My thoughts shared with you

29th of August 2020

I want to travel somewhere after the Covid and experience something new.

I was thinking of going perhaps to a place I have wanted to see for many years but now I have changed my thoughts.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and we spoke about Denmark.

I have never been to Denmark but I have visited Norway. Denmark might be interesting. It takes about 4 hours by plane from Portugal to Copenhagen. It´s not too expensive and staying there for 3 weeks would be perfect.

Then I would have to decide if I travel during the summer or the winter. I would like to go during winter. I know it would be cold and I know it might be different from the hot summer days but that’s what I want to experience, the cold.

The year 2021 will be my saving year. After December 2020 my financial situation will be ok and plans to make are proper.

Dreams are to come true and late 2021 we should have a vaccine for the virus.

Having a plan is perfect.

Dreaming big is even more in line with my plan.

Of course I would really like to go to China and visit my dear friends there but that might be too far and too much for my health. I do settle for Denmark! At least for the time being, we never know what will happen in 2022!

The day here in my little land is beautiful. The clouds are sailing and changing all the time. When looking out there is always something different to see even if it is always from the same spot in front of my computer.

I love the blue colour and the white clouds. I also love the black during the night. Last night I woke up at half past 3 and looked out. The stars shining, the moon shining, the lights around the road shining but everything wrapped in black velvet.  It was amazing and peace and quiet even though the dogs barking.

It´s not normal for me to get up and out on my balcony in the middle of the night but this was perfect. Seeing the stars shining was something I have not seen for some time and the cold air was just fresh.

The autumn is arriving and I find that time of the year always beautiful. The colours, the dark evenings, the freshness and the cooler air are simply a perfect combination.

It looks like the first week of September is going to be rather hot, in fact extremely hot but the future is not clear yet. We often have a very hot October here in my little land so I don´t know what will be this year. Everything is changing.

Anyway, I hope your day will be fine.

Remember to dream, without dreams we are empty and bleak.

I send you hugs and kisses wherever you are in the world.

Hulda Björnsdóttir

26.ágúst 2020

Ein ágæt kona á Íslandi sagði:  

“Já, já, eftirlaun/ellilífeyrir er of lítill en að það þurfi að gera eitthvað sérstaklega fyrir það fólk sem kýs/kaus að búa erlendis, það skil ég ekki. Það hlýtur að vera val hvers og eins.“

Ég hef ekki trú á því að þessi ágæta manneskja sem ég þekki ekki neitt, en fletti upp á facebook profile hennar, sé með lág eftirlaun.

Það bregður oft við þegar ég skrifa um bág kjör þeirra sem komnir eru í þá stöðu að þurfa að velja á milli hvort þeir búi á Íslandi og komast ekki af, eða hvort þeir taki þann kost að flytja til ódýrari landa og búa erlendis þar sem hugsanlega er hægt að eiga fyrir mat alla daga ársins og hafa þak yfir höfuðið og þurfa ekki að vera eins og niðursetningur á Íslandi bara af því að fólk er annað hvort fátækt, öryrkjar eða eldri borgarar sem hafa verið millistétt eða neðar í skalanum á starfsævinni, að upp rísa nokkrir sem tala um þetta val sem blessað fólkið á.

Staðreyndin er þessi: Það er ekkert val.

Það er ekki val að þurfa að horfa á diskinn sinn tómann síðustu daga mánaðarins.

Það er ekki val að eiga ekki fyrir mat handa börnunum.

Það er ekki val að geta ekki farið til læknis af því það eru ekki til peningar fyrir þjónustunni eða lyfjunum.

Það er ekki val að horfa fram á að annað hvort svelti maður eða fari.

Það er ekki val að hröklast í burtu frá ættingjum og vinum til þess að geta dregið fram lífið og ekki dáið úr hungri.

Það er ekki val að geta ekki valið hvar maður býr vegna peninga.

Það er bláköld staðreynd hjá mörgum að annaðhvort er að duga eða drepast og eina ráðið er að fara.

“Rúm­lega 47 þúsund Íslend­ing­ar eru bú­sett­ir er­lend­is og 44 þúsund er­lend­ir rík­is­borg­ar­ar eru bú­sett­ir hér á landi, að því er fram kem­ur í yf­ir­liti Þjóðskrár yfir skrán­ingu ein­stak­linga. Þá var fjöldi ein­stak­linga sem bú­sett­ir voru á Íslandi 356.789 þann 1. des­em­ber 2018.

