It was amazing! The sun was shining, the snow sparkled and I did it! I went skiing! The children went to skiing school all week and they were so proud and happy.Many thanks to our amazing friends who guided us through both the preparation and performance of this ski week! What had we done without you!
This morning I retweeted a quote from Oprah:This is exactly what I will do! … I am planing to learn how to ski. I am filled with a childlike delight. I feel excited! And scarred!!!!
I guess tumble is precisely what I will do. But what do you have to do to develop, to grow to become an action hero! You have to expose yourself to your own doubts and fears and deal with it!
I like the french word “formation” when learning something new. I am convinced we are all formed by the people around us, by life, and what we meet along the way. So each course we take, school, and other gatherings are really forming us.
This week I will go to a two-day course about Pulse analysis.
So today I started by doing the test my self. Tomorrow I will get the feedback. I am really looking forward to it! I am sure it will help me in my struggle to become an action hero!
So no low expectations 
I will keep you posted!
For birthday present from a friend, I got a box. Inside the box there are cards. Each card presents the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Yesterday I attended a seminar with a panel with Global Witness, Swedwatch, MakeITfair, Nokia, a representative from the European Union, and the Swedish Defence Research Agency.
Informative, clear, different interesting approaches from those speakers’ different perspectives, and substantive solutions.
On Conflict Minerals.
It was noted soberly that the conflict in Congo (DRC) has over 5 million deaths and the highest rape rate in the world …
There was talk of laws and regulations that we all know will take many long months or years, of juggling before all EU countries agree and before we convinced China and other countries which are also involved to join …
A conflict in which the map of abuse matches with the map of where the mineral resources are to be found.
If we stick to non-personal feelings about this conflict, it was a good seminar. If we start listening to the stories from all the Congolese who sat in the audience, we know we missed out an important dimension.
Indignation over the world of silence …
There are heroes out there who defies death threats and choose the hard way to stand up for what they believe. It is easy to hide behind multinationals beautiful facades, but we must say: this is one of the worst conflicts and abuses committed in the history of the world!
And major economic interests help to keep the conflict alive. Far beyond the boarders of Congo.
I feel small and I am looking for heroism behind the thick wallets of executives and presidents.
“Executives and Presidents, please make yourself heard! You will be historical!”
My son, like many other children of this age in their school, plays with Pokemon cards. These cute little creatures are far from nice, I learned.
My son told me cheerfully about how strong each pokemon were and how much damage they could cause.
Due to my occupation (and social education?) it turns my stomach that such evil damage would be regarded as something positive.
So the discussion that followed took note that it is actually quite easy to damage. Do harm. However, what is heroic and very hard is to do things correct, save and heal.
It’s easy to throw a stone. Harder to catch it.
It is easy to say something nasty. Harder to get someone who is sad to feel happy again.
It’s easy to mess up. More difficult to clean.
Bottom line: It is more difficult to save than to harm. Pretto, but true! The true hero is the one who put things right, rescues and cares for all life and spreads joy.
Today it is the Martin Luther King. Jr day. In a blog on becoming an action hero, how could I not mention this…
So let us read from his famous speach!:
“As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” (…) No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
(…)
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. (…)
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
(…)
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.”
Yepp we can not sit down and be satisfied yet!
”Stylistically speaking, the superhero story is about the struggle between good and evil, either on the external front (as when the hero defeats a criminal organization) or in the interior (which is when the hero overcomes his own weaknesses).”
So I guess a good start is to start finding out my own weaknesses. And work on them…
That means I have to accept (that I have) them and deal with them constructively.
A wise person, a super hero in my life, Agneta Jörbeck, said that a good leader is he who knows her/himself well and understand her/his own emotions. It’s easy to see others’ shortcomings …
But to be constructive in supporting them in the right way, you havet o take a deep breath and dare to dive deep within yourself
I now begin the list of my weaknesses. And I now take a deep breath and invite you to help me fill in the gaps… Note that the rules (now created) are that you are only allowed to tell me my weakness if you also at the same time give me a good tip on how I can overcome my weakness or learn from it!