26/12/2020
What. A. Year. + An Essay On How I Came To Believe In God. šš
Many of us are relieved that 2020 is coming to an end, and that weāre still here to witness it.
Yet for me, this might actually have been my best year ever, and if youād like to share an intimate moment of inspiration and gratitude with me and my lessons learned through āannus horribilis', keep reading for the next two minutes or so! This started as a journal entry, but as I feel it might offer you perspective on your own existence, Iāve decided to share my reflections on 2020 publicly. š
I have grown more this year than for a long time (if ever) previously. As with our muscles, we as people tend to grow the most when pushing through immense resistance and being put to the test. And what a year of opportunity this has been when seen in that light! š
In Spring, returning from my exhibition with in Florida as well as spectating the Tampa Pro skate contest, this trip was one of the ABSOLUTE highlights of my life so far and a true blessing. As a stark contrast, I came home to a world that was shutting down faster than I could unpack my trolley.
Nobody knew what was going on, and the air was thick with fear and toilet-paper-hoarding-frenzy. As Iāve been happy-go-lucky and optimistic until now, I have invested most of my savings (and a bit of borrowed money) in personal growth and business programmes. A strategy that has worked well for me in upbeat times, but on the downturn, boy have I now learned the hard way about the value of a financial safety bucket.
Not wanting to tap into the global all-encompassing agenda of fear and disease, I put my camera on the shelf for a few months to pursue another mission of mine. Helping others find personal power and freedom as I myself have found through coaching and therapeutic work.
Yet starting up a new business takes time, and my expectations were set to the standards Iāve cultivated through a decade of work as a photographer. Furthermore, the outer world was in a state of emergency and frankly my own shaky foundation wasnāt in a place for taking chances or experimenting much.
But what else is there to do when youāre going through hell than to keep going? This year makes me so grateful to live in Denmark, where independent business owners are quite valued and supported. I kept on working to balance my two careers, as I could photograph more again when the world opened up a bit into the summer. Among other cool projects, I got the chance to make the big summer campaign for Politiken - you might have seen it at the metro stations of Copenhagen.
I hadnāt expected my 30th birthday to be centered around hand sanitizer and long distance hugs, yet Iām grateful I got to celebrate and Iāll be sure to throw down a proper party when the world allows it. Speaking of parties, we managed to host a priceless premiere of our Jazz Skate Co. video āOrchestraā in Christiania. That also stands out as one of my yearly highlights.
If it hadnāt been for this unusual year, Iād never have discovered my inner strength. Iād not been pushed into to hosting workshops for, among others, Dansk Journalistforbund.
Iād not been as encouraged to share my own learnings with all of you around me who I love and care about. And as one of my mentors Tony Robbins says, when our purpose is bigger than ourselves, our own problems and challenges become infinitely smaller. So true.
If it hadnāt been for Covid, I very likely wouldnāt have been doing ceremony after ceremony of ayahuasca and other plant medicines this year to look within and step up. Thatās been such a gift.
And returning to my headline for this post - Iāve felt connected to something bigger than myself for as long as I remember, but now I can suddenly say that I believe in God. Iām still getting used to the taste of those words, but for me to surrender and let existence be unfold, lived and expressed through me, thatās maybe the most awe-inspiring experience of my entire life.
I was talking with my dear Ewa the other day about it, and inspired by S.N. Goenka and my silent Vipassana meditation retreat, I came up with the term āThe Teflon Mindā.
A state where nothing is met with craving or aversion, and weāre just able to let life stream through us unhindered. Iām not preposterous enough to claim I can live every moment in such a state, but Iāve had a taste of it and can steer towards it.
While Iāve been working to focus more and deeper in 2020, Iāve also found time to begin the conscious business programme InnerMBA on a scholarship, as well as being enrolled in the studies to be an Emographic Psychotherapist, and even one of the first educated in the world! Emographics is a quite new school and they just had their programme approved by FaDP (the org. of Danish Psychotherapists).
Working so deeply on myself really feels like a superpower, and as the poet Rumi said many centuries ago, to heal the world, we must first heal ourselves. I am also still in awe that I here in December have discovered my own masculine power on a much deeper level and connected to my inner hunter, warrior and king.
To put that in perspective, I've spent most of my life up until lately trying to fit in, yet wanting to stand out. Wanting to speak up, yet caring more for others than for my own authenticity, and often feeling slightly socially anxious or feeling like an excuse for myself, giving away so much of my power.
Now, also thanks to an intense time at Virtual Date With Destiny and Tony Robbins (you might know him from Netflix), I have completely reprogrammed my values, virtues and my mission in life, as well as connected with the most amazing people. We really are the sum of those who we surround ourselves with!
On that note, since you've read this far, I want to thank you for being open for taking in my reflections of 2020, and Iām thankful we share at least a fraction of this life journey with one another. May you be blessed, may you be happy, may you grow and prosper with peace, joy and courage, as we enter The Age of Aquarius. The energies of the world are shifting, my teachers say, and Iām looking forward to the wonders that shift will bring in 2021.
Whilst a dark year, 2020 has also brought great things to us, here are a few: carbon emissions have dropped by the highest amount ever recorded. 2020 was also the first year ever, where more coal plants have closed than opened. The US filed several major lawsuits agains Google and Facebook for abusing their monopoly tech powers, and the amount of electrical cars sold globally increased by 28 % since 2019.
As I conclude this essay, I invite YOU into 2021 looking at your life through a new lens. The lens where everything that happens is MEANT to happen. The lens where you donāt HAVE to do a single thing, but every experience you have, every action you take is something you GET to do or experience. Life was GIVEN to you and remember, it owes you nothing. Change your expectations for appreciation and your whole life will be transformed. Much love, your friend Simon. ā¤ļø
PS Iāve made a new Instagram for my photography and Iād love to connect with you there! www.instagram.com/skipperphotographycph ššø
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