On 11th March 2017 I was coming back from my first trip to Finland. It has been one of the best experiences I’ve had so far and in a way I could say it has been life changing.
While I was there I was in a state of complete and almost continuous amazement. I couldn’t exactly point at something in particular, as it seemed to me everything was great and extraordinary. If someone had asked me what was so great about Finland, I wouldn’t have been able to say. The nature that was close everywhere, the ice in the street (ice is usually one of the things I hate most in winter), the train, the order, the serenity, the feeling of freedom… basically everything.
I probably came across as an overly enthusiastic retard because I was so happy and in high spirits and giggling and laughing for no reason all the time (except for work meetigs. You have to be serious during work meetings). But this is the effect that trip had on me. And on top of that, I lived one of my most uplifting experiences (I wrote about it in another post) at sea in Finland.
That one week I spent there and all the related reading that followed only made me love this country even more. When I think about going to Finland, now that I know it a bit better, my enthusiasm is only slighted checked by the thought that I might not be able to get used to the harsh weather or that I might not be able to fit in (despite all my love for this country), but I also feel my heart warming up at the thought of being there, reconnected with the nature, the places, the people I know there.
I picture Finland as the Nature holding me in its arms, giving me a part in this big Universe, making me feel safe and that my existence has a meaning.
To me, Finland represents sobriety keeping to itself when there is no need for too much noise or nonsense, but letting in feelings and warmth when these have gained their part in the game. It is this cool place of badassery (yes, I’m thinking of you, Mr. Tomi Joutsen), evolution and progress. It is the stories I have read in Kalevala when the Finns were just farmers singing about the creation of the world and about how the kantele was invented, but also the companies looking for smarter ways of doing things and the innovation they brought about.
It is now 11th March 2018 and a plane is taking me to the place I hold so dear. There is no better way to celebrate this anniversary.
Life with a capital L 