There's no place like home

In my experience Sweden isn't the easy place to call home if you weren't born and bred here. The climate poses a real challenge, especially if you don't like the cold. But you can get around that by dressing warmly and always (I mean year round) have at least two layers handy. I must admit that we did have a beautiful summer this year and believe me I was very grateful! The tough part is the darkness. By November it pretty much feels like you're living in a cave. Sun comes up about 9 and goes down before 3; thing is, there usually isn't much sun so it's quite dim all day long. At least I don't live up north where the days are even shorter. See - I'm being grateful again :-)

Anyway, the last time I moved back here was after having lived in Hawaii for about a year. I spent so many of the following years just lamenting the move and wondering when and where we could move next. It wasn't productive and didn't make me a happy camper. When I started doing yoga on a regular basis things started to change. I experienced a gradual transformation on a lot of levels and discovered that home is indeed where the heart is.

I actually enjoy living here most of the time even though the cold and dark are still challenging. Today as I walked around my little town I thought about all the cool things that are available to me here. There are lots of wooded areas close by and I've found this great smooth slab of ice-age rock where I can sit and meditate sometimes. We have our very own viking village, constructed with the tools and methods used by the vikings. It's surrounded by meadows with a few sheep, cows and a couple of pigs.

Our town also has the most runestones per capita of any place in the country (maybe the world?)

Our woods have nice paths that you can walk, run, bike or ski on.

There are a couple of medieval churches in the neighborhood and just a 40 minute bike ride away is the Rosersberg Castle where you can enjoy the view from an outdoor café in summer. And if that doesn't suit your fancy we have a McDonalds ... and a Burger King!

I find it helpful to take inventory once in a while. To look around and appreciate what you have in your own backyard, even if it's dark outside.