norway
Same same but different.
Used a lot in Thailand, especially in an attempts to sell something but can mean just about anything depending on what the user is trying to achieve
Q “Is this a real rolex?”
A ” Yes Sir, same same but different
When I was in Thailand I learnt that something can look like something, but still be different. That is a lesson I’ve learnt many times, in different situation. Today I want to write about health policy. I have written about my thoughts when it comes to treatment at psychiatric wards before. I know that we all try our best, but sometimes what we think is best for others, is just assumptions that we need to be aware of. This week, I got the chance to see how something can be so alike, but completely different.
I had the chance to work one day at another psychiatric ward one hour away from the ward I’m in now. It is still in the same organization with the same leaders, and even have many of the same patients, but the treatment and attitudes are completely different. It’s hard to describe what the difference consists of, but I know they have worked hard with letting patients decide more. We have a psychiatric ward where the patients have different forms of addictions, and I know they include patients in every decision they make. The patients are even included in meetings! It is given that the patients will be heard and included in their own treatments, as it should be.
Another thing that strikes me as different, is the mood on the ward. There is more open space, and the nurses and assistants sits in groups talking peacefully. I sat there, too, discussing politics while patients sat there, playing board-games, reading the papers or simply listening to the conversations. It is so good to see that by giving people freedom and the chance to be heard, the same can be very different. For all the therapists who think that patients are ‘resistant’ or with no ‘insight’ in their own illnesses, they should see those patients. When they are given space and a listening ear, they are finally free to explore their ‘resistances’. They are more ready to take in everything they’ve been through, because the environment around them is safer. Only when safe, people are ready to explore reality. Safety in a place where people can shape their surroundings, is what a psychiatric ward should offer. So, I hope we can embrace new thoughts and transform the same old story. We need something different.
My grown up birthday wish
In September I will turn 30. It feels incredible old, but in reality it isn’t. If I live until I’m 80 I still have so many years left (hopefully), and that makes me happy. So this year I will really celebrate my birthday. I have already started the planning process, to ensure that I find a date that works for most of my friends. It looks like it will either be on the 18th of September (I’m born the 22) or the first week in October as me and some friends will travel on the 26th. I have started emailing people who live far away, and it looks like I will get a friend from Australia, Canada and UK to come over. They are friends I made during my Asia-trip three years ago, and we have managed to stay in contact for all this time. I met some of them in December.
I have also organized a big concert with Jørn Trellebø, who almost won Norwegian idol.
I will also have friends over from Bergen and Oslo, some I haven’t seen for a long time. I can’t wait! I
My grown up birthday wish is that’ve get the chance to spent time with people I love.
If some of my readers are planning a trip to Norway, feel free to contact me so that I can show you my beautiful home-place.
I have rented several cabins that will provide free accomodation for visitors. There will also be many different activities, like kayaking, board-games, scrapbooking and a cooking class. If you want more information, contact me at forfreepsychology@gmail.com.
I want my 30th birthday to represent who I am. I want it to be about relationships, and friendships across cultures and countries.
Happy pre-birthday to me!
Give it all away
“Get a free sample of our new mascara!”
Commercials all around us. Giveaway blogs. For many of our waking hours, we are bombadeded with tips and free samples that will make our lives better. And it works. The blogs and sites that sell things, or even allow their readers to get something for free, are popular. Search engine optimizations put your site higher on google, if you include commercial in some way or another. And people want it, they search for it for hours to get small boxes delivered to their doorstep.
Statistics show that we buy more commodities on the internet. Local shops have to close as people desert them. It is much easier and more practical to just push a button on a computer. I don`t want to look like a bitter saint, because I am one of eager net-shoppers and I also type in my email if I can win something. I even share pages on facebook to increase my chances of winning. Sometimes I loathe myself for it, how can I support something I know will be negative for people who have spent hours trying to build up small authentic boutiques?
In Førde, many have tried to start something new, but most of them go bankrupt before we even get on our shoes and get there. There was this lovely store with beautiful dresses and a little cafeteria surrounded by exquisite design. Flowers on the wall, that you could admire as you sipped fresh coffee and eat home-made cookies. You could talk with friends, letting your eyes settle on cups with delicate ornaments. The boutique lasted perhaps a year before they had to throw in the towel together with their dreams. The same comes for restaurants. The big pizza places, always survive, but everyone who tries to do something different that will draw only the very curious and adventurous, realize that they have to declare bankruptcy as the cashflow ends. Førde was one of the first places in Norway, where the german store “Lidl” had to give up before they even began. In Førde, people like safety. Skepticism is as usual as the closed signs that pop up. I don`t want to offend anyone, as I know this is a simplification. Most people want to try new things, but there is a difference between wanting and doing. Many even get disappointed and irritated when something new disappears, like when they discover that someone else took the last piece of chocolate.
What happens when people try to give away love? Love is the most valuable commodity we have, so we should run to the store to get it. It should have a 24-7 open sign. We should talk about it: “Have you seen the latest love? People want to change the world by giving something to others!”. We should nod in happy agreement. It would be like a fairy gave us the present of a lifetime. The giveaway we don`t throw into our garbage when we grow tired of it.
Again I feel hypocrisy washing over me like detergent. Do I practice what I preach? Sometimes, yes. But like everyone else, I struggle. Luckily, I don`t have a television spitting out commercials. I spend time with books and friends, and love every minute of it. But I still get drawn in when I see the “for sale” signs. My heart pumps some extra blood to make me ready for the hunt. My pupils probably dilates to get a better overview over the racks of clothes. Them I come home and realize that the jumper didn`t fit like I hoped.
Can love not fit when you try it on? Off course.
Sometimes we don`t know how to handle it. How we get up the zipper without help. It might be to tight, leaving us out of breath.
Sometimes we want to throw it off in frustration, as if we just discovered that we look to fat in those jeans. It is art to master love, because it really is a confusing present. When we unwrap the delicate paper, and peek inside, we can`t quite comprehend what we see. Is it something we can eat? Something to try on like shoes? Or something that we shall put on a shelf to decorate our home? Is it a genie in a bottle that grant us our wishes? And where is the user manual? We are uncertain if it will break when we try to build it, so we would simply crave a recipe for love like we crave another hamburger.
But sometimes we are satisfied. We get the same good feeling that we get after we workout and then devour a healthy meal, only to discover that someone has put a giveaway-present before our front door.
How do you find giveaways like those? Normally you don`t find them in front of your doorsteps, and if you do it will probably be dog poop. The answer to this can not be found in a manual either. We must even find the building materials ourselves, and we cannot order the needed pieces on the internet. But we can find them by looking around us. We can sit in a park and watch a mother laughing as her daughter jumps up and down when a fluffy dog comes over. We can see an old couple that look into each other`s eyes with so much love that we glimpse eternity. We can stretch out our fingers, instead of letting them type in ebay.com.
Best of all, we can give some of our love to others.
Still want to push that button? Try these:
kindness found within conflict
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Mirrorgirl 
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