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When I’m Gone August 13, 2009

Filed under: Johanna Nilsson,Loving Life — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 7:02 am

120_2050 I have received two sad news today.

A student peer of mine got assassinated in Sweden in front of his two-year-old son.

My friends grandpa passed away unexpectedly leaving his wife behind after 68 years together.

In memory and honor of those, and sympathy and support for the ones left behind, I am sharing a poem that touched me at the memorial service in loving memory of my friend’s husband who also recently passed away.

When I’m Gone

When I’m gone from our side,
And all our tears have been dried…
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints of snow;
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn’s rain.

When you awaken in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at nigh.

And when you stroll in the evening hours
And smell the aroma of beautiful flowers;
There’ll be no need to sob and cry…
I am not there, I did not die!

– Mary Elizabeth Frye –

Here is the Japanese translation:

千の風になって(A Thousand Winds)

私のお墓の前で泣かないでください
そこに私はいません眠ってなんかいません
千の風に千の風になって
あの大きな空を吹きわたっています
秋には光になって畑にふりそそぐ
冬はダイヤのようにきらめく雪になる
朝は鳥になってあなたを目覚めさせる
夜は星になってあなたを見守る
私のお墓の前で泣かないでください
そこに私はいません死んでなんかいません
千の風に千の風になって
あの大きな空を吹きわたっています
千の風に千の風になって
あの大きな空を吹きわたっています
あの大きな空を吹きわたっています

Take really good care of yourselves.

Johanna

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Welcome Home! August 7, 2009

Filed under: coaching,Inspiration,Loving Life — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 7:48 am
Tags: Loving Life, welcome home

AUSSI0020 Just a reflection from having traveled far recently. To have someone waiting for you at the airport with open arms, a warm hug, a smile and the words “welcome home” – it is such a treat.

Being used to taking care of myself, getting a ride to and from the airport was something that I never even asked for. Having experienced it though, makes me realize how much it means.

So what does it take? A question! “Would you mind picking me up at the airport?” It could be a quick ride over for a colleague or a friend. It could be your family members or partner who would long to see you and do what ever it takes to be there. That is my mom – and it really makes me feel loved and longed for.

I know I am not the only one not wanting to bother others by asking for help – so now I will ask: Would you want a ride from the airport? Who would you want to be picked up by at the airport? [Ask them!] Or whom could you treat today by giving them a ride to or from the airport? [Go do it!] Count on me – I’ll do what I can to make it.

Share the flight info, date and time so that all involved can check for delays or changes and plan their time accordingly. It makes it so much easier and hazel free, and the likelihood that someone will do it again is so much higher should there be changes.

If you are traveling and have no one to ask, or no one available – read this:

WELCOME HOME!

Johanna

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Fine, Fair and Hot August 4, 2009

Filed under: Inspiration,Johanna Nilsson,Loving Life — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 9:56 pm
Tags: Enjoy, Experience life fully, food, hot, Loving Life

Fine, Fair and Hot – that was the weather forecast in Croatia last week when I had the privilege to join the crew on Geja sailing. Thank you Andrew and Henkku for an awesome week together!

The sailing adventure in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea was fine in every which way. Beautiful sceneries, excellent sailing, high quality crewmembers, and fine dining… on board. It’s such a pleasure to sail with someone who makes every meal to a feast – breakfast, lunch or dinner. Actually – not only when you sail. And I don’t think that attitude only relates to food. It is an attitude about life, to enjoy. I like. I guess I teamed in to add what I could as well.

P1010486

P1010364

P1010471

Of course – the treatment of flags was fair. “You must respect the flag!” both the Finnish girl and myself said seriously in chorus and pointed with our fingers as if “don’t you dare do anything else”, and then laughed. This was evidently something both of us had been brought up with – the flag should be raised at 7am, and taken down before sunset (9pm at the latest), it must not touch the ground, and should be neatly folded. Yes, there are flag rules to follow. What I didn’t know was that on a boat, the country flags of the crew members had to be at the same level, otherwise the upper one would be seen as more superior. So of course – we followed. The fact that the Swedish flag was torn was a different story…

Everything was hot. The weather was hot, the red wine was hot, the beach was hot – and so was the crew…

P1010376 The Ibiza of Croatia - Plaza Zersie

P1010493 P1010508

At work today I waved and tried to make contact with a couple of colleagues in the cafe at lunch. They looked at me from a distance, but they did not react. I waved more and starred at them. They did not react. They didn’t recognize me! Is three weeks away that long!? Or does a little bit of suntan make THAT big of a difference? Eventually they came over and shockingly said, “You look different”. Anyway – someone told me that a suntan makes everyone look more attractive, so I hope it is for the better. 😉

