WPC: Victory

Victory. What does this word make you think of? Most certainly sports, maybe you have stopped smoking or drinking, Maybe you survived a dreadful accident or conquered cancer.

My Victory might seem a small one, but to me, very significant. I belong to those middle aged people who were raised always to do their duty, to work until your task is finished, to stand up for what is right and seldom (never) complain.

Many things change during a lifetime. And that’s life, of course. Today, my parents are getting old, friends are getting incurable diseases –  even die. Dear colleagues are leaving due to the work situation and because of retirement. Students are changing – the world is changing.

I am not there yet – not even on the threshold of retirement. But. Many personal things during the last two years have taken its toll. I felt tired and without enthusiasm this spring. Should I really work until the bitter end? No time for my ageing parents? No time for family, friends or myself? Nobody knows their time span – I might get run over by a bus tomorrow…

This thinking began to envelop me, and I checked my financial status as well as consulting my school on the possibility of taking a year off. And I did it. Despite my love for my students, my love for my colleagues and for my work. A hard decision to make, but when I finally had decided, everything felt as it should. Really good. Like a jigsaw puzzle coming together, displaying its flawless pattern. I can compare this to when I decided to stay at home with my children for five years when they were small. I felt I must not die having made too many wrong decisions, I must do as much as I can for my family. And this time also for myself. I needed to find that ”real self” I used to be satisfied with: Nonstressed, calm, energetic and creative. Listening and caretaking. The person I once was.

 

# 133 Indirekt – Indirect (262/365)

# 317 Trotjänare – Faithful Old Servant (260/365)

Jag har varit en ung flickas trotjänare genom gymnasiet, över två universitet och även jorden runt. När hon arbetade som volontär på Nya Zeeland stod jag troget vid hennes sida och för kommunikationen – vilket var mycket värdefullt för hennes mamma och pappa , och säkert för henne själv också. Vi höll ihop i vått och torrt och tack vare att vi hade varandra klarade hon av att leva därute i bushen. Nu har jag många år på nacken och börjar bli lite… sliten, så där borta i ljuset någonstans…ligger väl evigheten…Men, såsom varande trotjänare hänger man ju i så länge det finns tangenter och batteri!

I have been serving this young woman through high school and two universities – and around the world as well. When she worked as a volunteer in New Zealand I was the one who stood by her side and helped her keeping up communication with her parents. Now I’m getting old and tired – but will try to hang on for some years yet…we still need each other, Emma and me!

SL – WEEK 9: School

Introduktion to a new school involves playing and games to get to know each other and to learn how to trust each other. This photo is from the first day at our school, last year, last autumn 2014.

Sylvain Landry

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Three Items for the Number Three

I was lucky to be featured last week on Cee’s site. Thank you! This week we should find three items or the number three. Here are some great flowers – and those in the middle are not the least great ones!

More of numbers here.

Är allt bara pengar – var finns ansvarskänslan?

Måste vuxna människor understryka en trend som enligt forskningsrönen mest pekar åt fel håll för världen och det uppväxande släktet? Och – för deras föräldrar!

Hur kan man som vuxen, ansvarskännande person annonsera på det här sättet? Naturen tillhör vi alla, men den är snart inte förnybar längre. Inte minst beroende på all teknikhysteri. Skrotad teknik ligger i gigantiska högar, unga kroppar förstörs av stillasittande och ensidiga rörelser. Senast den här veckan hörde vi om forskningsrapporter angående mobilanvändningen. Den lutning du har på huvudet när du använder telefonen ger en belastning på nacke och rygg motsvarande 30 kg – ”du kan lika gärna ha en åttaåring på huvudet”, sa man. Vilka skador kommer vi inte att få se inom en snar framtid?