Norður­lönd­in eru enn vin­sæl­asti áfangastaður Íslend­inga og eru um 62% allra ís­lenskra rík­is­borg­ara sem búa er­lend­is bú­sett­ir þar. Tæp­lega 11 þúsund Íslend­ing­ar eru bú­sett­ir í Dan­mörku, 9,5 þúsund í Nor­egi og 8,7 þúsund í Svíþjóð.

Næst á eft­ir þess­um ríkj­um eru Banda­rík­in og eru 6.492 ein­stak­ling­ar með ís­lenskt rík­is­fang bú­sett­ir þar. Þá eru rúm­lega tvö þúsund bú­sett­ir í Bretlandi og um sex­tán hundruð í Þýskalandi, en mun færri ann­ars staðar.”

Líklega hefur þeim sem búa erlendis fjölgað á þessum 2 árum sem liðin eru frá því að ofangreindar tölur birtust.

Ég þekki ótal marga Íslendinga sem vildu miklu heldur búa á Íslandi og geta heimsótt vini og vandamenn reglulega og átt eðlileg samskipti við þá sem þeir hafa alist upp með.

Ég þekki líka ótal marga Íslendinga sem geta ekki hugsað sér að flytja brott af landinu og yfirgefa æskustöðvarnar.

Báðir þessir hópar standa frammi fyrir því að gengi krónunnar stjórnar lífi þeirra og getur kippt undan þeim fótunum á augnabliki, eins og nú er að gerast.

Það er hart að velstæðir Íslendingar skuli ekki bara halda sig til hlés í þessari umræðu og láta okkur hinum eftir að kvarta yfir óréttlæti því sem okkur finnst vera í gangi.

Það er ekki þannig að ég skrifi aldrei um betri líðan okkar sem búum erlendis þegar krónan er í jafnvægi. Sú staða fær alveg jafn mikla umfjöllun hjá mér en núna, akkúrat núna og undanfarna mánuði er gjaldmiðillinn ekki í jafnvægi og ekkert gott sem ég get sagt um krónuna, eða stjórn sem stýrir henni. Það er bara þannig núna.

Ég gleðst með ykkur sem hafið það flott og þurfið aldrei að spá í matarbita næsta dags eða næstu viku. Ég veit að það er þó nokkuð stór hópur ykkar og það er vel. Samt breytist ekkert við þessa gleði mína varðandi líðan okkar sem eigum ekki auðæfi til þess að halla okkur upp að. Við erum og verðum á meðan ekkert breytist öreigar Íslands sem er ýtt út úr landinu og okkur ekki gefinn kostur á því að vera þar sem mörg okkar helst vildu vera.

“Já, já, eftirlaun/ellilífeyrir er of lítill en að það þurfi að gera eitthvað sérstaklega fyrir það fólk sem kýs/kaus að búa erlendis, það skil ég ekki. Það hlýtur að vera val hvers og eins”

Virðulega frú sem lést OFANGREINT út úr þér í dag, Ég fullvissa þig um að það er EKKERT VAL það er bara NEYÐ SEM REKUR OKKUR Í BURTU.

Hulda Björnsdóttir

19. ágúst 2020

Ég ætlaði ekkert að skrifa hér eða vera að rífa mig en ég bara get ekki setið á mér núna. Ég er ösku- organdi reið.

Iceland air er bjargað og hvað gerist? Jú, Seðlabankinn lækkar gengið enn meira og hélt ég þó að nóg væri komið.

Upp rísa nú spekingar sem segja að við, sem reynum að halda því fram að gengið hafi áhrif á allt verðlag á Íslandi, séum fífl.

Ég væri ákaflega þakklát ef þessir spekingar vildu sýna mér svart á hvítu hvernig verðlag var fyrir ári og hvernig það er núna á hinu göfuga Íslandi þar sem allt er svo gott. Hefur virkilega ekkert hækkað?

Það er urgast yfir því að við sem höfum flúið land af ýmsum ástæðum, ekki síst vegna þess að þeir sem eru öryrkjar og venjulegir eldri borgarar geta ekki lifað af tekjum sem þeim eru skammtaðar, séum ekki himinlifandi þegar innkoma okkar er skorinn með sverði. Það er urgast yfir því að við skulum voga okkur að kvarta yfir genginu.

