Trust – The Needs’ Year (Week 11)
“We will compensate for the damage!” The words came out of me without a second thought. I was one of the organisers of last year’s European NVC Summer Festival and a few of the children had gone berserk. An armchair was destroyed. The pool table was...
Mourning – The Needs’ Year (Week 10)
A few weeks ago I heard that one of my oldest friends had died because of a stroke. At first I became mute and cold. We shared our time intensely for a few years during the second half of the 80’s. After that, we didn’t meet often, but occasionally, with a few...
Safety – The Needs’ Year (Week 9)
I am writing this blog post on Monday 28 February 2022. I’m sitting in my living room in my apartment in Tensta, a northern suburb in Stockholm, Sweden. Opposite me sits Magda writing something on her computer. Outside the window the sun is shining. It is a few...
Integrity – The Needs’ Year (Week 8)
“What are you doing? The finishing line is here!” Kay shouted and gestured which track I should take. I had just covered 40 km on cross-country skis, but instead of crossing the finishing line, I took an extra lap in the stadium. The ski race went three laps and...
Mutuality – The Needs’ Year (Week 7)
The importance of mutuality “Ha, ha, ha… You will look back at this moment and see the humour in it all.” I had just shared something vulnerable and my friend was laughing. It is possible that he was right. Maybe, sometime in the future, I will look at...
Growth – The Needs’ Year (Week 5)
Bodily awareness I neither remember what kind of exercise, nor what kind of need it was. What I remember is the sudden revelation that I can fulfil my needs not just by what others or I am doing for me – I can also choose to do something for others. By...
Creativity – The Needs’ Year (Week 4)
Starting this project This blog post and this project – the Needs’ Year – is an expression of my own creativity. I’ve had the idea of the Needs’ Year for about six months. Sometimes I am very quick in turning ideas into action, but this time I was...
Rest – The Needs’ Year (Week 3)
Rain and exhaustion “Fucking hell!” I had just got my third flat tyre in less than 24 hours. It was raining and I sought shelter under a pedestrian bridge along the river Schelde just outside Gent, Belgium. I was soaking wet and even though it was not so...