WWhhiissppeerriinnggss from Swedena

Petra Dumoulinwhisperings.org

FEBRUARY 2014ISSUE 2, YEAR 1

Sportlov

In February/March, theSwedish school childrenhave sport holidays. Theholidays is based on theformer 'kokslov' (cokeholiday). In 1940, theCommission for Fueldecided that the schoolsshould be closed inFebruary, so there couldbe a cut back on fuel.

In that time schools inthe cities were usuallyheated by coal and coke('koks').

Despite the fact thatSweden retained itsneutrality during thesecond world war, thecountry suffered fromshortage of goods andresources. This meantthat the nation had toration drastically.

Articles

During the closing period ofthe schools students wereentertained with outdooractivities, mainly winter sports.It was also common to organizeexcursions to the Swedishregion, Dalarna. This gave citychildren the opportunity toexperience the mountains.

From 1950 the governmentadded an extra argument tosustain the sport holidays inFebruary. At the end of winterpeople easier catch a cold or aflu. School children infect eachother often. Therefore it

remained interesting to keep theschools closed.

Because Sweden is such ahuge country, the holiday seasonis broken down by province.

Week 9 was vacation time forthe children in Stockholm andGästrikland. There was a lotmore traffic on the road fromStockholm to the mountainregion, Dalarna, at the start ofthe holiday season. More than60 years later, the townspeoplestil l l ike to withdraw to themountains during 'sportlov'.

About ...

PAGE

1 SPORTLOV

2 4-WHEEL DRIVE

2 VITALSKI'S COLUMN

3 ALL SWEDISH PEOPLE . . .3 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

4 DEALING WITH WILD ANIMALS

4 FATE

5 SHAPED SNOW & ICE

6 THE COMPLEXITY OF EX . . .6 FINDING A TRUE VOCATION

7 WHISPERINGS

8 IMPRESSIONS

Holidays,

Winter Sports

and Other

Amusing Issues

It is very funny to notice, thatit is primarily the people fromStockholm who drive around in4 x 4 's.

The inhabitants of rural areasface the difficult winterconditions on the local (gravel)roads with ordinary cars.

It is quite an experience, forsomebody like me of Western-Europe, to explore the innerroads between Gästrikland andDalarna in a simple VW Golftogether with a seasoned Swedewhile there lies 20 cm of snowon the road and while it is quitesl ippery here and there!

Hey Folks!

I had a wonderful month ofFebruary. Do you know why?

I have been travell ing! I l iketo travel by car to new places. Isit in the trunk and stare out atthe back. You never know if Icould get the glimpse of a deeror a moose . . .

Once arrived at a newdestination, there is alwaysmuch to sniff. It's also veryimportant to me to leave mybusiness card behind in the formof a proper wee.

I've made a new friends too.He offered me sausages! Njam!

Bye dear pack members!Don't forget to sniff and snooze!

4-Wheel Drive

Vitalski's Column

Pagina 2

All Swedish People Look Forward to …. . . the Vasaloppet, the largestcross-country ski event in theworld. You can't participateanymore this year. Themaximum number of partici-pants has been reached. Morethan 15 000 skiers from all overthe world wil l try to finish the90-kilometer track on thesecond of March. Let us hopethe snow remains.

Many people participate just forpleasure, but it is also a bigcompetition. The current recordtime is 3h 38' 41'' and isregistered by Jörgen Brink(2012).

The event can be fol lowed onTV. Almost al l Swedes areconfined to the TV screen thatday.

This year Vasaloppet celebratesits 20th anniversary as a naturereserve. World's largest contestevent, would also like to beworld's cleanest.

February is always a 'TVmonth' in Sweden, because ofthe winter Olympics.

Most people do not want tomiss a single match, especial lywhen compatriots are competingin it.

This year, in Russia, Sweden,won 15 medal places: two gold,six silver and seven bronze. Thetwo gold medals were achievedin cross-country skiing. Therewere also medals achieved indiscipl ines l ike curl ing andfreestyle skiing.

One of the most excitingmoments you could experienceduring the games were thesemi-finals ice hockey. WhereSweden and Finland had aScandinavian duel for the finals.Sweden played a strong and

sporty match and came outagainst Canada in the finalround. Unfortunately, theCanadians were too strong andthe Swedish team had to settlefor silver.

Olympic Winter Games

Pagina 3

If you grow up in theBenelux, then you don't get thechance to encounter large, wildanimals. So if you come acrossthose creatures in other places,such as Sweden, it is exotic andexciting.

People often react inextremes on ' the wild ' eitherthey are afraid of it, or theyidealize it. I suspect that thebest response is somewhere inthe middle.

You don't have to be afraid ofwildl ife, first of al l, nowadaysthey are relatively l imited innumber, you rarely hear aboutaccidents with them (e.g. inrelation to motor vehicleaccidents, etc.) and healthyanimals usual ly consciously keepat a distance. But! Be cautiousat al l times when you walk in

the woods and keep at adistance when you trace ananimal, that is very important.

You better don't idealize thesituation too much. Bears,moose, wolves and deer arewild animals. Their behaviormay not always be predicted.After al l, most people haveforgotten how to interpret bodylanguage and movements ofwild animals. Moreover, thesecreatures are very strong! Youoften make little chance, if youwould take it up against them.

If we want to give wildanimals a fair chance in ourmodern society - something I'mcertainly in favour of - then it isvery important that we and ourchildren learn to understand thelanguage of nature again, justl ike the ancient peoples could.