Vita þessir spekingar hvað það eru margir sem hafa flúið landið?

Vita þessir spekingar hvað það eru margir sem búa á Íslandi?

Vita þessir spekingar yfirleitt nokkurn skapaðan hlut um hvað það er að vera fátækur í einu ríkasta landi heimsins og horfa upp á börnin svelta og gamla fólkið deyja úr vannæringu og einstæðu móðurina missa kjarkinn þegar hún sér ekki fram á að geta séð fyrir fjölskyldunni enn einn veturinn?

Það er ágætt að vera spekingur og það er ágætt að ráðast á okkur sem erum að tuða. Ég vona svo sannarlega að spekingarnir þurfi ALDREI að lepja dauðann úr skel.

Ég vona svo sannarlega að spekingarnir hafi ALLTAF greitt skatta og skyldur til þjóðfélagsins og ég vona að þeir komi til með að njóta ávaxtar erfiðis síns.

Ég er komin frá einstæðri móður, öryrkja sem barðist í bökkum alla sína tíð. Hún er ein af hinum þöglu hetjum sem ráðist var á þegar hún þurfti að leita aðstoðar hjá opinberum aðilum.

Sem betur fer þurfti móðir mín ekki að lifa þá tíma sem nú eru. Hún slapp við að vera afskipt á elliheimili þar sem öllum var bannað að fara í heimsókn af því að hún og aðrir gætu smitað og breitt út Covid.

Mamma var ekkert öðruvísi en venjulegir öryrkjar nú til dags. Hún lék sér ekki að því að fá berkla þegar hún var ung stúlka og hún lék sér ekki að því að vera með boginn handlegg sem greri skakkt saman vegna mistaka einhvers læknir.

Nei, hún mamma var bara eins og öryrkjarnir núna. Hún vann eins og hún gat og hún átti eitthvað af fólki sem hjálpaði henni. Ég er þakklát fyrir að hún skuli ekki þurfa að horfa upp á þá tíma sem nú eru.

Þeir sem ráðast á öryrkjana og dæma þá lata og druslur ættu að staldra við og hugleiða morgundaginn. Morgundagurinn getur verið dagurinn sem breytir öllu lífi þeirra dómhörðu, þeir geta orðið fyrir slysi sem kippir undan þeim fótunum og þeir fá þá að kynnast því hvað það er að vera í hjólastól, kannski, eða að þurfa að hafa aðstoð við minnstu athafnir, athafnir sem við teljum sjálfsagðar og ekki ástæðu til þess að minnast á. Þeir gætu farið inn í líf sem er endalausir viðþolslausir verkir sem ekkert er hægt að gera við annað en taka lyf og þeir gætu komist í þá aðstöðu að eiga ekki fyrir lyfjum, hvað þá mat eða húsaskjóli.

Margt af þessu fólki sem er í stöðu öryrkja hefur flúið Ísland í von um að eiga mat alla daga ársins. Með gengis garganinu er fótunum kippt undan þessu fólki, bara rétt si svona.

Hverjir eru það sem verið er að hjálpa með gengisfellingu þeirri sem nú gengur yfir?

Er það fátæka fólkið?

Eða er það kannski útgerðin og elítan sem njóta góðs af?

Hverjir eiga peninga til þess að gambla með endalaust? Ekki er það öryrkinn, hinn almenni öryrki sem lög eru brotin á hvern einasta dag. Nei það eru ekki heldur venjulegu eldri borgararnir sem hafa lagt í lífeyrissjóð allt sitt líf og haldið að þeir mundu njóta sæmilegs tíma þegar þeir hættu að þræla.

Það sýður á mér í dag og ég gat ekki setið á mér. Auðvitað rísa spekingarnir upp og segja mér að þegja. Auðvitað rís einhver upp og segir að FEB og LEB geri aldrei neitt í málum eldri borgara. Þessi upprisni gæti numið staðar og hætt að arga Mannréttindadómstóll og ekkert annað. Þessi upprisni gæti kynnt sér málið og kannski skilið að til þess að fara fyrir Mannréttindadómstól þarf mál fyrst að fara fyrir íslenska dómstóla og það er einmitt að gerast núna.

