She stood there by the door and I told her; "I'm not coming here anymore". Like a wonderful little paradise I watch how the light in her eyes begins to shine. And then she smiles. "So may I ask you why?" she says softly trying not the be too loud in the presence of a hundred thinking minds. "3 days and I'll be in Prague", I say. She shows me her notebook and she had written "met a stranger today although she was no stranger to me". I nodded and thought "exactly" and opened the door to face the night in the big city. So close to home but still so far from it.

Have you had a meeting with a complete stranger and ended up feeling like you've known them forever? For some reason I keep meeting people like this. Many times I just have that one moment with them and nothing more happens. Nobody gives the other their number, nobody will say to the other "it was nice meeting you". It's like we are at the right place in the right time and ours souls brought us there. Maybe these people will always remain as strangers to me, even if I remember our meeting for a lifetime. Wonder if these people know what an impact they have made on me. I don't remember any names I just remember intense feelings of belonging.

Sometimes, when it's very early in the morning when I'm not really awake yet I feel my real age. I remember all the things I've seen, felt, dreamt and done. Would people believe if I told them I old I really am? No matter how often I turn 20 I'll never have that state of mind anymore. It's like I've been old since I was born.

/Rebecka

Do you ever feel like the world has changed during the night? Everything looks exactly the same as it did yesterday. That yellow house you walk past, those old people laughing and enjoying coffee at the farmers market, those kids screaming of joy because it's finally almost winter. And yet something feels different. It feels like someone wants you to know that everything has changed. Who is that person and are they even a person?

🌠

An author walked down the street with his pencil and a paper. He was always on the lookout for new stories. He lived in an old abandoned bookstore and barely had anything to eat but the fire within him kept him warm and safe. He used to sell people little segments of his stories but lately the cold and hunger had gotten into him and it felt more and more difficult to write. People didn't really buy stories anymore either. Everyone walked around with phones and computers as their entertainment. The light of the screen had made all adults forget the magic and all children worried that their parents wouldn't notice them. In other words there didn't seem to be room for fairytales even if the author knew that it was exactly what people needed. The author watched the kids run around and tried to dream himself back to his own childhood, a time when the only light people had was the light of a good fairytale. Suddenly something moved under his feet. The author was standing on ice, reflecting like a mirror, shining almost perfectly. And when he looked closley the ice was covered in tiny white footsteps, just like they were made from snow. The author started to follow the tiny footsteps wondering if those could lead him towards a story.

🌠

When children sleep a little white being is working her magic. She dances around in circles creating piles of white snow for children to play in, she sits on a cloud and talks to it gently "please please please let it snow tomorrow morning so that the kids can build a snowman or a castle or anything they like!". For the dreamers she draws beautiful shapes with frost on the ground and roses on the windows for them to enjoy. She also covers every adults cars with snow so that they would spend more time with their children before going to work. For older people she tries to be as kind as possible, trying not to bother them too much. But by the morning light she has to go back, fly high into the sky because only there can she survive when the sun begins to shine.

🌠

The little footsteps are melting and the author sees how the warmth of the sun is creating piles of water all over the ice. He rushes back to a pile of snow as fast as he can. He looks up towards the sky and cries "Oh dear sky, why did you do this to me, couldn't you lead me towards a story? I am nothing but a poor man, no food or drink do I have and my home is too cold to be in alone, can I get my medicine towards this loneliness, can I get my story? Oh how I long to write! Seing those swirls of pencil flow so beautifully on a paper almost makes all of my human needs go away for one moment! A how wonderful it is to see people glance at something else than a computer screen, they are in fact when I start to tell.. looking at their dreams". Behind the large pile of snow a little white being is listening. The author walks away but not until darkness falls will the being emerge. She fixes the ice as good as she can, she blows away snow from trees gives them her helping hand. She helps animals to build their wintery homes, she gives nature a chance to glow. But this night she has to fly, fly until she reaches a new place to hide.

🌠

When the author wakes up in his old bookstore he can hear a gentle knock on his door. He opens his door and glances on the ground and there a clue can be found! He pics up a little sculpture of ice. It looks like a little girl with tiny wings made of frost, hair made of snow, a dress made of ice and slippers made of soft white clouds. He lifts her on his palms but she doesn't melt, he puts her on a table and starts to wait. Nothing happens. Another day goes by and another night is about to begin. The author sleeps with his notebook, hoping that the little girl would fly, perhaps he could write about it but then again that would be a lie.

