A walk in the park

New York City second time around. It's such a cliché, but this place actually is magical.

Riding this train as long as I can

I spent quite some time in trains these last few days ... from Ghent to Utrecht and from there to Cologne and Bonn ...

Maybe that's why I was drawn to the model railroad in a toystore I wandered into during my stay there ...

I think it's a little bit of a hype, as this miniature house is one I spotted in a Marc Jacobs window in Soho today :)

Talking about success ...

Randomly walking around Utrecht stumbling into the most amazing bakery ... totally made my day :)

www.debakkerswinkel.nl

Book-inspired Ramblings on a Fabulous Friday

I rediscovered my love for reading in bed. 

So far today I have finished a book called 'Failing Forward - Turning mistakes into stepping stones for success', by John C. Maxwell and continued in my current favourite book 'How to be a Woman' by Caitlin Moran. (a must read for EVERYONE, not just women!)

I have a huge problem with the first book. 

I have a huge problem with the currently widely accepted definition of success.

I think I'm pretty successful having managed to stay in bed until 11h15 on a Friday morning, and being able to show up for After Work tonight without actually having worked :)

I have a hard time being defined by what I do workwise - there really is no simple answer to that question anyway - and I think it says a great deal about how we are as a society when the first question about a new person in your life is "So, what does he do for a living?"

Gotland & Sápmi United!

Even though this video is in Swedish without subtitles, I'm sure everybody can agree that there shouldn't be any more mining projects in Sweden's wilderness than there already are.

In the same way as Ojnare Forest and the people of northern Gotland are threatened by the greed of a big mining company, so are the stunning wilderness in the north of Sweden, the Sami people and their generations-long tradition of reindeer herding.

Last week a delegation of the Ojnare-activists drove from Gotland to Sápmi to spread awareness, show their support and unite forces in the fight against the ruthless exploitation of our precious nature.
(check out their journey here)

This short clip shows quite shockingly what we're up against ...

Let's support the local people! Everywhere! (because unfortunately similar crimes against the environment are happening the world over)
Let us be heard and show the big businesses and governments that we DO care, and that won't give up the fight that easily!

Globalize the Fight!
Globalize the Hope!

Compact Living

I must admit I had a couple of panic attacks after I signed a contract for the tiniest imaginable room (albeit in a fantastic location) but now I've lived here for 3 weeks and I couldn't feel more at home!

It's not that hard to surround yourself with pretty things when you only have a little space to fill, and with the many yellow accents in my room it feels like the sun is always shining :)

Winds of Change

Visby's harbour is quite empty these days ... but some time ago we did have some very special guests sailing into the port!

I'm afraid I wouldn't do them any justice by trying to explain who they are and what they do but lets say it all started with an amazing social entrepreneur training in Järna (check out the school's website) and now they are on a mission to change the world for the better, bringing positive social change to places they visit by means of a methodology called Oasis Games, helping communities realize their dreams!

I do recommend reading more into this - it's absolutely inspiring! - and you can follow the adventures of the crew of the Oasis Armada here.

Copied from their blog:

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do it.

For what the world needs is people who have come alive”

 Howard Thurman – (1900-1981: Minister, Educator & Civil Rights Leader)