152

 Giving

I decided to give away almost everything that I live with here in Finland. I will be based in Denmark for some time, and there I will borrow everything that I need for a simple and comfortable life. 

This evening a friend of mine who is a sufficiency researcher came to see me. She lives in an eco-community and will provide a new home to most of my items. Some of the items, such as clothing and documents, I will take with me, and others, such as the plate and the bowl in the picture above, I will return to another friend. 

As a gift, she brought me some beautiful apples and a courgette from her garden. Food is such a wonderful gift. 

151

 Everything I'm taking with me

This is almost everything I am taking with me to Denmark. Since I will return to Finland, I will leave a couple of items here, such as my watercolour paper, a cotton tote and perhaps a sweatshirt and a scarf. I don't have any furniture, large electronic items, or decorations.

It is hard for me to refer to these items as the ones I "own". I prefer to say that I live with them. Many items I live with are not even mine. The kitchen items were borrowed. The t-shirts I wear often belong to my partner.

So I'm taking with me two linen shirts, two pairs of sweatpants, one pair of shorts, two vest tops, two backpacks, my laptop and my phone with their chargers, a hair tie, a bag with underwear and socks, two cotton tote bags, two scarves, and a bag with three stones (from Sweden, Finland, and Denmark). Perhaps I will take the tote bag that I used to bring all my items to Finland from Sweden. I will also bring the documents and my water bottle which is currently in my office, and a toiletries bag with basic toiletries and medicines. The yoga mat I used to sleep on, and I'm not sure if I give it away or take it with me this or next time. 

When I reflect on all this, I realise that the most important items are not in the picture. They are love, awe, gratitude, hope, growth, and other self-transcending feelings, emotions, and pursuits.