work.

For my countrymen

2010-03-16T15:49:00.004+02:00

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.

2010-03-13T12:30:00.000+02:00

More Sonja

2010-03-11T13:54:00.000+02:00

Editing Sonja

2010-03-09T19:09:00.001+02:00

Philly approaching

2010-03-09T15:07:00.000+02:00

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

2010-03-06T17:31:00.000+02:00

It's a state of mind.

Uuuuuh, it's the sun!

2010-03-05T14:44:00.001+02:00

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

2010-03-04T09:05:00.003+02:00

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.

Sweet Saturday

2010-02-27T11:25:00.000+02:00

Mareike and Miriam from Germany arrived at my place yesterday. Very sweet people. Couchsurfing is such a great thing - total Nobel peace prize material.

Today I'm gonna go to this place where I do deep breathing together with a bunch of people. It's wonderful. I'm gonna get that anger out of the way and make room for all that looove inside. Afterwards it's all dancing ...

Yeeeeah.

I am here

2010-02-24T22:06:00.000+02:00

This day has been a real roller coaster. I was walking to the bank to shut down an account, when I met this Asian woman was walking in the opposite direction with a stroller in the street. The sun was shining and I had Oasis' Champagne Supernova in my ears when I saw her coming with her sunglasses on, smiling. Her smiling made my joy bubble up and that bounced right back to her and there was a moment of connection in joy, just as we passed each other. I was smiling around my head. It was a split second thing and it made my day.

Otherwise it's been heavy for me these last days. I was consciously nasty to a friend last weekend and I've felt bad about it since. I always do. That revenge stuff has never paid off for me, ever.

And so this old gem popped up on my shuffle today, and it woke me up for a moment. The opening line hit me stronger than ever before.

Cancer

2010-02-22T21:13:00.001+02:00

Any organism that disconnects from the whole that keeps it alive has gone cancer. Every success for the cancer is a surer and faster step towards its own death.

Sound familiar?

Be the change

2010-02-19T12:09:00.002+02:00

Here's a great thing about change: We don't have to fight the existing structure. We can just build something more beautiful and heads will turn. This is what the internet is here for. If we don't want to, we don't have to worry about big businesses going out of business and people getting unemployed.

And how's that?

Because in the end, nothing real is affected when an economy crashes. Economies and organizations exist only on paper. And deep down everybody knows it. The people who were in those organizations are still there. The buildings are there, the machines are there, the know-how is there. The infrastructure is there. This is the reality and it's where we can start. It requires that we do stuff on own initiative, but in the end ... that's a lot more fun.

What we do well in thinking about is real infrastructure that keeps us alive. Heating, electricity, food supplies and the internet. When these go down, things happen, as with Katrina in New Orleans for instance. This is why it's valuable when the basic survival infrastructure is as local as possible. Local energy, local foods = health, peace and happiness.

This also means that there is gonna be an increasing demand for grass-roots logistics. Imagine if Facebook was optimized for collaboration and co-creation.

Now I'm gonna have a crap.

What would you do?

2010-02-18T15:33:00.000+02:00

If you were the mayor of Worldsville, a big town around the globe in which all human beings lived, and you were asked to decide on the prime issues to resolve immediately, which would they be?

For me it would be water, food, shelter and a functioning money system. I bet the systems could be built and implemented quite quickly if we really wanted to.

I'd make it an Olympic sport: Functional creativity. The best brains and magicians from each country compete in solving practical problems. Like designing an uninflatable money system. Or how to bring back ecologic food production on a massive scale as quickly as possible. Or how to use like-buttons for finding the best ideas for local community development.

I'd like to make saving the planet fun. Where are the World Championships in rapid innovation? Or the Eurovision Design Contest? Or Britain's got Democracy. Or ...

Who wants to be Mayor?

Life is Curling

2010-02-16T23:06:00.002+02:00

I just watched the Norwegian curling team play in the olympics on tv. I always thought curling was such a nerdy sport. I still do, now that I think of it.

Anyway, I just sat there like a zombie when I saw the Norwegian captain saying something funny to his team mates. They were all standing in the target area among the whatever-they're-called, setting up the tactics for the decisive final shot. They all laughed and took their time. The arena was packed with people and they didn't seem to mind. They were enjoying themselves.

Maybe it doesn't really matter if you're fixing the economy or wiping the shit out of ice, if you really enjoy it.

A positive blog is a nice blog

2010-02-11T19:53:00.001+02:00

I know. But I'm only positive about being f*cking annoyed.

I'm fed up with stuff. I'm doing well enough to have that luxury. All crap in the media about the economy. All complicated stuff that only experts can deal with. All stuff about what the economy needs, year in and year out.

An economy doesn't need anything! Ever! If it does, it's not an economy.

And any company big enough to have bargaining power is too big to bargain. Now, dear gardeners, if a plant in your garden is too big, and you are not allowed to touch it physically, what do you do?

Stop watering it. Just stop.

Maybe I need to write a book about this. Things are getting too complicated. Here's today's secret: Things are uncomplicated. If they seem otherwise, drop them and start from scratch. Scratch is always simple.

Ok. Now I'm nice again.

Monday!

2010-02-08T21:15:00.000+02:00

Dear parole officer,

I'm still here.

I woke up this morning at 6AM to go to the gym. It's a project I have right now: Early mornings.

I love early mornings. I don't necessarily love getting up, but I love being up early. And today I was.

I might write a press release.

The beauty of Poikkeustila

2010-02-04T13:24:00.001+02:00

During the last weeks, the heavy snowfall has brought both chaos and joy here in Helsinki. Cars are parked (and driven) wherever. People help each other with getting their cars out of the snow. Neighbours talk for the first time. It's all about the snow. But there is something nice about it.

"Poikkeustila" is a Finnish word, which means "state of emergency". The literal translation would be "state of exception". Which actually makes it a, well, better word, because there is no panic involved. It's just an exception - the normal rules temporarily seize to apply for some reason.

Here's the beef: We need more poikkeustila, because it makes people open up and connect. It takes us to this moment. And all of life is a poikkeustila. We need not wait for a catastrophy or even heavy snow to screw the rules and connect and be authentic. And we need not be arrogant or unfriendly or trash places, just because the rules don't apply. Just go for it. Dance your dance. Talk to the neighbour. Kiss the girl.

Btw, here's one of my favourite ads, for many reasons - and it's about poikkeustila.

What I've learned about uncertainty

2010-01-31T17:36:00.001+02:00

I often hesitate. I often procrastinate. Actually, the truth is: I have often hesitated, and I have often procrastinated. Only I have done it so many times that it seems more honest to talk about it as a part of both my past and my future. But I don't wanna talk about my future. I know nothing of it. And I certainly don't want to apologize for it on beforehand.

It's scary for me to be on unknown ground. It's scary for me to break habits. And yet I know it's where I want to be: on unknown ground. When I think about it, I am always on unknown ground. I never know what's ahead, not really. It only seems familiar when I take the same route as last time. The boring thing is, those routes get old.

Heaven is never where I left it. It's wherever I choose to find it, wherever I choose to see it, whenever I say "yes" to what is. When I insist on waiting for circumstances to change before I'm happy, I am claiming responsibility for things that are not mine at all.

The only thing that is truly mine, is ... THIS!

Whoooo-hoooo!!!