Tro inte att vi löser alla problem, inklusive teknikfreakande och stillasittande, genom att gå på gym och cykla inomhus. Den sjukdomsgrupp som tycks öka mest i vårt samhälle, åtminstone bland unga, är de som lider av psykisk ohälsa. Och vilka är de senaste rönen angående botandet av depressioner och utmattningssyndrom? Att Naturen läker. Man har till och med konstaterat klara och snabba förbättringar hos patienter som vistas i sjukhusmiljö – om man hänger bilder från naturen, skog och mark, på väggarna.

Jag använder många tekniska prylar själv, både inom mitt arbete och på fritiden. Det är inte det det är frågan om. Skärp er vuxna – här gäller GÖR OM GÖR RÄTT. Media Markt bör skaffa sig en ny reklambyrå!

Travel theme: Fresh

Ailsa, on Where’s My Backpack, is asking for something fresh – how about some fresh students from yesterday? The day you leave school, in Sweden you are nineteen, is one of the greatest days to remember. The world is open – new and fresh. Enjoy their happiness!

Young hat

 

 

Cee´s Fun Foto Challenge: Water

Last week I was featured on Cee´s Photography – thank you so much, Cee – it’s an honour!

I have been away with my students for some days to Bohuslän, which is on the west coast of Sweden. Of course this means Water! One of the days we had the opportunity to go by boat with scientists from the University of Gothenburg to dig up animals and plants from the bottom of the sea for examination. And we had a magnificent evening by Gullmarsfjorden.

Carnival!

Lund University is one of Europe’s oldest universities. It is consistently ranked among the world’s top 100 universities and traces its roots back to 1425. Lund University has eight faculties with additional campuses in the cities of Malmö and Helsingborg, with 47,000 students.

The Lund Carnival – Lundakarnevalen…a total of 400 000 spectators in two days. I enjoyed being there again after all these years (- I believe about 35?). This time because my daughter was participating. More than 1000 students are in the parade and their inventive abilities seem to be inexhaustible…I caught only a few of them.

Even younger hat

This celebration of the arrival of Spring started in 1849 and nowadays there are three years between them. The carnival is always built on a theme, and this year it was about our future.

Having Totti at my feet (we couldn’t find a parking in the shadow) I had to move around as best I could…and, in fact I found myself enjoying the spectators inventiveness just as much as the parade itself.

 

Ese’s Weekly Shoot & Quote Challenge: Inspiration

Anne Frank once said: How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. This is something as inspirational as it is important to realize…

Inspiration är temat för Esenga denna vecka. Jag väljer att visa två bilder från Naturvetardagarna i Lund förra veckan, där forskare vid universitetet föreläser om sin forskning för studenter från hela Sverige (och deras lärare.)

Den första handlade om skogen och hållbar utveckling och den andra om att hundar och andra rovdjur faktiskt är värmesökande missiler. Forskaren fotograferade med värmekamera och kunde konstatera att den kalla nosen förmodligen används för att lokalisera bytesdjur med hjälp av den värme detta djur utstrålar. Inte bara doften skulle alltså styra rovdjuren, utan kroppsvärmen från bytet. Forskaren lyckas förmodligen bevisa detta, eftersom han till exempel redan tränat upp hundar att plocka ut den varmaste av flera uppvärmda lerkrukor.

As Ese wants to know what gives us inspiration, I immediately thought of our day in Lund last week – visiting the Science Days where lecturers at Lund University introduce science students from the whole of Sweden (and their teachers) to new scientific research. Inspirational indeed!

Here are two of them that I was fortunate enough to listen to. The first one was about trees (of course I had to listen to this one!) and sustainability, and the second one about dogs and other predators being heat-seeking missiles. They are able to track down their prey not only because of the smell, but also because of the heat the other animal is radiating. The scientist photographed the dogs and other predators in infrared, and tried to prove his theory that their noses are kept cold (using an intricate system in their heads) so that they can find their prey through feeling its heat. He was clearly going to succeed in proving this, because he had already trained dogs on heated pots – they could easily pick out the warmest pot of them.

Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.

Augustus Hare

As knowledge increases, wonder deepens.

Charles Morgan