It’s Transition Time – again!

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Peter

So it’s transition time again. This family is pretty familiar with that. It’s nothing serious, but still. So we bought a new house today. Unlike many other countries this is not a lengthy process at all. Perhaps you’re used to a house being put up for sale. Then you have to find it in an ad or something. Find a realtor to represent you. Make an arrangement with the owner to see the house. And so on. Can take a while to sell the house.

Not so in this market. House is put up for “show” for two days, one hour each day. If you want to have a look, you have to come then.
The day after the last showing of the house the bidding starts.

So the last showing was yesterday evening, we put in our first bid at 10 am. 12.15pm we had bought the house. There we at some time during the process 5 bidders, few in the end only two. The other folks gave in and the house is ours.

So we have to move in two and a half months’ time. We have moved before so we’re pretty used to it. Since 2007 when we sold our house, this will be out 7th move. It’s time to settle down for a while.

So this means we have a new house, new neighbors and so on. But we’re only moving 150 yards from where we live now. Isn’t that fantastic. We still have to move all our stuff. We’re still moving to something new. The kids will stay in the same schools, though. Much to their relief.

So now we’re house owners again, not merely leasing a house. Been there before so we’re not completely unfamiliar with the situation. It’s great to be back where we belong.

It’s still a transition.

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The Art of Unloading – Or How to Empty a Backpack.

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Peter

It is said that God will never put on your shoulders more than you can bear. Every now and then I see and think that even though God does not do that, we do. We put so much stuff on our own shoulders that we cannot stand upright. And probably blame God.

We’re good at loading. We’re pretty bad at unloading. That seems in a way to be man’s fate. We’re probably hunters and collectors. We fill up our backpack with all sorts of “things” and continue long after it’s full. If we’re not unloading any stuff at any time this backpack will burst.

Oh, that’s a good thing you may say. No it’s not, because it is uncontrolled, and you don’t know what might happen. With you and those around you. Your work. Your health. For all practical purposes it is at any time best your backpack has more room for new experiences, excitements and so on. This means you have to unload. You have to let go of certain things all the way through your life. It’s the only way you can move forward. It’s the only way you can grow. Add new knowledge, new experiences, prosper. To move forward in life, you have to let go.

There is no golden rule of what you should let go of, or let go of first and so on. What is burdening you the most? Perhaps that’s a good place to start.

Unloading stuff; that’s a sort of transition. Moving on. Growing. That’s how life should be. Bring along only the experiences and knowledge that’s necessary to enjoy the moment and to thrive into the future.

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Libya’s Long and Winding Transition Road

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Peter

I’ve just recently been to Israel on vacation. But this is a country and area that is so full of history and conflict that’s it is not possible to be just on vacation without taking in some of the tense energies that always surround you.

I have earlier written about the books of Moses, the Tora as the Jews would say, how it took Moses three days to get the Israelis out of Egypt but it took them 40 years to get Egypt out the Israelis.

We’re experiencing an Arab spring, and Thursday Ghadafi was captured and executed. In that respect it will be interesting to see how the liberators will treat Ghadafi’s supporters. Will they go after them or will it be a Mandela inspired process of reconciliation? I hope for the latter, but we must remember it takes agreement on both sides to go through with that. That’s the first milestone.

The interesting thing is how long will it take before wounds are healed; the dictatorship, the fear, uncertainty and so on. It has been said and it’s probably right, also in the respect of the Israelis 40 years in the desert, that it will take the Russians three generations to get rid of all the scars of communism. These days that’s about 90 years. So for those that are young enough and can live to tell, it will be interesting to follow the process in Libya, as in Egypt and Tunisia and other Arab countries, but also Russia and other ex Soviet countries. In that region we’re almost done with the first generation, two more to go.

I lived in the Republic of Georgia during a short time of the first decade after the fall of the USSR,and quite a few people missed the Soviet times. Hard to understand for one who has grown up in a democracy, but transitions from dictatorship to democracy are tough and the limbo period is long. About three generations. So understandably those going through the transition with no or little hope to experience the new beginning will ask if it is worth it. It is, for future generations. Always remember that.

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All It Takes is a Little Spark

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Peter

It’s amazing what a tiny spark can do
It can start a fire that warms you (or your soul)
Or it can also ignite something mighty to reach for the stars
There are even sparks you can’t see that allow to to be who you are today
You can also be that spark
For your children
For your business
For the world
For yourself
Because all it takes is a little spark -
Whose spark will YOU be?

The Spark Movie

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More Exodus – why?

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Peter

What did they do in the desert, “rambling” around for all these years? Good question. Not that I think anyone felt the trip was for pleasure, rather, as always it was for a meaning. Funny that, there are no coincidences. Just look at nature, it is all planned and systematic. As I wrote in the post Exodus some time back, they needed to clear their minds. They were slaves destined to become leaders in their own land. That requires a shift. That takes time. Not necessarily 40 years, but it takes time.

So it is with us as well. So often we carry on the slave mentality instead of giving time to let go and move on. We have a hard time to forgive: divorces, pink slips, family affairs, unfair treatment by the authorities, lack of care at hospitals, gossip by people we thought were friends, and so we can go on making the list infinite.

So often we go on hating or bearing grudge against someone or someone’s wrongdoing or something we think is unfair. But we have to let go, we have to let go of that feeling. If not it’s detrimental. Think you carry a back pack that you fill up with all sorts of experiences and feelings. You just keep filling it up. Either it will be too heavy to carry at a point or it will be too voluminous and at one time burst all together.

So we have to let go, to unload some some of our baggage.

Oftentimes the exercise for unloading baggage is called forgiving. Other times it can be some time of solitude just to think matters over, empty your mind in a way, thinking is it worth it to carry on with this grudging or hating? There is only one paying the prize: You.

As with the Israelis in the desert, if they’d gone direct from Egypt to the promised land they would never have made it. They were slaves. They had to unload the slave mentality, they had to forgive the Pharaohs for bad treatment over the years.

So with us, we have to unload the grudge, the hate or whatever is plaguing us. It is the key to personal growth, moving on a fulfilling life.

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