🌠

A large castle of snow stands in the middle of the city. It is carefully constructed with two large towers, round rose windows made of ice, a shiny door that looks like stardust and small white clouds all around it filled with more snow. Everyone is standing outside its doors. Adults have long ago forgotten their screens, old people are debating if someone is trying to attack their city and the kids are filled with happiness knocking on the castle door. Two women mumble to themselves; 'Sarah, who do you think could have made something like this, do you think we should call the police?' 'Why do something like that Alice? The kids are finally doing something else than bothering us adults as we work!'

🌠

The author wakes up to screams and mumble outside his door. He rushes towards it in order to see what's going on. He barely opens his eyes when he opens his door. In front of him stands a woman who turns towards the rest of the crowd and screams with joy "Of course Larry you were right! It was our very own storyteller who built this castle, we should have known! Now sir would you be so kind to tell us how you built it? It must have taken you ages to designed it! I'm sure the kids would like to hear!"

🌠

The author opens his eyes and nothing is there, he steps away from the door and glances at his house. It looks exactly the same as it did before and nobody is standing in front of it anymore. It must have been a dream he laughs but at least he found a story, no need to worry. The entire day he writes. Page after page after page. He falls asleep on top of his notebook but when he sleeps his notebook flies away. A little white being the one sitting on his table that he had forgot was taking his stories to the skies without saying any goodbyes. So when it snows and it doesn't feel the same you know who to blame. It's snowing fairytales and dreams your way.

Good night ❄🌬

A considerable amount of Finnish people feel fatigue, loss or an increase in their appetite, a more negative attitude towards life etc. during the autumn. We talk about is as something that should be fixed, seasonal depression. A seasonal depression can be healed with light since the absence of light seems to be the reason behind it. Me however, have a different theory behind why we suddenly behave like this during the autumnal darkness. I personally think that people are meant to have a hibernation period just like many other animals, but we are ignoring this natural need of ours and seeing it as a problem. It isn't the same as with animals of course but I think we do have this natural need to slow down. This doesn't mean that it would be suddenly okay to throw away ones healthy lifestyle but it means that you might need some more sleep and perhaps crave more sweets but you don't have to act upon it. My point is that it happens naturally and there is nothing wrong with you for experiencing it, you are not a problem. So what if you sleep in one morning it is just one morning.

I think we should be compassionate regarding our bodies and their needs. Not everything needs to be about mind over body and trying to fight away all human aspects of oneself. We should be seeing this "hibernation of humans" as something that is okay to have. I think genes also play a big role regarding how you will survive winter. I have so "old" genes since I'm partly inuit that I have this connection with my body and nature. If nature changes my body changes. It is not always fun and it doesn't fit into modern society but my point is that we are walking around ignoring our human side, the side of us that isn't really ready for this fast paced modern life and our bodies are trying to tell us just that. Yet, we keep seing everything human about us as a problem or diagnosis instead of seing it as something that is really very normal.

So if you are like me having to deal with this seasonal fatigue and modern life together then try to not be so hard on yourself. Try to organize your work and studies so that you aren't doing to much on a daily basis, instead work a little everyday and take pauses in between. My greatest tip is probably taking naps. Even if you don't normally take naps you might want to, during your seasonal fatigue. And again be kind to yourself. This feeling doesn't mean that you are lazy or unmotivated or sick in someway, it simply means that your body is trying to adapt because the season just changed or is currently changing and for your body it really is a big deal. Something that also could help with the feeling of hopelessness that often tags along with the tiredness is having something to look forward to, whether it is meeting a friend, waiting for Christmas or having an upcoming trip planned - these are all great ways to keep your spirit bright! And we all know that when your mind stays happy, your body feels it too.

I hope this helps someone out there whom feels understood after reading this! I've probably spent hours trying to find an article written in a compassionate perspective regarding the topic but I couldn't really find one, which is why I wrote one myself. Mine is supposed to be less scientific and more understanding. So if science is what you seek for there are plenty of great sources of that elsewhere. So everyone; don't beat yourself up due to tiredness, this is just one period in your life and it will pass. You are fine. You are okay. Sleep if you need to sleep. Eat if you need to eat. Exercise if you need to exercise. Your body knows what it needs.

PS. Feel free to share your advice on how one survives winter!

❤: Rebecka