CURRENT MISSION

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

ABOUT ME

When I wake up in the morning I'm thankful for another day, when I go to bed I'm thankful for the one that's passed. Polar opposites (i.e. truth, beauty,goodness)and peoples search for them seem silly to me, I agree with the great Sufi poet Rumi when he said "Out Beyond Ideas Of Rightdoing And Wrongdoing, There is A Field - I Will Meet You There." The meaning of life is to live it. I do so with love, respect and appreciation for the planet and ALL fellow inhabitants.

I moved to Finland last summer, for a number of reasons. The first being to understand my own heritage become acquainted with my father's half of the family living here. Another reason being I wanted to live under a different system of governance than what I was accustomed. Alternative ways of living are highly interesting to me.

Stuff I like doing:
1.) traveling-preferably by train/foot with my gear on my back, staying for extended periods of time so I can actually grasp an essence of the place and meet people.
2.) riding anything with two wheels. Be it bicycle or the motorcycle I've built myself, I love to ride.
3.) building things. From wood, metal, cloth, glass, mud etc. Using my hands to make something come together gives me great satisfaction.
4.) eating. more specifically cooking/baking but eating is the primary motivation for this.
5.) growing. Saving seeds, growing them, harvesting them again. When not traveling I work at my gardens.
6.) singing. Yes, this is good. Old folk songs especially. Still working at playing just one instrument well, my choice being the banjo.
7.) sharing. Life would be miserable if there wasn't great people to share it with.
8.) love. I love to love, simply put.
9.) spirituality. There's many humane, inspiring teachings out there from all walks of life. They all interest me which is why I'm Unitarian Universalist.
10.)earth. Such a precious planet, I'm active in a few organizations dedicated to protecting life on earth.

PHILOSOPHY

"To put the bounty and the health of our land,
our only commonwealth,
into the hands of people
who do not live on it and share its fate
will always be an error.
For whatever determines the fortune of the land
determines also the fortune of the people.
If history teaches anything, it teaches that."
-- Wendell Berry

"The answer is never the answer. What's really interesting is the mystery. If you seek the mystery instead of the answer, you'll always be seeking. I've never seen anybody really find the answer. They think they have, so they stop thinking. But the job is to seek the mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer."
-Ken Kesey

"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds."
-Bob Marley
Source: Redemption Song

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

As a child of a single teenage hippy mother we moved alot, from communes, to friends houses to abandoned railroad stations; wherever there was free space. Thanks to technology the concept seems to have come a long way, now everyone from big buisness CEO's to spaghetti eating ryanair flying Erasmus students can participate in the age old practise of hospitality.

To me it's more than saving money, connecting with people and finding new ways of living/enriching the human experience is how I participate. I believe the world changes one person at a time, and through interconnection we come to realizations together that accelerate this process of change.

At the moment I've got a small room in a shared apartment and would prefer to postpone hosting people until my own travels are over and I space.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

They've rocked my socks! So far havent had any bad times with couch surfing. Everyones been a blast, the sad part is not getting to spend more time with them.

Interests

philosophy, culture, traveling, environmental conservation, sustainability, ancient civilizations, ornithology, entomology, ethno-botany, metallurgy, mycology, Balkan folk dancing, any folk dancing, camping/back packing, sailing, chess, mythology, astronomy, wood working, communal living, hemp as a power plant, art, V-Twin engines, solar power, bad jokes, playing the banjo, volunteering, chess, mancala etc...

• arts
• culture
• singing
• beauty
• perfumes
• dancing
• folk dancing
• cooking
• baking
• flying
• gardening
• technology
• chess
• traveling
• socializing
• camping
• surfing
• sailing
• astronomy
• entomology
• history
• medicine
• nursing
• ornithology
• study abroad
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Stephen Hawking, Prometheus Rising, Steppenwolf,The Master and the Margarita, Still Life with Wood Pecker, Brave New World, Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas,Dr. Seuss, Knut Hamsun, No Country for Old Men, Hannibal Lecter series, War of the Worlds, Tove Jansson, Soren Kierkegaard, Nietzche, Plato's Republic, Fiddler on the Roof, Alice in Wonderland, Smilla's Sense of Snow, Dune, Kalevala, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Sometimes a Great Notion, Some Like it Hot, Diet for a New America, White Oleander, Shogun, Clan of the Cave Bear, Into the Wild, Watership Down, Virginia Woolf, Memoirs of a Geisha, Catch-22, Even Cowgirls get the Blues etc...

I surrender! There's too many great books out there and I almost always pack one with me. Always have time for books, but not movies/T.V.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

There have been so many amazing places/things. What leaves the deepest marks on my memories have always been people who I've shared those times with.

One of the most amazing times was when I was 17 I picked my grandfather up and took him with me on a road trip. The destination was the state of Oregon(U.S.A), we drove about 1,220 miles to get there. He wanted to see covered bridges, the Pacific ocean, lighthouses etc before he died and so did I...so off we went! Towards the end of our trip he had a life threatening health related emergency and ended up in the hosiptal. The head nurse that was taking care of him in the hospital, saw I was minor and offered for me to come and stay at her place until my grandfather was recovered and was released by the doctor. Although I choose to sleep by my grandfathers bedside in the hospital, I still remember acts of grace such as this, and sharing experiences with others (such as my grandfather). Two things that I've found hold lasting meaning in my life.

Teach, Learn, Share

You can learn something from everyone.

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Mexico, Norway, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

Finland, United States

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