Category Archives: daily prompt

My dream home

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Building a nest.

Building a nest.

It was a rainy, cold sunday afternoon, one of many in a rainy, cold summer. We would have loved to curl up with a book and a cup of coffee. Our children were running wild though, back and forth in the living room, having so much pent-up energy. We just looked at them and each other, and went for our rain gear. Come on, we are going for a walk, in the woods! They were jumping and running in front of us for a little while, then they stopped and walked very silently close to us. What’s the matter with you guys? You may jump and shout as much as you like here, why are you so timid? The youngest looked up at us, with eyes that said “you do not really understand much, do you?” then he explained it all to us. “You know, when I am at home the world is this big and I can run everywhere” he said and stretched his small arms in front of him. ” But when I am outside” he continued, and crossed his arms in front of him and made himself even smaller ” when I am outside the world stops just here”, he said and wiggled his little finger in the crook of his arms. His words ring in my heart whenever I get too ambitious in any homemaking projects. Building a dream home means nothing if it does not make its inhabitants able to call the world their home. Building my dream home is done by nourishing and supporting everything in myself, my husband, our children and our guests that make us feel happy, content, safe and also daring, confident and able to be at home wherever and with whoever.

I love flights of fancy, I do dream of beautiful homes and wonderful settings. I do spend lots of time making our houses lovely and welcoming. But most of all I dream of a world where all of us, no matter who we are or where we live, may safely and happily go out into the world, jump and shout for joy, and know, I am at home. I think I already won that lottery, I am building my dream home, every day.

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Nostalgic- weekly photo challenge

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IMG_6234 what we wereI once read that nostalgia originally was an illness. The diagnosis army doctors put on boys from the Austrian mountains that simply were not able to thrive in the flatlands. Now we allow nostalgia to have a more genteel ring to it, almost like a reverence for the things passed. Sometimes it can be stifling too, making only what was, or what we remember about it, be the ideal state, not being able to tackle change and challenges. At the World Museum of Mining last week I saw this sign, perhaps the only way to balance looking back, looking forward and being here, just now? I think the quote is from T.S Eliot’s “Wasteland”. Anybody nostalgic about high school and EngLit able to help me out?

This doll symbolizes the stifling nostalgia to me. She has been standing, waiting, in this dollhouse for decades, looking for people who will never return, and as she is in a museum she is not allowed to engage in play with real, living children.IMG_4643 dukke

TIME magazine, dare to be the person of the year 2013, daily prompt

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Big waves at Jalama

Big waves at Jalama

If life only was as simple as that, I’d start indexing and cataloguing every known person, right this minute. Would it not be neat if we could label a person once and for all? HAH, don’t YOU try to do something good, I know your sort! Or the other way around, I am sure he did not mean that, he is such a wonderful person!

IMG_0948 snartIf we had humankind labeled like this it would save such a lot of time. No need to sit down and reflect together, no need to ask for forgiveness and absolutely not grant it. Aristotle says “One swallow does not make summer”. He elaborates that by stating that our main business in life is to learn from every situation we are in, how we can create the good life for one another, and until our life is complete, we do not know if or how we did that. It takes many swallows, made of good choices and deeds to make summer of our shared existence.

IMG_1027 touchdownI do think we can learn from another, and I do think that persons who do good things and show integrity and truth through their lives may inspire us to go on, to try once more. I know that they can do that only when we let them be humans, not less and not more than any other human. I know that we each have a calling to be” person of the year” in our own life. Not as heroes, not as celebrities, but by not holding back the wisdom we are given through our experiences. To be a person is to show your face, your persona, who you really are. If we do that we can grow and learn together. If not, we will have heroes and villains, masses and mobs. But we will not have persons, neither this year nor the next.

IMG_1042 slutt

It is not my story – writing challenge on what I never would tell

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IMG_0196 heart of heartsWhen I saw the picture of those two chefs in this weeks writing challenge I knew at once what the story was. It would not be fiction though, as it is one of my treasured memories. An impromptu wedding in an alpine flower field. A poetic wedding service with towering, snow-clad swiss alps as backdrop. A glowing bride walking up to the improvised altar while the wind played with her veil and someone played a joyful tune on a wooden flute. Leading up to this was only two days of preparing, an unprecedented whirl of activity. There was not much money, but everyone had searched their hearts and mind to find what they could contribute. Those two chefs, who never had worked together before, were able to  create a colorful and well tasting feast from meagre ingredients. One girl knew how to give a massage and went through the preparing crowds easing the strain, some of us picked wild flowers, some were scrubbing floors or doing laundry to prepare for guests. The strongest carried tables and chairs from all the village to the biggest lawn.