Grái herinn er að sækja mál vegna skerðinga lífeyrissjóðsgreiðslna.  Wilhelm og Finnur og Ingibjörg hafa barist eins og ljón fyrir þessari málssókn og í haust kemur væntanlega niðurstaða úr FYRSTA DÓMSSTIGI.

Ég gagnrýni það sem mér finnst gagnrýnivert en ég þakka líka það sem mér finnst vel vera gert.

Ég hef verið grimm við FEB og LEB og held áfram að vera það þegar mér þykir ástæða en það er engin ástæða til þess að vera með rangfærslur og lygi og segja að EKKERT hafi verið gert á undanförnum mánuðum.

Ég ætla að láta þetta gott heita í bili en ég er hreint alveg jafn argandi reið og þegar ég skrifaði fyrsta stafinn.

Það sorglega við gengið er að bráðum verða kosningar á landinu og þá dregur BB upp bréfið frá 2013 eða eitthvað líkt og allir falla á kné og trúa lyginni og setja kross við þrælahaldarana sem sjá um að fátækir verði fátækari og ríkir ríkari.

Hulda Björnsdóttir

17. August 2020  Boa Noite

Another evening has arrived and another story is here for you before you go to bed.

I remembered the wonderful exciting times when I spent a winter in Iceland and my mother was a cook in a boarding school. There was snow and there was rain. There was sunshine and there was cloudy, but always the excitement of a 12 year old was there.

The evenings during the winter and the sound of the steps walking through the white wonder on the ground was something you never forget. I loved it and took often long walks with my friends during the evening. Some of the friends lived close by and went home every day but others spent the time at the school.

There is something about the sound of the snow that sticks in my memory. There is something romantic about it and when you look up at the mountain you see the beauty embracing the rocks. Snow is amazing and it can also be horrible. Snow is not always the friend you think it is when you are 12 years old. Snow can be the worst enemy and it kills merciless those who don´t respect it and even those who do respect the danger.

During the school year there was also spring with all the beauty that follows the amazing season when everything is waking up after the winters rest, just like the bears.

I had a bicycle which I loved. It was red and it was big enough for me, and we took the day early for traveling to the river. I fell and broke my knee. I walked back to the school, dragging my bike with me and my mother scolded me. It hurt a lot and it took many days to bring me to the capital to a doctor and there I was told my knee was broken and I would have to stay in bed for many many many days! Horrible and my mother was NOT happy.

Anyway, this was my first broken bone but many have followed. Having osteoporosis is a struggle and a tricky situation if it is bad. Somehow I have managed and learned to live with the monster and being almost normal!

When I began to walk again and was able to visit the river, on foot, not by bike, I went there often and sitting in the sunshine watching the spiders make their beautiful webs was my favourite, as well as the sound of the river, soothing and exciting. Watching the fish jump high up in the air was another wonder I always remember and admire.  The gleaming of their bodies was like silver pearls and the sunny drops like a cloud with no beginning and no ending.

The nature is beautiful; it has shaped me and my soul since very young age. This year staying in the boarding school was an adventure and so much happened. We did not go there again, me and my mother, but the memories live.

12 years old I had dreams about better world and different life. I dreamt about staying in the same school year after year and not having to move all the time. I dreamt about having friends, the same friends year after year. I dreamt about having the same teacher next year and I loved my teachers, but next year came and another place with other people and other teachers, new friends and new adventures.

The fact was that being shaped like this, wandering like a homeless during my young life shaped my skill to adjust and accept. Quickly I adjust and quickly I make decisions. I am grateful for my mother’s effort and how much she had to sacrifice simply to help us survive. She always did her best. She always fought the battle until the last breath. She challenged the hurdles and she won. She is the reason I am where I am now, able to enjoy and love my life for what it is and dream about the next moment with optimism and happiness.

My mother rests in peace with so many of other people I have loved through my life but she is perhaps the one I admire most for her sacrifice and persistence.

Good night my reader and I hope love and light will embrace you this night and every night. Thank you for reading my thoughts for this evening, the thoughts I wanted to share with the live and the NOW.

Hulda Björnsdóttir

 

17th of August 2020

Another beautiful day with sunshine and clouds mixed.

