365 Challenge

A friend of mine told me about a Shakespeare open-air play in one of the central parks - The Tempest, a play I had never heard about. It was funny, moving, relevant, brutal, existential, full of insanity and love (Shakespeares' favorite mix), tragedy and comedy, ribbing out the innermost vulnerable elements of human life and bending it in neon. At the same time, “SHAKES” interpreted the whole thing in a chaotic contrast between recycling, modernity, craziness, high culture, and tradition. We lov…

I sometimes tell myself this: If I do what is hard (make my way through the narrow path of doing what I find right despite all systems around me), my life becomes easy (as in I am happy and present and know I am on track in my life).

If I were ever to move back to my hometown, I would not choose the new areas. I would stick to be me. And hope to find some of the wild lives, some of the extreme kind of thinking, and some of the raw and untamed non-matrix lives I have always loved in my city.

When my first child was a little one, I was a single mom with half an education, a tight budget, a small apartment, and a good life. We had a lot of fun! We were Copenhageners with cargo bikes and a love for the city space.

When we let go of the ideas of how “it is supposed to be,” we are left in a peaceful place. When we learn to live with less, happy if we have “it all,” and happy if we have “some,” then life is so much easier. We are happy and so ready for this special event. A week in our favorite city - the one we come from. Beautiful Copenhagen.

When I started this challenge 148 days ago, I planned to share a photo daily, along with a snippet of text related to the day before—a simple travel-journal challenge. I have loved doing it. It has grown a lot. I try to ignore the attention from social media. Well, I do not ignore the people talking to me, obviously, but I try to avoid being hungry for it. It can be hard, likes can be addictive.

Wuau, it has been a roller coaster! Gaming might be the most potent example of the importance of Deschooling in my entire journey as an unschooling mom. Wuau it is complicated. What are we afraid of? Today I will try it myself and see what happens. I might have some fun!

Not all days sport Rocking things to Rant about or big themes to play Wise with Wisdom around. Some days are silent resonance boxes. So much love. So many decisions. So much to do. All the moments. All of the long lines. The responsibility.

The artist was reading out loud, while the musician created music with the movement of paper, her cello, her guitar, the silences in between, and the poems dripping through, dancing over, creeping in under your skin, into the brain, making you think, making you feel. I am humbled by the fact, the artist is my daughter.

To share a meal with loved ones is a beautiful thing. We have sat down many times around this table and are grateful to have these wonderful friends in our life. Always the perfect balance between learning, growing, enjoying, and simply being.

When my kids were small, and I realized the craziness of mainstream (even state-supported) advice for families, me-time was a huge thing. Young parents were told they needed time to themselves, alone or together as a couple. It is one of the returning questions: Don't we need time alone? You know what? (Warning rant coming) ...

My husband and Storm had to fly to Barcelona to see the dentist. Early morning flight, a quick vegan, gluten-free pizza from Flax and Kale, a friend drove by with a blender and gave a good hug, then the dentist, more street food, and a taxi to the airport landing in Copenhagen just after midnight.

Over the years I have learned to know my value. I have gained energy and focus. I am less chaotic. This is a great advantage of a nomadic lifestyle: Things come into perspective when we return to the same places, like mirrors showing us our progress or our detours.

There were tears, we fell to our knees, and the relief was huge. Nova was born sound and safe. We welcome her with all that we are, all we have. Deeply moved by the miracle and forever thankful for the life we have been given.

One of the root problems behind climate stuff is disconnection. From each other. From love. From nature. From a humble and grateful perspective. This feeds consumerism, speed, need, and greed. Without the deep connectedness to our souls, to The Force, we can not live fulfilled lives and will feel hungry and dissatisfied forever.

On the 18th of June, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. And so, the roller coaster started. I was diagnosed. We all panicked. The doctor told me in the first sentence they could cure it, and I said I did not want statistics. I would go straight for that narrow option, however narrow it was, but I needed not to know the numbers.

To me, home is where my family is. Home is the love. Everything else is practical: The food, the clothes, the computers, the books. This matters much less than the feel of home, the love and commitment of having each other's back, of being in a private space, of unconditional love.

I hardly know how to visit people anymore. With the Attwood family, we live our lives on top of and around each other. We all do our thing, and the harmony is perfect, no less. The way we merge our energies, and have conversations picking up and leaving loose ends with no stress, is my favorite way of being around our friends.

Ten years ago, Chris and Doris Attwood were suddenly in my living room in Copenhagen.Our families have been inspiring each other for a decade now, dancing in circles. Even on the first day, we knew there was something important going on in this relationship, as - to be fair - most often, there is something important going on.

The adventure is not about WHERE we go, but rather WHO we meet. 

In the new relations lies the true adventure. Most important is the relation itself, but shooting off from there comes to the stories, the vibes, and the knowledge making the actual travel adventure so much richer. As a friend of ours puts it: All I need is a place to sleep and a friend to show me around, then I am ready to go anywhere.