Setting of another marvellous wedding

Setting of another marvellous wedding

Then, this is what I saw, and what I took part in, which would only be romantic, not fabulous if it were not for the rest of the story. Why this haste? Who were married? When was this? Did they live happily forever after? I know only part of those answers, I have no way to check up on what I do not know, and I know that if I write more, someone could recognize this setting and be hurt if I did not tell the story right. I know what version I have of the truth, and that is enough to know that the rest is not my story to tell. To me that goes with all blogging and writing, knowing what to tell and what to keep. If I was listening to someone sharing their troubles or joys in confidence, I would not open the windows and shout into the streets, listen to this great story! Even when I took part in the story, only my part is the one to share. You would have loved to be in that wedding though, and then we could have shared our memories of the probably most glorious romantic story we ever witnessed. As it is, it’s up to you to imagine!

Have you eaten today? Blue pills and red pills

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Come on, breakfast is ready, where is everybody?

Come on, breakfast is ready, where is everybody?

It was a late saturday evening. I was in hospital, seriously ill, and not able to eat at all. The nurses went in and out while I was more or less asleep. Hospital doors shut in their own way, they just glide silently at slow speed until they are almost closed. Then they stop, and shut in a final quick swish. Just as the door closed, this last swish brought with it a vanilla waft and a peal of laughter. Someone was baking waffles in the nurse’s kitchen, hoping for  an easy shift with time for socializing and friendship.

Trying to fool me with a blue pill are you?

Trying to fool me with a blue pill are you?

That smell brought so many memories of my grandmother’s tradition of serving waffles to everybody on saturday afternoon, of happy meals in the garden and by the fireplace. It brought longings for companionship and joy. It brought regrets for  the times I had not appreciated being with my family or taking time to share a meal with a friend. The smell of that simple and unpretentious food brought resolve to never take fellowship or sustenance as a given. To me it is not about what we eat, but eating together, sharing meals that take so long that thoughts, questions and reflections have time to arise and be dwelt upon.

I want to take part in the fun

I want to take part in the fun

I have been told that the chinese used to greet each other with ” have you eaten?”. The most important thing to know, implicating that if you had food, your day must be good. We know that many could not answer positively to that. Even today, we will find hunger, malnutrition and need very close to us. So, on the other hand, if developing pills that would take care of everybody’s need was possible, if I could eat pills so that all of us were given the chance to live, then I would do it. Until then I am happy to being able to eat. Until then, you’re welcome to sit down at my table sharing a meal.

Having a cup of coffee by the lake, come join me!

Having a cup of coffee by the lake, come join me!

To go and to be – a daily post on going

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IMG_2407 lonely treeI get to travel a lot. Both through work and for leisure. Even when we technically already are on a travel, we go somewhere else, to see, to explore, to understand and to take photos  of course. Even so there are more places I have not visited, than places I’ve been, which is totally OK. I do not really have an urge to travel.

IMG_2652 mapsWhat I would love to do though is getting even braver at talking to people where I go. When we are driving, even on roads at home which I know so well, I catch myself looking into windows, wondering how it is to live just here, and there and what about here? How are our lives influenced by geography, history, beliefs, health,political and economical limitations and possibilities? What longings do we share, what dreams do we want to make real together?

IMG_2433 really fallI do love the in-between travels, some times I have had the opportunity to go places where my husband will work, and I will have no responsibilities. I walk at my leisure, almost meditating, through parks, woods, libraries, galleries and museums. I take photos, talk to people, have long lunches where I write and think, and then we will meet up for dinner or have some days together after the conference or whatever.

IMG_2481 the colours of St.PetersburgThis way I get to see the sights, have fun with my husband, and savour the place and the people in my own pace. I do not know anybody who is so slow in taking in a new place like me, and who actually wants to sit on a bench pondering over life, when there are shops or sights everywhere. But I do, and I love it.

IMG_1754 spilt bloodEven more I treasure the years we have been living abroad, in the Netherlands, in Indiana and now in California. To live in a different culture and get to understand more, to take part in charities, community life, making new friends, really makes my life richer. Even in traveling I believe that we see “through a glass darkly” and need to tell each other about our lives to be able to understand more of the total picture called LIFE.

IMG_2490 hiddel cathedralThen of course, there is no need to go anywhere, I do not know everyone in my own home town or even in my own street, so no: I go, learn and reflect and love it. But, I do not need to go or long to go anywhere.

The pictures in this post is from solitary and wonderful walks through Saint Petersburg last October.

Gandhi on integrity, to fight or flight

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Be the change you want to see in the world

Be the change you want to see in the world

We were strolling through San Fransisco, taking photos of all the interesting skyscrapers, having a snack at Ferry building. There he was, bent, but intent on justice, humbly waving but never giving up on what he thought was right. Never fighting back, never afraid of adversaries.

My father visited San Fransisco many years ago and followed another minister on his rounds to the homeless, the desolate, the downtrodden. He warned me, you will find so much misery in that town. As our visit had a different purpose, visiting an academic conference, we were in a nice hotel, saw the sights and had wonderful meals. To us, it was so easy to look at all the homeless people not as a misery to themselves, but as a threat and a danger to ourselves. To us it was a beautiful city….on the surface. To me the constellation of Gandhi and those symbols of power and money was a reminder to be willing to raise questions, to not accept injustice, but also in all things strive for peace and nonviolence. To me, the Bible verse : blessed are the peacemakers, are the way I want to live my life. Sometimes it means not to get involved in a meaningless fight, sometimes it means to be willing to hold our ground, sometimes it means working out a compromise.

