Its really hard to find ways to describe the sense of peace here; it permeates everything and everyone. The 3 hours or so we spent in the depths of the forest foraging yesterday evening were like a deep meditation... I truly felt like a moomin... Really wondering the land and looking, then looking again and searching and gathering and stopping every now and again to pause and look at the views... then head down again to continue gathering...
I'm here busy working yet the pace of everything is so different to the UK - there's a sense of calm permeating the land, the people, the buildings, the daily routine...
People work hard and are really productive, they're up early doing things and making things, but there's a sense of taking time to do things with care and by hand and with respect and love. Picking berries was a perfect example - a walk into the forest and then a long time spent searching and gathering and deeply looking - for the reward of a bucketful of berries to be taken home and prepared in order to eat later... Why would you buy them - its so much better for the soul to spend time at one with the land gathering them in this way...