37 journeys around the sun… celebrated with mountains, silence, and gratitude.
This year, I celebrated with a little trip — and I can’t imagine a better way to mark the day. Within just a few hours, I saw so much beauty that it was impossible to take it all in at once. I drove through the Norwegian landscape, watching the horizon shift from mountain ranges to green valleys and small villages. Wide, crystal-blue rivers — colored by minerals from glaciers — flowed beside the road, while small creeks danced down the hillsides. I stopped for the night, made a small bonfire, and sat by it for hours until I went to sleep. The next morning, I drove down to the fjords where the air was significantly warmer than in the mountains, allowing me to enjoy the last touch of summer. From there, I climbed up a mountain by the fjord, taking in the magnificent views of ancient peaks and glaciers.
I breathed in the fresh air, lived each moment, and let the mind stream naturally flow into reflection and contemplation. With an open heart and mind, I looked at my life — learning from all that has happened, seeing where to adjust, where to let go and create space, and what to welcome in a little more. Birthdays have always been a time of reflection for me. I like to step back, zoom out from my own story, and look at the milestones I’ve passed in the past year. I reflect on where I stand now, and where I am heading.
Over the past several years, I have been learning to embrace life fully — with everything it brings. I have devoted myself to inner practices and studies that help me grow as a person, finding natural peace and joy without outsourcing happiness. There is always more to learn, understand, and cultivate, but I keep returning to these truths:
Radical acceptance, compassion, and kindness allow us to walk through life without resistance. We can’t always control what life gives us, but we can choose how we respond. That is where true freedom lies.
This life is a miracle, and I believe our thoughts shape our reality. I am deeply grateful not to have faced war or hunger, and my heart aches for those who do. But I also see how much suffering arises from fear — fear of the future, fear of loss, fear of not being enough. Fear breeds anger, greed, hatred, and ignorance. Perhaps fear is the hidden engine of our society. And yet, there are as many worlds as there are people living here — 8 billion realities, each unique, each shaped by perception, experience, and choice. I cannot change the world, but I can change my world. And if by doing so I inspire even one other person to change theirs, that is enough. That gives my life meaning.
The antidotes to fear? Kindness. Acceptance. Courage. Compassion. Humility. Joy. My wish for myself — and for everyone, every single person on this planet — is to live joyfully and peacefully. Even those who cause harm are only acting from their own pain. I choose not to feed that cycle.
So here I stand: cultivating the heart of a Buddha and the hand of a demon. Through years of practice — from mindfulness and Metta meditations, to yoga, Taiji, Qigong, and even Muay Thai — I have learned that joy and peace are born from balance. Life pulls us to extremes, and the art is to know both, move through both, and keep returning to the center. These ancient teachings are tools that help us thrive in any circumstance. They offer understanding, freedom, and independence from the storms of life. I am profoundly grateful to have found them, to have practiced them, and to witness how they have transformed my experience of living. Even hardship and pain now hold meaning and value — they are part of the great work, and I face them with passion, curiosity, and trust.
This journey has given me compassion for those who suffer in similar ways, and it fills me with joy and motivation to share what I’ve learned. If I can offer tools that bring resilience, peace, and joy to even one other person, it is worth it. I am grateful that I can be gentle, slow, and warm as a summer breeze — yet able to strike like thunder when needed.
And as Rumi reminds us: “Try to accept the changing seasons of your heart, even if they come with sorrow. For the pain prepares you for joy. The dark thought, the shame, the malice — meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in.”
This is what I strive for — to welcome life as it is, to let every joy and every challenge shape me, and to walk forward with an open heart. Sending gratitude and love to all of you, beautiful people. 💛