The roads are a bit wet and the joy seeing that when looking out early in the morning is just something not possible to describe with words.

We need the rain here in my little land. We need it for the trees, for the animals and for the people. We need the rain for the freshness and the beauty when the colours become brighter and everything is different from the heat and sunny days are slowly retreating into the autumn.

There will be sunshine during the autumn and the winter but it is different from the summer sunshine. It is more soothing and it is like a soft touch on your chin from a loving soul.

Every day now and on we will see something new happening in my little land.

We will see the farmers looking after their grapes. We will also see the farmers soon putting up ads or banners where people are invited to help cutting the grapes from the trees and being part of the new vine making. It is a pure joy to follow the people and see their smiling faces when they think about the crops and their excitement when they taste the first vine of the year.

In the autumn, later, the olives picking begins. Usually in my memory it is very cold when I drive to Condeixa and pass the farmers and the whole family working hard to get every olive from the trees and for some there are soooooo many trees that they have to take care of. After the olives have been harvested the pruning and cutting of the trees takes over. There is always something happening around the road when I drive to my beautiful Condeixa.

This year I have not travelled a lot. I have been to Coimbra and Viera de Leiria and some places on the road there but not further north and not to Porto. I love Porto and like to visit but now I don´t give in to the temptation. I would like to go to some places in the south but that has also to wait. I am waiting for the NORMAL to arrive slowly into my little land.

I just wanted to say hello and good morning to you my reader and share with you some of my thoughts during this fresh morning.

I hope your day will be moving towards normal.

I hope you can enjoy the beauty around you, just as I enjoy the wonderful little guest that is at my balcony just now and has been since early morning.

She brings happiness and prosperity and she and her sisters and brothers are always welcome to my balcony.

Hulda Björnsdóttir

16^th of august 2020

And another night for telling stories

When I was a teenager I spent one summer at a tiny farm, isolated and away from the civilisation or so to speak. The only way to reach the civilisation was by boat and I went only once to the other side during the summer.

This one summer shaped my soul forever. This summer I learned to dream, I learned to accept the power of the sea and I learned about fatherly love. The love I was given that summer has never left me. I have been nourished by it for decades. I have absorbed the dreams that followed me into the future. The dream was to go to the tiny place and spend a month there in isolation and contemplate on life and existence.

My mentor had given me permission to spend the time on his farm which was now empty and nothing there except the nature and the trolls who live in the mountain above the house. I tried to climb the mountain once and was high up when my friend called and told me to come down immediately. He was not happy with me and scolded me in a gentle way.  I promised never to climb again! And I kept the promise.

I did not go to the place again. I fell and broke my back and could not go when I had hoped to and soon after my whole world collapsed. My mentor and father figure and friend passed away many years ago but I still carry him in my heart and he sometimes comes for a visit or I visit his farm in my dreams, sometimes awake and sometimes asleep.

Dreaming is good. Being able to go to the farm and touch the grass and smell the fish in my dreams makes me happy. Being able to sit in front of my friend talking to him and telling him what I would not tell anyone else is a gift from God. “Don´t be afraid my daughter,” he often tells me. He knows my soul and he knows when the fear knocks at my door. I wish I could go there once again and touch the grass and talk to the trolls and smell the sea and re live when he sails in his boat with the groceries he has bought in the little village at the other side of the bay.

Dreaming to be with my friend and talking to him and being able to embrace him and he embraces me, is beautiful. Pictures are fine and some things we experience are groped into our hearts forever.  I don´t need a picture to see my friend. His picture is in a special place in my heart and never leaves. He embraces me when I need it. He kisses my tears when they arrive and he tells me everything will be fine. He loves me unconditionally and I love him forever.

Listening to Demis Roussos sing the song “One way wind” always reminds me of my dear mentor and friend. Some winds blow for ever, he whispers in my ear, he walks with me towards the seaside and he tells me the wind blows day after day and never forgets me.  He tells me that one day I will understand what he is trying to say just like the wind will blow both ways and blow me away.

Don´t be afraid of dreaming my daughter, he told me.

One day I will be with my dear friend and then I will tell him how much he gave me and how much I have loved him always and how grateful I have always been for everything this summer left in my memory. Just passing by and shaping the soul was his task in my life. How great is that!

