Grundtjärn, Sweden…

where do I begin?  This place is absolutely beautiful…

I’ve spent nearly a week in this small village on the edge of the world… the peace and quiet here is like nowhere i’ve experienced.. but still the place feels strangely like home… I’m beginning to notice the small nuances of the far north… when and where the sun rises and sets… the trail the moon carves through the sky… changes in cloud directions… patterns of wind and stillness. mosquito schedules….

The place is completely alien compared to Boulder, CO… though it shares some similarities with the climate in my native Canada, i am still new to the 24 hour light in the sky… it’s like being on another planet.. not to mention the broad bow that the sun follows through the sky… rising and setting in nearly the same place as we approach summer solstice… I’ve heard that the sun will only set for 10 minutes on the solstice next week.

I’m still a little unsure of directions…but based on a quick compass reading, the sun seems to set around magnetic north, and rise around North Northeast… the environment turns magical in the sun’s absence… In Boulder, there was usually a 15 minute window of magical twilight glow each morning and evening… but here, the magic endures the night as the still air allows mist to collect over the lake..

Last night we made a small camp fire next to the lake and balanced rocks all night, took photos, echoed whistles across the vast lake, and had some wine….  the sun went down for about 3 hours this night.. no darkness.

The mist began collecting over the lake by about midnight… instantly lifting with the slightest wind…. then between midnight and 2 am, the mist grew thick over the lake and by 2:00 am the sky began shifting into a magical purple twilight…lasting about 45 minutes… I imagine the extended sunrise and sunset colors are from the sun moving at such a shallow angle to and from the horizon…

Beautiful!

Photo by Jonna Jinton

Last night I performed Live stone balance for a full auditorium at a classical music festival in Stockholm, Sweden… The name of the festival was Omodernt, which was a showcase of older style music with a theme focusing on the “Vertical”… so, as you might imagine, stone balance fit the bill well.. and being such a rare art form, I think it was something the audience had never seen before.. :)

The rocks used here actually came last minute from the festival director’s backyard in Stockholm.  My girlfriend Jonna and I were escorted across town in a small orange car to pick up the rocks… tons of uncertainty, but I had the strange feeling that everything would work out as it should…. as long as I stray true to the moment, and ‘play by ear’ … which was exactly what we did.  Jonna and I arrived to the venue with rocks in tow… changed into our NICE clothes, had some nice wine, spent some romantic time together, and then I prepared my nerves for the performance… It’s good I have a slight history of performing live… I’ve somehow learned to thrive under pressure… In this game of live performance, I must always be prepared for the possibility of mistakes; however, errors are not an option in my mind… this was for real… meaning absolute tuning into my own moment and breath… tuning out ALL distractions… even still, nerves ran high.

Check out the video below that Jonna recorded of my performance.. :)  Turns out that the timing of my balance worked in perect synchronicity with the music.  It reached a short pause. I thought I was late and the music was over… then the balance was realized, with a gasping crowed, just as the music started back up… the sequence of events was intense… but could have happened no other way… If I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing.. :)  based on the reactions, the crowd officially had their minds blown :D  my job was complete.. and I even pulled it off in a slick balck suit and purple tie :)

for more info, check Jonna’s blog of the event here.

sometimes it feels too good to be true… then i tell the mind to shut the fuck up and enjoy the ride…

cheers to leading with the heart… cheers to risk. cheers to mutual love. cheers to BALANCE. cheers to breathing. family, friends, good beer, sunrises, cheers to it all really… beyond grateful for this ride… living a dream..

Creating rock balance gardens in public places has been a passion since that first afternoon stacking in the creek 5 years ago… it is infinitely inspiring to observe the way so many people are deeply touched in the heart by seeing not only the balance, but more importantly, the creation process.. this is not speculation.. they feel compelled to tell me EVERY time… there is always HUGE positive energy that gathers in and around these gardens….. i’m sure any rock garden creators out there know EXACTLY what i’m talking about. call me crazy, but i sense an intricate symphony of energy (maybe spirits?) dancing among the rocks!!