love

Endings and new beginnings

It was New Years Eve. I was standing on a rooftop in West Hollywood as fireworks were lighting up the California sky. As December came to an end and January began I was cheering in 2014 with friends. We had nothing but big hopes and dreams. On January 1 2014 I took on a new […]

The spirit of Christmas

So it was the week of Christmas, and I had packed 9 beads in a tiny marmalade glass jar and a suitcase full of Christmas gifts and clothes. I took the train down south ready to spend the holiday with family. It was supposed to be two days of writing, then 7 days of time […]

Christmas

For the first christmas home in 5 years, the first one all together as a family for 7 and the first one ever on earth with my 3 month old niece. It was a momentous holiday. Sometimes I think of things in color or in terms of a phrase, word or single sentiment. Honestly for […]

Friendship

Years ago when one would make a real journey across the Atlantic from the Americas to Europe, one imagines that while staring out at the icebergs en route that one would have time to digest the magnitude of the distance. Thoughts on what is being left and time to mentally prepare for what will be […]

Johanna’s Week 15

Health scare part 3 (Got the results – 100% healthy) And so I waited, uneasy and nervous, for the results of last week’s biopsy. The question of being sick or not was on repeat in my head. When I finally got the results that I didn’t have cancer a chock wave of relief went through […]

Mhairi’s week 14

I decided this week to focus on an intention for the whole week. I chose the word LOVE and decided to just simply focus on that word and what it meant. Immediately I was challenged as an hour or so later I sat talking to someone who basically didn’t take a breath, cut me off […]

Johanna’s Week Nine

How we be I had lunch with a few colleagues earlier this week and The Bead Movement came up in the discussion. It’s amazing how these beads has changed my interactions with others. Nowadays it becomes more and more normal for me to discuss existential life questions over a salad or in the rush of […]

Johanna’s Week 8

The truth It is a time of extremes. Here in Sweden a right wing populist and anti-immigration political party gained votes in the recent national elections and became the third biggest party in our parliament. The cold war has reentered Sweden with active military operations against foreign submarines in the Stockholm archipelago. In the world we see deadly […]

Johanna’s Week Five

As I was trying to live the bravest me, I noticed that somewhere along the line I had stopped listening to my heart. Instead I had started to listen to the shatter of my mind. I had started to make logical and rational decisions, instead of listening to what my heart told me. How did […]

Johanna’s Week Four

It was a Sunday morning. I knew I had a smile on my face before I could feel it. Before opening my eyes, I knew they were excited and curious for a brand new day. I felt a gentle breeze from the open window, a touch of fresh air, like right after a wonderful morning […]