A miracle

A couple of days ago, my car thermometer showed -34 C when I was on my way to pick up some fresh groceries. This is very cold even for someone like me and should be treated with respect. A car breakdown in the middle of nowhere can be dangerous. I was driving in my snowmobile clothes, with an extra jacket in the back, just in case. Nothing dramatic happened. While driving in my air-conditioned home cinema on four wheels in weather conditions that start to resemble another planet, I couldn’t stop thinking about how unbelievably grateful I am for pretty much everything. The planet does its best to kill me every single day, especially so during the insane cold, and still, I can go about my day without issues, in comfort that kings of the past could not even dream about. Honestly, it is a miracle that anything works at all. And not only that, but it also works really well too, for the most part. This is clearly something to be grateful for.

DiaryRikard ÖqvistJanuary 9, 2024winter, cold, grateful, countrylifeComment

It started with a Gut feeling

A couple of years ago, I had a strong gut feeling that something bad was going to happen. Something really bad, and I told my wife that “we have to get out of here”. We had to get away from our nice apartment in the city and settle down in a house in the countryside. That gut feeling should not be dismissed. It has never failed me. Unfortunately, I have never been so right about anything in my whole life. Out here, in our new home – nothing, and I mean NOTHING has changed since 2019. A solid foundation keeps you sane.

PhilosophyRikard ÖqvistDecember 14, 2021gut feeling, countrylife, covidComment

Everything changes, everything stays the same

Social interaction while wearing a face mask is kind of like joining an online meeting without enabling your camera. Even though the eyes communicate a very large part, probably most, of our message, it just feels extremely awkward to me. There is so much information lost with the subtle facial expressions and especially the smile. I do not like it at all. That’s why I am grateful to my past self that I listened to my gut feeling some years ago. My gut told me that we had to get out of town and move to the countryside, as soon as humanly possible. Which we did. Out here everything is exactly the same pre- and post-Covid. Nothing has changed. Mother Nature does her thing regardless of what goes on in the human world. It is a blessing to be reminded of that every single day. She is my immovable, solid foundation to which my life is anchored.

PhilosophyRikard ÖqvistMarch 29, 2021nature, virus, news, lifestyle, countrylifeComment

Build your Ark before the storm

We had a storm last week; the worst one I can remember. I had read the forecast and knew that it was about to rain a lot, but I did not notice the wind prediction. I was just expecting a very wet day. Monday came, it was mostly business as usual. However, as I was working, I heard a noise from outside. It was my little façade flagpole that snapped and was thrown to the ground by the wind. Shortly thereafter the power was cut. I realized that I need to go and get my son from kindergarten ASAP, because when darkness falls it could turn ugly. When I stepped outdoors a gust of wind threw my off my feet. The winds were approaching 30 m/s. I got in my car and drove off but I was quickly stopped by a fallen tree blocking the road. And I could see more fallen trees behind it. We were isolated.

Philosophy, HabitsRikard ÖqvistNovember 7, 2020storm, neighbors, community, ark, countrylife, chainsaw, prepper, preparation, relationshipComment