On Having a Vision

Sometimes it can take time to be clear...

A stunning vision | Rockelstad Castle, Sweden, June 2024 | Photo by Lisa

We are living a life that’s a little different, my husband and I. We’ve paired back. Simplified. Embarked on a great experiment.

The experiment we’re now living in was a shared vision when we first met. The idea that we could travel and live in other places whilst still working was a dream we both loved.

Fast forward seven or so years and it’s now a reality. I’m writing this to remind myself that if you have a vision, you can make it happen—I feel like I need that reminder right now.

In our quest for a more simplified and less stressful life, we’ve made some changes:

1. Started respective online businesses

2. Set up home offices

3. Gotten rid of our car

4. Invested in electric motors for our bicycles (called Zipforce)

5. Signed up for a Home Exchange site where we can either swap houses/apartments or get guest points to use in houses and apartments all over the world

6. Tried out living in Australia for 4 months

Number One started as the result of some painful realisations that normal jobs were slowly draining us. Modern life can be brutal. We have these devices that everyone has and is constantly connected. The “rules” and guidelines are very fuzzy and work has bled into home in ways that slowly deplete us. Getting calls from parents who know me on Messenger (as a relief teacher after being in their kid’s class!) is a sharp reminder that not everyone has boundaries. Any job that has you in contact with the public in any way can become a soup of angry, aggressive people contacting you whenever they feel the urge, in whatever manner they see fit, to ease their anger and frustration, with no thought to the human being on the other end of their tirade.

This is simply not sustainable.

So we took a leap—of faith, hope and necessity. Both of us decided to follow a similar (yet different) path of building something of our own. My idea—to build a mindful space for people to explore, grow and flourish—has seen me on the rollercoaster that’s being an entrepreneur. Flourish Mind & Body is a space that I’m constantly working on. A space where I show up as me, with my years of teaching and mentoring experience, of life experience, to share mindful ways of living and being in a world that can be very fast-paced and pretty heavy at times. Where people can create, and find creativity, to calm their nervous systems, connect with themselves and develop healthy, kind, and loving connections with others.

It’s a work in progress but one I’m excited about.

Number Two was needed if we were working from home. Having a space of one’s own is super important. Symbolically, it gives your project or business, value. If you’re keeping everything to do with your business in a box under the dining table (yes…that was me—read more here), then you’re sending out the message that your business or project isn’t of value.

We both have dedicated workspaces now. They both fit well in our 70 sqm apartment and make us feel good, but we can also pack up and travel without too much hassle. Win-win!

Number Three has worried people more than it’s worried us. People’s shock when we tell them we sold our car is interesting. We figure that working from home and living in the centre of town where everything is walking or cycling distance, reducing costs by not having a car is a no-brainer. Especially as a few weeks after we got back from Australia, a car-sharing service started up here. We can rent a car by the minute!

We also have several people who have said we can borrow their car if we need it. We show appreciation by filling it with fuel. I like the idea of a society that shares things more—we all have things at home that we barely use or use once or twice a year. For us, a car has been one of those. The public transport here isn’t fabulous, but it’s cheap, and the cycling paths are amazing, so right now, not having a car works.

Which leads me to…

Number Four. In our quest for simplification and downsizing, we found an excellent (and cheaper) alternative to buying new electric bikes: a retro-fit electric motor! Our Zipforce electric bike motors are great! (FYI we aren’t affiliated.) We now both have e-bikes without having to buy whole new bikes (because: waste & cost). We have little trailers for our bikes, and hubby is even delivering Meals on Wheels (for the local Red Cross—it’s not called Meals on Wheels here). He’s been super-creative and built a little frame for the trailer to fit the boxes the food is delivered in. With the electric motor, it takes only a little longer than a car with the bonus of exercise. (Perhaps this won’t work in winter but we’ll deal with that when winter arrives.)

I’m amazed at how easy it is, with that little extra help up hills it means I can go further and longer. (Also very glad my frozen shoulder has healed enough that I can hold the handle of my bike!)

Number Five is a genius move. There’s a great site you can join where you swap houses (called Home Exchange) Instead of paying for accommodation when you travel, you can swap directly with someone else (yes, that means your house is someone’s accommodation too) or get guest points for them staying at yours to use somewhere else. I only knew about it because my dad and his partner did it for years and had great fun. We’ve had our first two lots of guests here, with a few more to come, and are looking forward to planning a trip to the UK for an extended period later in the year.

Number Six has been and gone and we learned what to do better for next time (because there’ll be a next time). I wrote about it in real-time.

Welcoming in a New Year

Having some space, distance and time for reflection has been valuable, particularly as we head into new plans and the second half of 2024.

So where to now…

In my writing of this, my reflections on our vision and where we are heading, I also reflected on how my writing habits have changed. This newsletter came out of my desire to build an audience and write. I was unsure of what and how (read my very first Northern Notes here from November 2019) included an update of my writing on another platform (read that here). I’ve written 75 newsletters, or whatever these are, since November 2019. I wrote through lockdown, through many seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter), when travelling, and for milestones.

I can’t say I’ve been regular at sending out these missives. You’ve joined a rather spasmodic Substack, in Northern Notes. It tracks the ebb and flow of my creativity, I guess. And there was never a clear vision for what this space would look like.

But now I’ve seen it. From now on, you’ll be getting a monthly newsletter, sent on (or around—because I still love a little flexibility) the 15th of each month. It will be on life and my ponderings in this northern Nordic place. Just as it has been. But monthly instead of sporadically.

I have an idea, you see, another part of Flourish Mind & Body: another publication. One for the Queenagers of the world (you know who you are!), a publication about being mindful and being awesome. Of stepping into the Queenager energy but with balance and grace (rather than swinging in on a wrecking ball!)

Flucking Flourishing

is about to be born! So stay tuned!

Stay well,

Lisa x