Happy New Year, everyone. I write this brief reflection to you from my in-laws’ home in Vaasa, Finland. This close to the Arctic circle, the sun rises a little past ten in the morning and moves low across the sky, never quite clearing the birch forest on the horizon. At midday it’s already setting and by three in the afternoon it’s night again. While present, the sun is fiercely golden. Everyone takes advantage. Cross-country skiers and dog-walkers appear on the frozen lake, and a neighborhood teen, I’m told, with a sizable TikTok following, whips donuts on a hot-rod snowmobile. Light here is a precious commodity. But then it is everywhere, especially these days.
The Time of Big Walking
The Time of Big Walking
The Time of Big Walking
Happy New Year, everyone. I write this brief reflection to you from my in-laws’ home in Vaasa, Finland. This close to the Arctic circle, the sun rises a little past ten in the morning and moves low across the sky, never quite clearing the birch forest on the horizon. At midday it’s already setting and by three in the afternoon it’s night again. While present, the sun is fiercely golden. Everyone takes advantage. Cross-country skiers and dog-walkers appear on the frozen lake, and a neighborhood teen, I’m told, with a sizable TikTok following, whips donuts on a hot-rod snowmobile. Light here is a precious commodity. But then it is everywhere, especially these days.