By the way – on a slightly different note – having learnt the expression “pun” during the sailing I was curious what I could find and googled it. This was the first picture that came up:

clipped from www.cambridgenow.ca

Ha! He could have been in an ad! Because that was exactly what the Swedish company Electrolux meant during their UK campaign in the 1960’s, right!?

clipped from www.crazy-media.se

No?! Maybe this was a malapropism… Someone though who was full of puns and knew exactly what he was saying – or singing – was (still is) Robban Broberg with Båtlåt (Boat Song).

I am sorry – I won’t translate, and haven’t found an attempt to online – it’s just simply beautiful and as ingenious as can be. I wish I were sitting in the same boat as him…

Johanna

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Dandy Dandelion July 24, 2009

Filed under: Inspiration,Johanna Nilsson,Loving Life — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 7:48 pm
Tags: action, IKEA, Joy, Loving Life, Maskros

The last brushstroke got done on my own little summerhouse (for now). It’s beautiful. Such a treat. I am enjoying every second in it. Right now I am hearing the rain pouring, the wind blowing and the waves from the bay. It’s pitch dark outside – strange in the middle of the summer in Sweden. Must be the clouds of course. And it’s midnight.

I have given this little house different nicknames. Pärlan (the pearl) and Smultronstället (Wild Strawberry Place) in particular. After having assembled the lamp “Maskros” from IKEA today, which became the “dot over the i” (the finishing touch which makes something perfect) in the glass room outside the 10 square meter house overlooking the bay, it was clear: the name of this place will be given after the lamp. Dandelion. Dandy Dandelion.

The meaning of Maskros will never be the same again.

Johanna

clipped from www.ikea.com

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3 Swedish Radio Hits July 23, 2009

Filed under: Inspiration,Johanna Nilsson,Loving Life,Yoga — Johanna C. Nilsson @ 4:23 am

I heard a discussion about vacations on the radio the other day. The lady who was interviewed always went for reading vacations to a sunny beach with a carry on suitcase filled with books. That way she could experience everything under the sun that she wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. My vacation so far has more been like a work camp with gourmet food and great company, or … yoga retreat. I have listened a lot to the radio, and there are three hits that seem to reoccur constantly:

1. I’m in love in a fairy tale by Alexander Rybak. I guess there is no secret that all Swedes secretly love the Eurovision Song Contest. This years winning song from Norway goes warm on the radio all day long. Last week when the singer Alexander performed at the Allsång på Skansen (Sing Along at Skansen) in Stockholm it also seemed like all Swedish girls are in love in a certain Norwegian fairy tail…

2. Hope and Glory with Måns Zelmerlöw, the Swedish counterpart who apparently also competed with this song in the Swedish Song Contest, but didn’t quite make it to first place. “Don’t stop – I’m still standing for hope and glory, I’ll be fighting for my love story, I’m still standing for hope and glory now. All the battles I lost and the battles I won, this will be the one, this will be the one…” Looking at youtube I find that also Måns apeared at the Sing Along at Skansen – this video made me laugh out loud – it shows more how a classical catchy “schlager” song would be back in the days when I would have recorded the program, written down all the lyrics, learned the choreography and dreamt of winning the contest (and that is a looong time ago… – still dreaming though 😉 ). See here for the 3rd and more soft version:

3. Radio ad for Bauhaus – I can do it myself. Or is it that they talk about the ads for Bauhaus and make parody of the painted idyll picture and a comparison of the families and couples who dogged maintain their summerhouses because they should be able to do it themselves… This week my mom and I have done it ourselves. I found myself standing in a backbend leaning out of the window towards the water grabing in the windowframe inside in order not to fall out, reaching higher, stretching my other arm, raising up in relevé in order to paint the whole area on the facade above the window and under the roof. The pose made me think of my yoga teacher back in San Francisco, Rusty Wells. I heard his voice, as he often state when we are in the more advanced unfomfortable poses: “if I took a photo of you now and sent to your mother she should not be afraid that you were dying – SMILE!” So I smiled. And my mom took a photo. If this had been at a yoga retreat they would have called it karma yoga, I’m sure.

This was a litle report from Sweden, or as they say on the radio show from Minnesota: “the land where the men are beautiful, the women are strong, and all children above average”…

Johanna

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