Hulda Björnsdóttir

15th of August 2020

nine o’clock in the evening

The night is almost here and the story telling time is on

Many years ago I participated in a seminar called “To let the dreams come true”.

I met many people during this time that did not yet know what they wanted in life and they did not dream. They were in the same boxes they had always been in and there was not, or there was not in sight, any escape from the boxes.

After some weeks they had the boxes open ajar and they had found dreams lying around ready to be picked up. Dreams about different. Dreams about better. Dreams about adventure. Dreams about love and dreams about a brighter future outside the safe empty boxes.

Seeing people leave the building with smiles on their faces was fantastic. People who had been unhappy for a very long time suddenly came optimistic and saw the future in a shining bright light where everything was possible if patience and persistence was the guiding power.

I know there are many who don´t believe in dreams. I know there are many who have given up visualising brighter future.

I know there is despair and emptiness in many souls these days but I also know that the sun shines and behind every cloud there is a shining star.

I know there are many who read my words and think I am a stupid idiot who knows nothing. That is ok with me. But I also know that there are many out there who know the truth of my words. I hope we all will find our dreams. We won’t find them if we don´t look for them. Looking is the beginning. Finding is the second step. Visualising is the greatest part and the feeling is the food for our souls.

My dear friends who read this. Please look for your dreams, at least look. It may take some time to get on the road and it may take you to crossroads, but never loose sight of what might be your innermost wish and please never stop feeding it with love and care.

Hulda Björnsdóttir

15th of august 2020

Good morning.

Practise what you preach we sometimes say.

I preach about healthy lifestyle all the time and should show a good example.

This week I have been in my gym 5 times, I have taken a walk apart from the gym every day, 7 days. I eat healthy and I meditate and think positively about every moment, or at least I try.

Before I did write about the situation in Iceland, the poverty some are experiencing and how the government ignores that. I gave up writing about this some days ago because it takes too much time to follow everything that is happening and I believe there are other people who can do the work just as well as I and even better. It is also devastating to see how nothing changes in the rich country. It is devastating to see how the arrogance is in control and the little man is left behind.

I am grateful every day for my decision decades ago to leave the country I was born in and find a new home for me.

I get my pension from Iceland, I have paid my taxes there all my working life and my rights for pension are from there. This is why I do follow what is happening in the country; otherwise I would not care at all. I have left and never going back. It makes me furious to see my savings go down the drain every month because of corruption and greed in Iceland.

This month is the last one I can afford to have a personal trainer in my gym. I will miss it, it helps a lot to have him by my side every moment and have him telling me I can do what he wants me to accomplish.

Why don´t I then continue the work with my trainer? It’s because I can’t afford it until January next year. The currency of the Icelandic krona is on its way to hell, jumping every month and the value of my pension less and less.

But there are brighter times ahead. Next year my tax will be less because of the currency and in December this year I will have payed everything for this year.

It is a blessing not owing anything to anyone, especially on times like now.

I have food on the table; I can go to my gym every week and every month even though I have to skip my personal training just for 4 months.  My wonderful friends at the gym will help me and I have the self-control to do what I need to do.

Since I don´t fight any more for the poor in Iceland what am I doing? I don´t know. I might write a lot and I might even find something new to take up my time. I am on a crossroad and I have to admit that it was easy when I knew where to go and did not even have to think about it. Now I have to think again!

I could say, I wish everything was different!

I could say; I wish we did not have the Covid!

I could say; I wish NORMAL was again!

I could say so many things and just sit and wait for them or something to happen.

I can get up every morning with an optimistic mind and believe that happiness is mine this moment and every moment.

I can wake up and look at the clouds and the beauty in their dance and I can dance with them. That is what I do, today and every day.

I get sad when I hear about my friends around the world that get sick and have to fight the new virus. I feel helpless and afraid for their lives.

I have to hope for the best and accept the worst; there is no other way to survive.

I have a choice to make. I have to make up my mind what friends to keep in touch with and what people I want in my life. There are some that want to be part of mine but I don´t want them. Really, how is that possible?

I was asked to forgive someone that hurt me terrible 50 years ago. I never think about this person and why should I now, 50 years later try to forgive something that is not important enough for me to think about?

When we ask someone to forgive us we might contemplate and figure out if the person really bears grudges or simply does not care. I don´t care about this person, I was hurt decades ago but my life does not have to be occupied by the idiots who now have realised how bad their behaviour was.