Weekly photo challenge SIGNS

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This really is the best auto-repair in town, but if they can not even hang a sign, who will think so?

This really is the best auto-repair in town, but if they can not even hang a sign, who will think so?

I work with people, organizations and businesses, on strategy, values and integrity. Nowadays you’ll find that many businesses promotes their values on websites, signs and posters. That takes courage, as few things are as bad for business as being treated badly as a customer under a sign that reads “we care for you” or something like that.

The sign reads Customer parking in Norwegian. To me it says we care only for your money

The sign reads Customer parking in Norwegian. To me it says we care only for your money

We all know that. With this as my starting point I find it really interesting when signs tell me something the firm would be ashamed to acknowledge, it is just that they are so used to they surroundings that they do not realize what their signs are doing.

Even if every sign is important, together they are confusing

Even if every sign is important, together they are confusing, we just stopped, drove on and hoped for the best

ABSee, a daily post weaving thoughts on seeing and being

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IMG_3407 dovre 3A. I sit on a bench, under the eucalyptus trees, looking out over the slough. Silently and majestically a great white egret takes flight and sails over the water. It’s reflection is perfectly mirrored in the silent water. It seems a sacrilege to reach for my camera, and I don’t. Anyway, no matter how I captured this moment I would not be able to convey the glory and the mystery of the moment. You had to be there, so go! Find a bench, a silent spot, and stay in what you see.

IMG_3332 VINGROMB. We are driving through the french countryside, approaching the swiss border, as the traffic comes to a sudden halt. Soon there are long lines, and we settle in for some waiting time. Hot and boring to everyone it seems. This is many years ago, I was fourteen, with my first camera and film and developing had to be taken from my pocket-money. Which means I was very careful about what I shot. I roll down the window and look around, curious as I am. Then, close by, I see an old tree, golden grasses at its foot, a tumble-down fence, and two brown horses, silently eating grass, not going anywhere, not caring about all the tourists who think their day is ruined. I take their picture, out of the window. It turned out just as peaceful as I remembered it. I still have it, it still reminds me to look for the silent spot in the middle of chaos.

IMG_3378 Dovre 1See. We are driving through the norwegian mountains, we parents become aware of our youngest daughter who is looking intently ahead of her. “What is the matter?” We ask. “Don’t disturb me,” she says,” I am making C memories”. “What? What are A and B memories if this is C? “We ask. “Silly you,” she responds.” I said See, not C. I want to take what I see with me, And then I have to look real hard to make see memories.” She still does, and we are still reminded to do it, stay silent, and be in the moment, and see.

Gloomy glum

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IMG_2015 stolperI went out in the marches to look for beautiful photos. To me it was a glorious day. It was made even better when I spotted an old-time childhood friend sitting on a stone, dangling his long ungainly legs. Well, Hello Puddleglum! I shouted. He barely looked up. Oh, it’s you is it? I would not come closer if I were you. Why not? I said as I rushed to him and gave him a hug. You know, those cold clear day are sure to bring out a rheumatism he commented, you should stay away from the shore! Do you have rheumatism then? I countered. Not yet, not yet, any day now, he said, with a tone in his voice conveying that a spot of arthritis was all he lacked to make his suffering complete.

IMG_1452 reflection pond I sat down by his side and looked out over a small pond, reflecting reeds, flowers and trees. A frog was squeaking. I bet you are hungry, he said. Well, not really, I answered. Good, as there is no food, he sighed. Life is not all fricasseed eel and frog pie you know, even to you, who are just frolicking along, it isn’t.

IMG_0421 storlidalen 1 I contemplated this for a while, when it suddenly struck me. But Puddleglum, why are you still so gloomy? I thought you were in Aslan’s country now! Oh, but I am, he answered. I used to be afraid of that, thought I would have to sing and dance and that sort of thing. But that’s not my way of being happy. As happy never was a word that came to mind when thinking about my true and trusted friend, I had to ask him.

IMG_2612 storlidalen solAre you happy then? In every bone he said. You know Aslan said, being in his country is being the perfect me, truly fulfilling what he created me to be, so worrying is allowed. This surprised me. How could that be? You know my worrying has always been my way of telling Aslan that I trust him to take care of things, because it sure is too much for me. And now, with this bright new world, and everyone singing, it sure needs someone to keep on the look out for not perfect things. They are not allowed, you know.

IMG_3418 vannliljerSo he let’s you worry? I could not grasp this. Well, he told me I had trusted him, in all adversities, never saying no, even when I thought he was giving foolish orders. So I still get to do that, you would not see the blue sky if everything was blue would you? He told me, that perfect consists of everyone as long as they trust him. In some of us the music of rejoice is trust, in some of us it is singing, as to you it is laughing. You sure you’re not hungry? Well, perhaps a little? Good, because I just made a pot of fricasseed eel, we are in Aslan’s country after all, aren’t we?IMG_2571 mardøla