Half Empty or Half Full / Puoliksi Tyhjä vai Puoliksi Täysi

Kumputunturi, Lapland

It starts to grow between the trees

Fist you see only climbses

Then the forest opens up

And there stands the mountain

In front of you

And above you

There is nothing around it to challenge it's height

It stands there alone

581 meters from the sea level

Reaching the clouds

If there is a treeline at it's sides

It's so far down

It vanishes to the forest itself

Before the mountain even starts to rise from the ground

North facing side is a little bit easier

Little bit more approacable

And from there goes a little path all the way up

The view from the top is amazing

Terrain is really rough

Just rocks and some more rocks

And so for

Nothing to block the view

Nothing to block the wind

That hits you from every direction

In the middle of this emptiness

On the highest point stands a little cottage

In the past

The cottage has belong to the fireguard

Whom has been sitting here

Guarding and watching

Ready to spot the wildfires

Hard to imagine his life

Living alone

On top of the mountain

Just himself, wind and stars to keep him company

We imagine this

Sitting in the fireguards lookout hut

Waiting for coffee to boil

Coloring a life to the thoughts

Of this place in winter time

How it would be here under the starry sky

Northern lights dancing above us

How it would be if you would get stuck in a snow storm

How you would sit in the cottage

Wrapped in blankets

Sipping hot chocolate in candle light

And listen how the wind roars around you

We wonder how it is

That even so the scenery is rough and empty

It is still so full of life and wonders

Only limitations are in your own imagination

And how wonderful it feels

Here in the middle of the beautiful emptiness

To share your thoughts

The moment

And a cup of coffee

With an other living soul

Keeping Up With the Relationships / Ihmissuhteiden Ylläpidosta

An old friend of mine send me a message

Asking how I was doing

When answering

He explained me

That he was testing how many would answer

How many of his old friends were interested of keeping up the connection

This made me wonder

What is this that prevents us keeping up the connection?

I know myself

I'm lousy at keeping up with my friends

I won't call so often or send message just to ask how they are doing

And my friends know this too

Obviously

I simply feel home by myself

I have always somethings going on

I manage to fill my days with all kind of little things I'm interested of

And even without trying
Honestly

I'm rarely bored

But sometimes it feels lonely too

Not seeing anybody in several days

In the other hand people often also contact me

So my need of connection to other people will fill

Of course those whom do not contact me and wait me to contact will suffer

Years ago I decided to change this behavior

I wanted to be in more connection with the people

Whom had left some kind of mark in my soul during my life

People whom meant something to me

I made a New Years promise

That once a week

I would ask at least one friend to have a coffee with me

And at least once a week

I would ask one far distance friend how he or she was doing

Well

Like all New Year promises

Some weeks I have been able to remember this promise

And some weeks not

What made me forget?

The everyday life

Our days are so full of all kind of little things

That some weeks it feels impossible to find time to have one cup of coffee with a friend

We have time to do the laundry

To read a book

To prepare a meal

Hang out in socialmedia

Worry about the future

Blame oneself about the past

Make deep analyzes why our romantic relationships with men/women are doomed

A lot of time for the little things

That make us say outloud

Oh, I would love to, but I don't have time

But after all

There is always time

Because time is an illusion

Time is an excuse

It is all about prioritizing your time

For what do you want use your time

In nearby relationships

With people whom are somehow related to your everyday life

This is easier

Yes, I can do the dishes later and have a cup of coffee with you today

But with long distance relationships it's harder

You remember the people

How could you even forget them

They have been important part of your everyday life at some point

You will always carry a memory of that time in your heart

And they pop up from deep of your minds memory boxes time to time

When some happening reminds you of them

Or some song, smell, feeling or material thing

In that moment you think of them

Wonder how they are doing and say to yourself

Yes, I need to call them or write a letter

And in the next moment
When the cat is meowing for supper

Or the pasta is boiling over

The thought of calling or writing a letter will vanish from your mind

As suddenly as it had came

I would love to say to myself that I will do better in the future

But I'm also little bit afraid

That I won't manage to keep up my promise to myself this time either

But again if I won't even try

I will never know

And those connections to long distance relationships

That are surviving only with the memory of past time

Will little by little faint away

On the other hand
Some people are only meant to briefly pass by in our life

They will give us something memorable

Guide us to new direction

Give us strength to carry on

And we will always remember them  for that

But maybe they felt it different

Maybe for them it was only a passing moment among others

You never know

What the future holds

But by keeping up with the relationships that mean something to you

You will find out

Which ones are the ones

Meant to last

I encourage you to write or call to somebody dear to you

Just to ask how he or she is doing

And listen them when they tell you

Be present for them

Show them he or she matters

On a Lo Fotr / Ilveksen Käpälällä

Lofoten, Norway

Everybody is talking about it

At least everybody somehow related to outdoor life

So when they asked me

Do you wanna hop on a car and go for an adventure

I said YES

And this is how

I ended up exploring these famous islands

If you ask me

What comes to my mind when you say 'Norway'

The answer would be

Mountains

Sea

Vikings

Not necessarily in that order

I was amazed the first time I visited Norway few years ago

How come there was this beautiful land

With magnified mountains and fjords

Just next to my country and I have never visited there

Well, I partly blame my parents

Whom always on holidays took us to the southern Europe

But it's ok

They are not winter people

Although both of them have been born in middle of the winter

But anyway

Finnish Lapland was the most north they felt they needed to go

And ofcourse it's way more cheaper to drive to Spain with four kids

Than travel to Norway with them

Norway?