Dealing with Wild Animals

After I had left behind myusual l ife in Belgium, some twoyears ago, fol lowing myadventurous heart directionNorth, I ended up in a stream ofsynchronism. It almost seems,l ike I automatical ly ended up,where I belong just by takingaction each time life offered mesomething my heart loveddearly. How scared I sometimeswas, because I did not alwayssaw where the road led me to, Ialways felt that it was the rightthing to do. That it hadmeaning. Therefore I l ike towrite an article on fate.

I start to doubt whether I caninfluence in a large extent thecourse of my life. It seems thatal l l ife's events contribute towhat we loosely cal l 'fate'. Wasit fate that made me move toSweden? Why did I decided as a

12-year-old to come and livehere? Why does it sometimesseem as if you are driven to acertain place or a situation? Whydid not I buy a house inHärnösand and instead boughtone in Åmotsbruk? Why do wesometimes act in a crazy wayand end up, as a result of it,with new people and possibil itiesin our path?

I am convinced that thechoices we make at certaintimes have unforeseen and far-reaching consequences toevents that wil l occur later intime. Cause and effect may playmore of a role in fate, than werealize. But the questionremains: why do you makeexactly that one choice and notanother? What inspires us atsuch moments?

Fate

Pagina 4

I am also certain that noouter event is devoid ofmeaning, neither is itunconnected with a person'spsychological state. I agree withthe German poet, Novalis, whoonce wrote: "Fate and soul aretwo words for the sameprinciple." This deep awarenessof the unity of the inner worldand the outer world issometimes difficult to recognize.

Fate (Cont.)

Pagina 5

Shaped Snow & Ice

I searched deliberately forsilence. I wanted a 'morenatural ' l ife. Silence and natureare a part of me. I got what Iyearned for. Yet at the sametime the past few months Iexperienced much stress and, inmy head, it often wasn't silent atal l . I had problems withbureaucracy, with culturaldifferences and I had a lot ofstart-up trouble. Al l of themseemed to intrude with 'my

silence'. It obliged me to dothings, in which I did not wantto put any energy in anymore. Ieven disl iked the activities.These judgements disturbed myinner silence and my mentalbalance. I favour l ife, when itruns like a well-oiled machine.Who doesn't? And yet, when itseems to be too lubricated, Ifind it boring.

A (wo)man is complex . . .

We are complex beings withmany facets. Each different facetof the human psyche wil l sooneror later find the light of day andexpress itself in the outsideworld. Some aspects of ourpersonality are natural ly inconfl ict with others. With somewe rather wil l not identify. Thesefeatures we push aside.However, they reappears in the

right time. To get them toexpression, we unconsciouslycreate certain circumstances orwe get involved in certainsituations. In this manner wecan become aware of things,which we did not realize before.

I've learned a lot the last twoyears. It was a fantastic period.And despite the many smallobstacles, I keep on going formy heart's desire of leading:

a silent l ifein the middle of naturefol lowingthe natural rhythms.And sharingthese qualities of l ifewith others.

After al l,it is a splendid way of l iving!

Am I fol lowing the road thatI'm intended to? Does it existanyhow? If I feel friction, I startto consider these kind ofquestions. When it feels l ikeswimming upstream, thereseems to be no flow. But is thisreal ly true? Or can it be thatthere always appear rocks onyour journey, even if you try tofol low your heart?

In the word 'vocation' we findthe words 'voice' and 'cal l ing'.It's al l about shaping whatanimates you - to shape whatdeep down feels right to you. Avocation seems somethingdeeply meaningful, somethingspecial. As if an inner soul, whoknows why we are here, cal ls usto fulfi l l our duty.

Although it might feel special,everyone of us hears such a

voice echoing deep inside.

Why do not people l isteningto it?

On the one hand thechal lenges and the problems ofliving in a ever changing world,with its rapid technologicalprogress and shifting politicaland economic trends frightenshumans. On the other handpeople often disl ike change. ButI guess that the media have thegreatest impact. They echoagain and again: danger! ,unsafe! , threat! , we perish! , thebad guys! , money! , power! andso on. All these things lead usaway of our inner interests, ofwhat we actual ly have to do inl ife.

People therefore feelsometimes rudderless or

unhappy in their l ives and theirjob, even if they have nofinancial deficit. Few of uspossess the luxury of inheritedwealth; most of us must makeour own way in the world.

The Complexity of Existence

Finding a True Vocation

Pagina 6

Work, no less thanrelationship, l ies at the core ofour l ives and occupies most ofour waking hours.

Yet we may be unable tothink from the center outward -to focus first on who we are andwhat inspires us, and then seekvehicles for this in the outerworld. Instead, we think fromthe outside in, focusing on whatothers, or our own hiddeninsecurities, tel l us is possible.We are not raised to know andto trust ourselves and ourabil ities, but rather, to accept asfacts the limits of the externalreality. And then we hammerourselves into shape to fit them.

Of course, no job is perfect,since we are al l different and wemust al l find a way to worktogether. But to compromiseagainst your own nature … if

that ever has made anybodyhappy in the long run? I don'tthink so. Not even your boss inthe end.

Finding a True Vocation (cont.)

Whisperings

Pagina 7

Whisperings

Rönnholmsvägen 181695 ÅmotsbrukSweden

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Impressions

Pagina 8

We all sometimes need to escape the dailyworries or we do not l ike to linger amongpeople. In those moments you want to

recharge your batteries in peace. Or you feell ike final ly shaping the great ideas that keep on

repeating themselves in your head.

At such times a simple and quiet environmentembedded in a natural environment is the ideal

place to be. Whisperings is such a spot.

a warm hug from Petra!