I blocked the person from Skype and from every social media I know.  The beauty about the modern media is that we can control who can see what we write and publish on the internet, or at least we can control who is able to contact us.

Sometimes we forget that there is a generation here in my little land that can’t read or write. Sometimes we also forget that there is a generation that does not know how to use smartphones or internet.

In a modern world we tend to forget those people and they are left behind. In the Covid era this is obvious.

My thought for today is perhaps, let’s help the generation and not leave the people behind.

I am the wind, just try to keep up with me

Hulda Björnsdóttir

 

 

11. August 2020

Sometimes I am asked how I manage to look so young.

There is no one reply but the reasons might be those: My genes, healthy lifestyle, loving life and being optimistic.

I do come from a bloodline that lives long and that helps me to look younger than my age, I think.

Lifestyle is a huge part of long live if you want to be happy and able to do what comes into your mind.

We do see the ads all the time about quick solutions, how to lose weight in few weeks or even few days, how to get flat stomach after few days and few minutes every day of exercising. This might all be true if you are a magician but in real life I don´t think so.

I was talking to someone the other day and dared to give some advice about how he could lose weight and get less pain in his knees.

Guess what! “It is difficult” he replied.

Seriously! Did I ever say it would be easy?

No, I did not but the effort might safe your health my friend and you would be able to live longer and take care of your family longer!

My argument was a waste of time, sad but true.

When I was in my gym this morning there were 3 people, heavily overweight and I admire them for the energy, the persistence and the dedication to lose weight, to become healthier and to be willing to do what is necessary if they want to be healthy for the rest of their lives.

Those 3 are not making excuses, they are just going for it and they know it will take longer time to get rid of the extra kilos, longer than gaining them. Those 3 don´t say it is difficult, they exercise and it is difficult for them but they don´t care. They are taking care of their health and that even in Covid times. How great is that!

Back to me and my looks.

I have always taken extra good care of my skin, both in my face and my body. The skin is our biggest organ and needs pampering and caressing.

I do eat healthy and most of my food is made by me and I know what is in it. I do once in a while, but rarely, go out and have dinner although I like being with friends and enjoying good food is of course a must occasionally just for the soul.

A simple example is my soy milk. I tried to buy it here in Portugal, when I arrived because I did not have any machine to make it myself. It was full of something that made me not feel good, it was sweet and most likely with lots of chemicals to make it last forever in the packaging. Mine is just made with water and beans, organic beans. I learned this in China.

I learned a lot about food in China but unfortunately I can’t cook it properly the Chinese way. I have not found a real Chinese food here in Portugal, except when I spent 10 days in Algarve some years ago. There I could get Indian food, Chinese food and Japanese food, but not here on the mainland.

I don’t eat read meat, simply because I don´t like it and the closest I come to the red meat is Tuna fish!

Fish I do eat and a lot of veggies and fruits. I do make an effort to get my food organic as much as possible.

And last but not least, my recipe for long live and looking young is meditation and food for the soul.  The food for the soul is music, good books, art and wonderful people. The world is full of clowns that make you laugh, but they are not my thing. I prefer genuine humour and a good laugh that has nothing to do with pretending to be funny and playing the clown all the time.

In fact there are clowns in dysfunctional families as well as the over protective ones in there as well. Co-dependency has more than one face and the clown is one of its faces.

Having trustworthy friends is also important for long live. Friends are like the diamonds in the sky. They are there for you when you need them, they laugh with you and they cry with you. Being a good friend of my friends is my motto and makes me happy. I choose carefully who I trust and I appreciate the people in my life.

The art is important for me and singing and music is a huge part which I appreciate and I look for. Here in my little land it is not always easy to find the concerts or the galleries but they do exist and looking for them is worth the effort.

Dreaming about the future and having a goal is a must for well being, at least for me. I dream and I make my dreams come true. I adjust them if needed but I also leave them alone and see them come true.

NO quick solutions, patience, persistence and love for the life is super and will make you look much younger than the years you have in your bag.

I always say, age is just a number.

Take good care of yourselves and be optimistic. Make the effort and you will see results. This morning my training was hard and I was breathing like a whale but I knew I would be ok and in fact I enjoy the challenge. I see results and that makes me happy.

