This post is part of the ALIVE in Berlin Blog
Tour, which is spreading the power of ALIVENESS to the masses. Alive in
Berlin is a global gathering devoted to personal
transformation that takes place on the 30th and 31st of May 2014 in Europe’s
most exciting city. The event will bring together world-class experts,
visionaries and change makers from a variety of communities and disciplines.
Together, we’ll explore the common threads that connect us and make us come
alive. To
learn more and join us, click here.
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| Sannie Terese Burén - Photo Alex Tran 2013 |
I have made a promise to write a blog entry today as
part of a blog-roll for ALIVE – a very cool gathering, taking place in Berlin
at the end of May. I chose today because it’s my fiftieth birthday and – being
a writer and all - I thought writing about it would be a wonderful way to
celebrate.
Yet, sitting down to write about my age and being
ALIVE, I realize that some creepy old thoughts must have been lurking around in
the dark corners of my mind, hiding from the light of consciousness until just this
moment … And now they all scream NO! Don’t do it! Don’t tell people that you
are now officially old!
You see, when I was a kid, people aged fifty were old.
Not only were they old relatively to my own young age – they also saw
themselves as old.
I recently saw a black and white TV-clip with a woman
in a fur hat and sixties-glasses, harshly complaining about how young people no
longer respected “the elderly people aged fifty”, like herself …
That’s the mentality I grew up with.
When you were fifty in the sixties, your life was
behind you. You had your family (or not) your career (or not) and were set in
your ways, unlikely to ever change much unless circumstances outside you forced
you to. All around there was a revolution of consciousness going on – but most
people in the older generations just looked with astonishment and disbelief at
how the old ways were falling apart. And the hair – oh, the hair!
But things are not like that anymore. And apart from
the spooky inner voices from a distant past, most parts of me do feel rather
excited about turning fifty. It truly feels like a new beginning. A time to
leave unwanted and unnecessary things behind, like the thought that being fifty
is old, or the notion that what anyone else thinks about it matters at all.
I guess in part I owe it to those longhaired
revolutionaries, that I can now feel differently about my age than the lady in
the fur hat, because with their generation, everything shifted and today you
can be a seventy-year-old rock star.
Of course, it’s not for everyone to be an actual rock
star – but everyone can be a “rock star” of sorts in their own life! That’s
what being ALIVE means to me. It’s not about who you are or what you do – it’s
about your willingness to be true to yourself and finding your own way in life.
It’s not about being “young” either – in fact I think it’s cool to be getting
older (and wiser) and I love that I can keep changing and creating new stories
about who I am.
From an early age, I vowed to follow my dreams, and I
did.
I hitchhiked alone through Europe at age 18 and soon
after became an actor, which was my big childhood dream. When it turned into a nightmare,
I didn’t cling but moved on to other adventures. I trained to be a
psychotherapist and for a number of years being able to help clients release
their trauma felt very fulfilling and when it wasn’t anymore, I stopped. In
2000, together with my husband, Jacob, I took a big leap of faith and moved
from a small flat in the central of Copenhagen to a farm in the countryside to become
self-employed with Æblegaarden B&B. When four years later we realized we
needed some adjustments we sold the farm, moved to another part of the country
and started all over again – only this time we had to completely renovate the
farm first! (You can read the whole story about our Æblegaarden-adventure at
our main website: www.aeblegaarden.dk)
I am the author and publisher of two books, I write
for one of Denmark’s coolest magazines, I make a killer hummus and bake my
own daily bread … I have so many talents and things to be grateful for.
But what makes me most proud is to be able to say that
I have never been sleepwalking. I’ve had a lot of confusion and many emotional
issues to work through. I had to learn which inner voices to listen to. It has not been easy and a lot of time so far was spend on inner composting. Now all
that compost is ready to fertilize new dreams.
And frankly there are still many, so I don’t think I’ll
ever have time to really grow old … At least not in the old fashioned way!
PS From the blog-roll I highly recommend Ivonne Senn’s
blogpost about falling in love with money – something that is definitely on my
to do list for the near future! J http://www.ivonnesenn.de/came-alive/
Sannie Terese
Burén, Author, freelance journalist, hobby photographer and picture-holic, some
would say a multi artist, with a nag for whole heartedness and creativity in
all aspects. Emphasizes the adventure of life and love good stories. Dreams
often about exotic palm beaches and blazing trails.
Æblegaarden (the applefarm) is a cozy and very
friendly Bed and Breakfast and retreat in the rural island of Langeland,
Denmark. This blog is normally only written in Danish – but our main site has a
whole section in English! I hope you’ll pop by, have a look and get to know us
a bit better… www.aeblegaarden.dk
