One for all & all for one?
Oppia ikä kaikki, dear reader.
‘Oppia ikä kaikki’ is Finnish for ALL THE YEARS ARE FULL OF LEARNING.
21 FEB · 2024
In my recent travels to northern Finland, so much came to mind and so much came to memory again, I wish to share with you in this newsletter, and vicariously say Hi with another opportunity to RISE to the occasion, that is your life.
As mentioned above, I have recently been to northern Finland, where the woods are vast and winters are long. I have never been this far north and cannot even put in words how much wonder and beauty welcomed me there, in this land of mysticism and clarity. This time of year is known to be the time of never-ending sunrises followed by never-ending sunsets. The light is so gentle and with a powder like attitude wrapping the mind in peace and hope, for there is the first hint of a blushing pale pink, telling a song of the nearing spring. In the harshness of minus 30 degrees celsius reindeers and willow growses linger in silence alongside the frozen lakes, minding their business, whilst squeaking and overly exited tourists hunt every hint they can get their hands and eyes on, for just a peak of the dancing green lights of the famous aurora borealis phenomena, most of them came here to witness. Whilst in between this micro-madness of uh-ing and ah-ing, another laid back Fin is dreaming of their next option to hop into the sauna with their friends, friendly and peacefully chatting about what was, what is and what will be.
I sure had many ideas about what and who this Finland, this European country and culture, like so many others, was, and I sure came to understand, that my so called ‘knowledge’ about it merely turned out to be a feeling with little evidence to it, as I now know. We all know of the troubling issues our generations fear so much. We all would love to find a global answer to the pressing matters of our time. We all wish, that one day someone will come up with this one solution, that fits all. And the more I travel, the more I experience the various regions and cultures, geographical conditions and historical conditionings, that make our world so rich, the more I become aware of the fact, that there is no ‘one-fits'-all’ solution, for it simply cannot be. For it fails to meet the necessary requirements and deprives the people, who by birthright live off and guard the land and its inherent realties, of power. Taking the Sami, which are one of the main indigenous tribes located in Scandinavia and Lapland, they did not only live off the land, but with it. They used to be the guardians of the forests and waters, animals and crops, they cared for the wilderness and cared for taking what they needed in their traditional ways, known to be as sacred as one can be, when in order to safe a life another is taken.
Nowadays regulations from higher institutions restrict them from doing their job. Licences must be purchased and bureaucracy must be obeyed. And so I am asking: can an institution, that is regulating basic principles of life, be just when it comes to the needs of non-comparable conditions. Can a region ruled by winter and cold, delivering only a short period of abundance and growth be treated equally and follow the same restrictions and rules, than a region overshadowed by drought and heat? Can the old ways, grown over centuries and in alignment with the historical, geopolitical, interpersonal and natural hierarchies that shape any society, be made obsolete, just by overshadowing them with hypothetical ideas of global organisations, that think in terms of one-fits-all?
An example: in Norway a windpark of 15 windmills is now torn down, because the indigenous tribes, due to the vibrations travelling through the ground, reported alarming sightings of vast amounts of badly disabled reindeer offsprings over the last couple of years. There are reports about large amounts of bird swarms dying in the turbine-like wind channels behind the wind parks and failing to cross oceans, in the attempt to continue their thousand year old annual movements to safer nesting grounds. Speaking of the Sami, they used to slaughter their own animals in the ways they knew to be as ‘humane’ as possible, nowadays being regulated by the European Union, which forces them to ship their cattle through the country, leading them into tremendous fear and stress, flooding their bodies with adrenaline and cortisol before their slaughter, which is not only terrible for the animals, but also to those eating them.
Though I am not here today to discuss the general consumption of all the planet provides, yet I am here to make an appeal, with all those good intentions in mind, in regards to finding better ways and modern solutions to old problems, to overthink disconnected generalisations and replace them with ancient and local wisdom.
Just because we think solutions must be found fast, and a one fits all solution maybe a good way to be fast, sometimes its wise (and faster) to listen to those who know their lands and know their ways and to consult them, allowing them to take care of what’s theirs to protect, rather than to leave it to people who form organisations which oftentimes are made up of globalists rather than specialists.
If we want our lands and this planet to thrive, it may be best to listen to those who have been living with it for centuries and beyond, in combination with modern scientists specialised on this one region and its requirements. I remain in deep awe to the old ways and their modern approaches, and I deeply hope that those who call themselves the wise, bringing solutions upon all of us, dare to listen to the wisdom, that can be found where it is needed: in nature and through those who truly live with it.
RISE_by Esther Seibt