It will be wonderful to see the 3 overweight persons in my gym after some months when they are fitter than today, and the smiles on their faces when they come to the gym, broader. I and they have a goal and we are going to make it. We will all be looking young and we will be happy. We will not think about the number, we will think about living alive.

Hulda Björnsdóttir

 

 

10. ágúst 2020

Það er líklega fátt sem fer eins í taugarnar á mér og þegar fólk er að sverma fyrir að flytja til fátæks lands og sleppa við að borga skatta.

Hvernig getur samviska þessa ágæta fólks farið að sofa á kvöldin?

Hvernig getur þetta fólk ætlast til þess að fá læknisþjónust, nota vegi og opinbera þjónustu og vilja ekki leggja til samfélagsins?

Hvernig er þetta hægt?

Ég veit að það er fullt af fólki á Íslandi sem argar rétt eins og ég yfir spillingu og viðbjóði frá ríkisstjórnum og hvernig almúginn er hundeltur og krafinn um skatta og skyldur á meðan mafían sleppur og kemur sínum fúlgum jafnvel úr landi þegar krónan er þeim hagstæð og flytja svo peningana aftur til Íslands þegar krónan er hagstæð til þess gjörnings.

Sama fólk og argar yfir spillingu á Íslandi leita allra leiða sem hægt er til þess að komast í skattaskjól? Er þetta ekki hræsni í hámarki? Mér finnst það.

Ég talaði um daginn einhvers staðar um að skattarnir sem ég þarf að borga þetta árið hér í Portúgal væru að setja mig úr sambandi við allar áætlanir vegna gengis krónunnar.

Það leið ekki dagurinn þar til ég fékk skilaboð um að það væri einkennilegt að ég þyrfti að borga skatta hér, þar sem reglur væru þær í landinu að eftirlaun væru ekki skattlögð!

Einmitt!

Ég nenni ekki eina ferðina enn að reyna að koma fólki í skilning um að það er jafn mikill þjófnaður og lögbrot hér í Portúgal að stela undan skatti og á Íslandi.

Ég nenni ekki heldur eina ferðina enn að tala um hvað mér finnst skattsvik ómerkilegur gjörningur og að hæla sér af því að borga ekki skatta eitthvað það ömurelgasta sem ég heyri.

Ég borga til þjófélagsins sem ég bý í, fyrir það fæ ég þjónustu, alla þá þjónustu sem ég þarf. Ég ek um göturnar, fer á spítala þegar ég þarf, þigg læknisþjónustu og borga smáaura fyrir hana og svona get ég endalaust talið.

Ég veit um fullt af fólki á Íslandi sem stelur undan skatti án þess að blikna alla daga ársins. Þetta fólk er ekki elítan. Þetta er venjulegt fólk sem hefur aukatekjur fyrir eitt og annað og gefur ekki upp krónu af góssinu. Auðvitað er þetta allt í lagi, allir gera þetta, eða er það?

Það er hægt að komast inn í lögfræðiþjónustu hér í Portúgal og fá þar leiðbeiningar um hvernig hægt er að komast hjá því að taka þátt í samfélaginu án þess að greiða krónu til þess. Það eru glæpamenn alls staðar sem hjálpa öðrum glæpamönnum. Sem betur fer er farið að taka verulega hart á svona glæpastarfsemi og alveg víst að íslendingar sem flytja hingað og borga ekki skatta verða látnir súpa seyðið fljótlega og græt ég það ekki.

Ég ætla ekkert að tala um hvernig Svíarnir hafa tekið á málum sinna þegna hér í landinu. Þeir láta fólk ekki komast upp með svikin.

Fyrirlitning mín á skattsvikurum, hvar sem þeir eru, er alveg pottþétt ekki í anda sumra en það verður að hafa það.

Ég læt mig frekar hafa það að vera án einhvers en að fjármagn með svörtu fé!

Hvort skattsvikarar sofa vel á nóttunni veit ég ekkert um en ég hef séð að þeir láta eitt og annað eftir sér sem mig dreymir ekki einu sinni um, en ég sef vel á nóttunni og borga með glöðu geði það sem mér er gert að borga hér í landinu sem hefur tekið mér með opnum örmum og sér um að ég fái þá þjónustu sem ég greiði fyrir.

Hulda Björnsdóttir