Twenty twenty-two has so far been a fairly stationary and eventfull year, alas, not a very different year.

Eventfull

With eventfull I mean that I've managed to do lots of things. I add however that many of the things I've done weren't things I intended to do as per my goals. Nevertheless, they were important things, and in a way things that appear naturally as the next step. It is my belief that one should try to ride the current wave of energy and do things that come most easily to oneself, this is bound to be periodical and oscillating of course. Some highlights:

• Construction and clean-up on the house and surrounding area
• Family time and time spent with my little brother
• Living with my grandmother for two weeks on Grytøya
• Learned plenty about woodworking and on the nature of wood

The bulk of the things I've done are all related to the house and farm on Grytøya. Cleaning and setting it up as a homestead to my liking was expected to take time and it has, with still lots to go. I really believe it worthwhile though.

Stationary

With stationary I mean that I haven't moved about a whole lot. Still, I have not remained on Grytøye throughout either, as if in some old novel. I just haven't been travelling that much. I've visited:

• Oslo (the capital and the home of some good friends) mostly for work
• Tromsø (where I studied),
• and spent quite some time in Harstad (the closest city) with my family

To be honest, even with the "small-ish" amount of travelling I've been doing I would have wished to spend even more time at home on the island. I really like the idea of residing there in a focused state and then, optionally, travelling in a sprint-like, high concentration manner for some months.

Granted, quantity of travel and distance are of course notions submitted to one's perspective on movement, time and energy; Oslo is indeed quite far away in purely human terms. Only because modern technique affords "space-time compression", can we travel so far and as freely as we do.

Studies and reading

As for reading, I've "only" managed to read about 6 full books so far. This and other studies have been sacrificed for other types of tasks.

Most of my reading have been in books I have yet to complete since I'm reading many of them at a time. Books on woodworking for example don't really make sense to just read through and leave; you have to work through them. The same applies to books on physics and programming.

I realise that I' yet to strike a good balance between studies and reading, and handywork. In essence this is about establishing a system of habits that work for this new situation I'm in.

Local life, cycles and scarcity

I've reflected quite a bit on the more local life I wish to live most of the year and how it would work. I've reflected on the values that underpin such a life, things necessary for me to thrive with such a "small" existence.

I note that most small patches of good soil on Earth contains enough to keep a inquisitive human occupied for a lifetime. Seeing value is a matter of focus and vision, and not of inherent quality or essence.

With my reflections I've gained a growing curiosity for, and understanding of, local life, cycles and scarcity. For example do I appreciate the seasons more now: each one brings its own tasks, joys and hurdles.

I also realise the scarcity that arises unless one is present for all the seasons, as an example: Where I live rhubarb has to be picked first in June then optionally once more in September. From the rhubarb one can make several types of foodstuffs and conserve them so you have some for later in the year. But if I go travel during that peak 1-2 week rhubarb picking period, there's no rhubarb at all, not now, nor later. Meaning, the consequences are non-local: they extend until the rhubarb grows anew. So this kind of life is heavily tied to the cycles of growth and decay of nature.

I did of course know these things before, but feeling them and coupeling myself to them as I have begun to do now bring another level of understanding.

What remains - travelling

I'm planning on going out on one of these "travelling sprints" now in August for a couple of months. Amongst things I'm visiting friends in Europe and also taking a figure drawing course for a month in Firenze, Italy.

I'm pretty sure this is going to be very intense, intersting and draining. In November I'll likely be very happy to return to a life of routine and calm on Grytøya.

22/8  -  1/9  Vilnius, Lithuania
 2/8  -  4/9  Oslo - Harvest Festivalen (festival)
 5/9  - 11/9  Troyes & Reims & Paris
12/9  - 25/9  Girona & Barcelona
26/9  -  1/10 Cagliari, Sardinia
 2/10 - 30/10 Firenze, Italy
31/10 -  ?/?  Girona & Barcelona & Finland & anywhere...