Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

The Future.

Among Marta's school books I found a piece of paper written by one of her friends. The paper had the title "The Future", and was a piece of dreams written by a 10 year old girl, living in a suburb in a city of Norway.

"I believe that in 15 years I will be living in a beautiful house in Norway. I will have a cat and kittens. I have recently been educated as a confectioner and in my spare time I am an artist and a scout leader..........or I will live in a luxury flat in Paris, I am recently educated and I am a pop star. My luxury flat has three bubble baths and many balconies with servants.......or I am a designer, working with pop stars, I will have a nice future and I am richest in the world"

These three different sceneries gave me alot of thoughts. What are we passing forward to our kids, what kind of dreams for the future are we giving them? Does happiness have to be connected with money and career, or is happiness to be found elsewhere? Often we think the future is at the end of the rainbow, in the pot of gold hidden there. How can we teach future generations that happiness is something in us, something which can be hold here, right now......not somewhere at the end of the rainbow. But under the rainbow, the sign of hope for our world, just doing the simple, though always perfect, act of living.

The photos are from autumn 2003 when Marta and I hiked our favorite mountain near our cabin.

Violet dinner.

One of the reasons why I spent a week in the monastery was to work on a book I am writing about Lent and Lental traditions in Norway. The book will be printed in August, so now is the time to finish the writing before starting the challenging task to find illustrations.

In one of the chapters in the book I describe a Lent calendar. I use the seven colours of the rainbow, giving each of the seven weeks of lent its own colour. And every week get a recipe to mirror its colour.

On Friday, my last day at Tautra, I spent the morning reading Victoria Finlay's book Colours, and its chapter violet, and my mind was working hard - how could I ever come up with a recipe for the colour violet? The morning went fast (Finlay's book is a great read) and soon it was time for midday prayer and then dinner. Friday was a special feast in the Cictercian order, the day they celebrate their founders, and for several days the nuns and Father Anthony had given me hints about a very special dinner. Usually they live very simple, most dinners consisting of vegetables only, so my anticipation was high. I even almost forgot about the violet recipe which had been spinning on in my mind.......untill sister Sheryl brought in the food:

Lamb and purple potatoes! Angels were playing :-)

You will find more photos and more about this dinner over at The Blue Café.

Britt-Arnhild's House in the Snow

Where generations lived and loved.

The house is abandoned, but when I came here it told me a story of generations living and loving. Most days were hard work, but there was also room for joy and happiness; a grandmother weaving stories of far away life to her little grandson, a mother giving birth, a young man bringing his new wife to the beautiful red house close to the sea, a mother awake during the night waiting for her husband to come home from fishing, a father teaching his son to harvest. Summer, winter, prime, old age.

The house will not stand much longer. One day a winterstorm will be too strong. And memories of life and love will fade.

But the house was there when I came, and it offered me bits and pieces of its lived life, of its lived love. The house willfall apart, but memories will live. In the wind blowing, in the waves dancing, in hearts beating, in hands writing, in people aound the world reading.

I found this homestead during one of my walks at Tautra. A beautiful memorial of life.

Search the Light and you shall find it!

Tautra is a small island in the Trondheim Fjord, and one of my goals for my stay was to take long everyday walks. The last day the wind and the blizzard was too heavy for me, so I just watched nature through the windows, but the other days I had long walks, in snow, in rain and in sun.

Islands, the sea and  the tide have always fascinated me, and at Tautra I found it all. And I found more. If I should walk only by the roads I would have walked them all the first day, so I decided to search other places to go as well, which led me through virgin snow and out on the wetlands. Tautra is on the Ramsar Convention list on Wetlands, and there were birds everywhere, even now in winter. I walked out to bird tower, feeling that I and the birds were the only living creatures in creation.

Threads are gathered to keep on knitting life.

Monday morning my oldest son drove me to the monastery, this afternoon my second son came to take me home again. It felt like a blessing to have both my sons there and made me keep my family close during the whole week.

A week in a monastery, quile alone, only meeting the 7 nuns living there during prayers, and eating dinner with Father Anthony and a young man working in the monastery for a year, the rest of the 24 hours of every day, my only company was myself, my prayers, my books and my writing, my long walks in a beautiful winter landscape. A new experience for me, a blessed experience. And threads were gathered for a colourful shein which will be used in the continuing knitting of my life, right in the middle of my dear family.

The days at Tautra monastery have been important, and I will probably share alot from them in days and weeks to come. Today only a short glimpse and a photo showing what met me every morning on my way to the first prayes. Thanks for comments during my absent week, Torgeir, son#1 posted them for me.

Silent Retreat 4

Be a smooth way before me, be a guiding star above me, be a keen eye behind me, this day, this year, for ever. (Ray Simpson)

Silent Retreat 3

Lord, help me to relax into your plan for me. Unfold it for me as the acorn unfolds into the oak. (Ray Simpson)

Silent Retreat 2

Go before us in our pilgrimage of life. Anticipate our needs, prevent our falling, and lead us to our destiny. (Ray Simpson)

Silent Retreat 1

Holy Three, help me to live at the still centre of the world's whirring wheels where everything is led by you. (Ray Simpson - Lindisfarne)