Postcards from summer

Skyros, part I

I have finally edited the photos I took on my treasured proper camera, while away on a two week writers retreat on the Greek island of Skyros. Fortunately sun kissed skin and a memory card full of photographs are not the only thoughts and recollections of my retreat.

Spending time away from the routine and responsibilities of life so that your imagination has a place to play in and your nervous system has time to settle and rest is a luxury, it should not be. The work, sleep, repeat lifestyle too many of us have embodied to survive is numbing us. We may be living longer but what good is that if we never have the headspace for joy, self expression or curiosity? I don’t know about you but I do not exist to work, pay taxes and die. I’m pretty sure that’s not what any of us aspired to when we were children.

So how have we got here? Why has western society embraced a lifestyle, that is so damaging, that we freely admit we don’t like, but that we won’t reverse, let alone press pause on?

We are all born to live our fullest lives. So why is it so many of us are settling for simply existing and settling for finding enjoyment of life through other people’s lives, often via a screen rather than smiling at a stranger in an unfamiliar place or taking trip to a place we are simply curious about?

A life without the opportunity to press pause is not a life I want. I want to explore and be exposed to new places, new ideas, new tastes, new images and new sounds. I know what the wind sounds like blowing through the back gardens of my street. Does the wind sound different in another place where the trees have different shaped leaves and the buildings are facing other directions? I would say so. I want to know so.

I know the sound of the train passing along the tracks in the cut away at the end of my neighbours garden. I know when my elderly next door neighbour puts her washing machine on - 6.15 am in case you’re wondering. I know all these comfortable and familiar sounds which tell me I’m home and I cherish them. They are sounds that will mostly continue and one day when someone else will lives in this house they will be familiar to them just as they were to the family who lived here before. There is an audible continuum but I want new sounds, to witness new patterns of other lives being lived, preferably to the fullest, where people are happily filling their days with space for more joy than adulting.

A more joyful life must be possible, and I am not alone in wanting more. The World Happiness Report places Finland as the happiest country in the world, followed by Denmark and Sweden. The United States rank at 16 and the UK 17 on the happiness scale. The countries who shout loudest about driving the global economy the hardest do not have the happy societies, proving that money does not make us happy and a different framework can make us all enjoy our lives and possibilities more.

So what makes Finland so happy? Researchers say it’s how the country’s institutions take care of their people, smart urban planning, access to green spaces to reduce stress and promote physical activity, an effective system of progressive taxation and strong healthcare and education systems. All these actions lead to high ratings of life satisfaction. All actions well within the capabilities of rich countries I say. If only we would learn how to share the wealth so more people could have satisfactory lives eh.

While I leave you to ponder on a more harmonious life beyond capitalism I hope you’ve enjoyed some of my postcards from Skyros; a tiny Greek island where sugar cube houses topped off with simple chimneys and solar water heaters, cling to the hillsides, quietly, confidently, waiting to welcome weary traveller seeking softness, solace, headspace and a clear blue sky for thier ideas to fly in.