No-way!

 Now

On my third trip to this land full of wonders

I'm still amazed

I can't get rid of the question in my mind

Why do people wan't to travel all the way to New Zealand

When you have all the same possibilities here in Northern Europe

But of course it's a matter of preferences

2 hours in a plane

Or 22 hours in a plane
(Or in my case 12 hours in a car)

I have always loved water

It's one of the most multiple elements in this world

It can be salt or fresh

Calm or rapid

Strong and unstoppable

Or light mist

As a clouds that grab the mountain peaks

When frozen

It covers everything in it's protecting white blanket

It's the power of life

Without it 

There wouldn't be any

And finally
The sea and the mountain shore villages
Brings us to the vikings
That horribly violent fighter folk
With their mystical life
Between the giants and the goods

Despite all the violense

I admire them

They found a way to habit the rough mountain shores

They cultivated the land where they could

And took what was them by the rights of the strongest one

They respect their free women

And as men also women lead them to victorious battles

Can't but admire them

Now days the viking life styles lives mainly in museums

And among people whom keep up memory of their society

It is important to understand where we come from

Acknowledge the wisdom that has been there for thousands of years before us

And I think Norwegians whom have been successfully inhabited this rough land

Have that wisdom in their blood

It's strong in their roots

Knowing all this

Standing on a shore of the great sea

Surrounded by mountains

That has been here way before me

And will be here long after me

I can feel this deep peace inside me

Rising up from my roots on this earth

Roots stronger and older than my words to describe them

It's a deep feeling of belonging

And I know it deep in my soul and heart

I need to come here again

Pssst!

Here you can find the stories from my first adventure to Norway

Nordkapp - There and Back Again part1

Nordkapp - There and Back Again part2

Time for Everything / Kaikella on Aikansa

After all the chaos

When everything shorts out

World around you is in it's perfect place

In perfect harmony

Your whole life flows to the right direction

One pleasant and exiting surprise follows an other

When you wouldn't change a thing

Then

You start the worrying

When does it all end

When comes the first beat

Of the collapse

Why

Am I having all this good

Did I deserve it

Is it away from somebody else

Are you allowed to feel happiness

To enjoy

They say

That when everything is good

When you'r safe and sound in your life

Then comes the old demons

Those whom are buried so deep inside your mind

That you don't probably even know they exist

They live in the deep wounds of your mind

Where is dark

Where you wouldn't wanna go

Ever

But

When your mind decides it is time

When it decides you'r ready

When the moment is right

The wounds open

And reveal the darkness inside

Releases the demons of your past

This all happens without you knowing

Your mind doesn't send you a note

"Hey, btw I'm planning to do this now..."

No

You know it

When you find yourself

On a peaceful evening

Wondering all the good

All the perfect things in your life

And feel sad

Without any obvious reason

And you blame yourself

For being ungrateful bitch

For not being able to enjoy

Wondering

What the fuck is wrong with you

In this place

In this state of mind

Be the loving adult for yourself

Wrap your arms around you

With love and compassion

Ask yourself

What's wrong my dear

Why are you so sad

And then

Listen to yourself

Listen what you have to say

Don't blame

Don't undermine

Be there

Be present

Listen

And maybe

By showing your love

You can help yourself

Heal the wounds

Let them grow scars

Telling your story

The things you have survived

The things that have made you strong

The Castle Mountain / Linnavuori

Ikoinniemi, Savonlinna

For a long time I have been looking this place on a map

The Castle Mountain

Actually just one of them

There is about 90 places in Finland called as Castle Mountain

Seven of them here in Southern Savo

Some of them have actually served as Iron Age fortresses

Lookout places for enemies

At some of the places they have found evidences about this

But some of the places have just the name

I visited one of these Castle Mountains

Here in Ikoniemi there is no evidence about ancient fortress being here

But for my opinion this has been a perfect lookout place 

The dirt road was so small and curvy

That I was really glad to have my new adventure partner  with me

This being my 4wd car

I just love it

The "parking area" was just a small wider spot by the road

And the path that was supposed to start from the "parking area"

Was so unused that I couldn't find it at first

It had been taken over by the Lilys of the valley

Nice

This kinda places I like

The hidden gems

 It was super hot summer day

I love the smell of the pine tree forests

They smell like home

Like a childhood summers

It's so quiet and peaceful

Only the Whooper swans disagree

At the nearby bay there is some kind of swan mayhem going on

National bird of Finland negotiating who was on that bay first
I would see this noise as a part
Of this kinda national and cultural view

Like Common Gull or Arctic Loon

I try to step carefully on the super dry lichen
Which seems to grow everywhere here
Funny plants these liches
On  rainy day they are like sponges
Soft and elastic
And now in this sudden heatwave
They are crispy and crunchy
And break easily

I also record that
It has been way too long sense my last adventure
Should remember to do this more often
Refill my batteries
Enjoy the moment

I didn't find either any signs about the Iron Age Fortress being here
Two stone piles on the top
Turn out to be some thing that tourists and visitors make when they visit here
It's apparently common to bring your own stone to the pile
I just wonder why so many people carry stones with them?
And I was thinking if the binoculars are too heavy to take with
Jeesus

Definitely worth visiting

Like so many places are

Now I just want to find those six other Castle Mountains

But that's a matter of some other day