Because change is the essence of any good revolution, we’ve upped and moved to Tromsø, Norway. This was… well… hard! International travel in the time of pandemic with a family from a remote town a full days drive from the nearest major airport is nothing to be sneezed at.
…but we are here now, and for the next three years. A new language, a new ‘day job’, a new culture. We already really notice how fast seasons change here. Fun fact – in the autumn, this season, days are getting shorter by a whopping 15 minutes every day!
I am here to study changing sea ice in the northern Barents sea – a hot mess of science and geopolitics. And ski. And climb. And explore. And write. And draw. And film.
The past year has been absolutely tumultuous. We had a move, trying to bootstrap a new business in a new location, then wildfire and isolation, then pandemic and isolation – all while home schooling, working from home, and finding enough firewood to stay warm (my social media became full of chainsaw stuff for a while!).
Here, we feel relaxed – like we might.. just might… not have to run to stay still for a while. This is an enormous privilege! And for that we are grateful. Yes it has taken a lot of work to get here, but like all opportunities in life, it is as much sheer good fortune and luck as anything. I would be bullshitting you entirely if I said otherwise.
To put this amazing opportunity to use, I want to spend a pile of time on the concept of wonder. What things can we give the world to marvel at? How can I be a conduit of wonder in a world full of pressure and stress? How can we inspire hope, and evolution?
In my day job this is easy – science has so much which could be better, and I aim for nothing less than change – to be the change I want to see! As for the rest of the time – we are here. North of the Arctic circle, so far north that we won’t see the sun for six weeks over winter, surrounded by mountains and the sea. We find ourselves connected to our planet in a completely new and different way. And we are planning some really awesome shit to spread around and share it all. It will be…
Wonderful!
Change is always at the heart of evolution. I wasn’t expecting this path, this change to turn up. I am incredibly excited about where it will lead…
The pseudo-sales-pitch
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