På jakt -igjen!

I dag skulle jeg skrive en blogg om åndelige hjelpere. Bare slik at dere ikke glemmer det andre jeg holder på med fordi om jeg har funnet min indre hestejente.

Men i stedet er dagen brukt på hestejakt. Egentlig skulle jeg jo ha hentet min nye hest i går, en nydelig kaldblodstraver i rekonvalesens fra gaffelbåndskade. Men så ble det ikke slik. Og det har jeg deppet litt over hele uka. Hodet mitt var så innstilt på den hesten at det å begynne å lete på nytt, var litt tungt.

Likevel har vi brettet opp ermene, trålt finn og facebook og sendt meldinger i hytt og gevær. Det er jo mange hester til salgs til enhver tid, og nesten uansett hvilke kriterier du har, er det mange, mange å velge i. Men det skal jo helst føles rett også. Personlighetene må stemme og det må være noe, kall det gjerne x-faktoren, som gjør at du kjenner at "denne hesten har jeg lyst på".

I dag har vi vært og hilst på en nydelig kaldblodsdame, og jeg fikk brukt evnene mine litt. Det skal sies at det er jo nyttig å være healer/medium når man skal handle hest, for jeg får MYE informasjon om hesten bare ved å stryke hendene mine litt over den.  Og i dag var det fascinerende å se hvordan det jeg plukket opp stemte overens med det eier fortalte til kona mens jeg fokuserte på hesten.

Det er rart å forklare hvordan det skjer, men når jeg møter en hest for første gang, er det akkurat som når man møter mennesker, bare mer avslappet. Fordi jeg snakker med dem uten ord, er det veldig direkte og uten at noen av oss spiller en rolle eller reserverer seg. All kommunikasjonen foregår inni hodet mitt, så for dem som er der, ser det nok bare ut som om jeg er veldig konsentrert om å stryke på denne hesten. Ofte vil jeg i slike sammenhenger plukke opp humoren deres for eksempel. Ja, du leste riktig: Hester har ofte god humoristisk sans. I dag ble det ikke tid til det, for alt handlet om å finne ut mest mulig om denne hesten, men det er kjekt å møte hesten, kjenne på personligheten og få bekreftet det jeg plukker opp av det eieren sier. Det gjør det lettere å ta en av avgjørelse om dette er hesten for meg også. Jeg vet i alle fall mer om hesten nå enn jeg gjorde før besøket.

Så får vi se om dette er hesten for meg... eller om jakten fortsetter. En ting er i alle fall sikkert: Boksen er tom og det klør i fingrene etter å fylle den med noen hundre kilo hest :-)

PS. Jeg lover at bloggen om hjelpere skal komme i morra :-)

Big fish'n

Yesterday was the first successful fishing trip I had this year. I took a three hour trip on the fjord at Sunndalsøra and within just a few minutes, caught a 5.5kg sei. Nice! The two friends I was with also caught and so a good time was had by all. The weather was excellent, the fjord was flat and the fish were biting.

I know this has nothing to do with my work, unless I decided to feed 5000 folk with my 
fish . . . and I think that would be pushing it a bit. So, why am I telling you about my fishing exploits? Because it reminded me that work never stops, no matter what we do, there is always work to be done. With that in mind, it is more important that we find time to play. I took three hours of of my afternoon to unwind . . . actually, that’s a small lie, my wife “suggested” that I go out and fish because I was being grumpy. Anyway, the point is that I left work alone, and went out to play :-) 

I have lost count of the number of people coming to see me for healing because they have lost all their energy, feel burnt out, have hit the wall. It’t distressing to see so many people suffering because they have pushed themselves too hard for too long. In most cases, people take years in getting to their burnt out place, I call it “creep” because it doesn’t happen all at once, it creeps upon you over a period of time. Perhaps it’s simply part of modern-day religion, must work harder. I have noticed that Norwegians are much better at leaving work on time whereas in the UK, there is a culture of working longer and harder – if you don’t put in enough free overtime, you are certainly not going to get anywhere. It’s this weird work ethic that is driving a lot of people to sickness. They stop being able to function properly, unable to make clear decisions, begin to feel depressed. Surely that’s not what life is about?

 
A work / life balance is all very well, but when the balance tips too much towards work, it needs to be addressed. There was a client I saw recently, who had a very successful career in media, only to find that after years of being on top of everything, life has passed her by and she had hit the wall. For years, her focus had been on work, with no time for actually relaxing and finding out what else she is. This is no way to live life. Life has so much more to offer than the 8-16 push, push, push, and it’s so important that we take the time to go fishing. 

With that in mind, I have seeds that need planting out, a fish to slow cook for dinner and an eye on this week’s weather forecast. There will definitely be more fishing to come.

Memento Mori

Well, Christmas is upon us once again, my bank account is giving me dirty looks and I’ve not yet bought the food and wine necessary to satisfy my plump belly!  Never mind, money comes and goes, no matter how much or little you have – today I read that Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) is worth $45 billion so unless he has a really, really bad day, I think he is probably the exception to the rule.

Anyway, I digress, my point in this blog has nothing to do with Mark and his billions but more to do with two small words, Memento Mori. Memento Mori – remember death. It sounds really morbid, remember death, but it’s now going to be my catch phrase. At the time of the black death and subsequent generations, Memento Mori was everywhere, painted onto buildings, carved above doorways, everywhere. The idea was that we should never forget that life can be short, death could be just around the corner and so LIVE! Live life like you may not see many more days.

We have all heard the saying, live today like it’s your last and I guess it’s a modern day version of Memento Mori. I am sure there were such sayings coming out of the last world war as well. And today it’s probably more real for those fleeing their homeland and risking everything for the chance of a safe life.

For some years I’ve been talking about life being about having experiences, doing things, experiencing new sides of life, actively getting out and doing the things you have fancied trying. Because, at the end of the day, once you are dead, there is no more physical body, no more flesh and bone to push down a mountain on skis, no more base jumping from weird and wonderful places in Norway, no more crazy sex in public places (it’s not just me!). Once we are dead, all the physical experiences we can have are gone. While we are alive, it is our personal responsibility to do whatever it is that sets a spark under us, to experience all the things we would like to do.

I promise every single person reading this, once you are dead, you will want to be a person who can say, “I DID THAT”. All of the experiences we have while alive will be taken with us, they are an integral part of who we are. We are the sum of our experiences to date. Be someone who is able to say, I did that, not someone who has to say, I didn’t do it. Puhhh. I didn’t do it, is one of the saddest things to take with you out of this life.

Memento Mori, sums up this philosophy for me. Memento Mori, remember death, live life. Use your life as a way of gaining as many experiences as you can. Good experiences, bad ones and downright ugly ones. The bad and ugly are just as important as the good, they all make us who we are. This is your purpose in life!

Lastly, decide from today what experiences you would like to have before you die and let that be the compass for your life ahead. If climbing an active volcano in Iceland floats your boat, do it. If walking the Inca trail is just a fantasy, find a way to make it happen. If taking a year out and sailing around the world burns within you, buy a boat!

The point here is that while you are alive, use your life to do the things you imagine. Be someone who dies and is able to say, I did that and not, I didn’t do it. The New Year is on its way again and there will be plenty of new resolutions to quit smoking, join the gym. Forget all that nonsense, make a resolution to do something only your imagination has dared share with you.