Norwegian connection

Norway has a reputation for being egilitarian and is one of the healthiest countries in the world, with an average life expectancy of nearly seventy-eight years.

Informality of manners and conversation, punctuality and getting strongly to the point are typically Norwegian, along with modesty, keeping calm and not showing strong emotions. Lots of coffee drinking among active citizens who value honesty,tolerance and care for others.

Friendship is a silent informal agreement between two people business character and advantages of the social instincts of the heart. F. Arouet Do you know what is the Sociological aspect of this ruling?

I received a comment from a reader from Norway, pasted above, with a question. I am sure some things “lose” something in the translation and there are always language barriers to overcome between cultures. However, I understood the question, disjointed as it may seem and wish to respond to F. Arouet.or the person quoting his thoughts.

When I googled F. Arouet, I got Voltaire. I have heard of him and his ideals on liberty and morality underline much of today’s philosophy.

Voltaire’s influence on the popularity of science and philosophy was beyond measure. Voltaire had a passion for clarity and reason yet he often contradicted himself. He advocated reform but had a horror for the violence of revolution. Voltaire believed in natural religion and was against intolerance in church and state relations as well as the philosophy of the church in general. Voltaire got his ideas about philosophy from Newton and Clarke, his ideas about toleration from Locke and the main ideas about ethics from Shaftesbury. Voltaire believed that all that is common to human nature is the same in every culture. Voltaire, 1694-1778 [Francois-Marie Arouet] French Historian & Dramatist who wrote A Treatise on Toleration, 1763. Voltaire’s lasting friendship with a few individuals also appears through his informal exchange with them, much of which is filled with spicy remarks.

Well, isn’t that what we started with? Although we may appear different in our interpretations, we have more in common than any separations. Similarities cross all cultures and are the chief connection points. Let’s see: Friendship is a silent informal agreement. Yes. Based on the character and social instincts of the heart? Yes.

I have been thinking about friendship lately and am glad to get this prompt from my Norwegian connection. Do we all realize how critical “friends” are to survival? As my Norwegian friend commented- it is the “social instinct of the heart” to desire true friends. According to the link I included on Norway, they are reserved but once they know you they warm up in small comfortable groups. Not flamboyant by nature, but deeply rooted in the landscape and their homes, patriotic and proud of their roots. I love the location- it’s the whitest white area on the far left, extending from the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea. I guess you have noticed their proximity to the sea? 🙂 Whoopee!! Oslo anyone? A long and narrow landmass, with a backbone of mountains extending with fjords, or long inlets of the sea, penetrating inland with coastal landscapes that have made tourism an important industry.

So, in a harsh climate with very little food, how do they end up being such healthy citizens? They spread out. They value rural living and set up the services to come to the people, with trains running out to the edges of the forest where people hike on home. There is so much stress in urban life that they avoid by their focus on living in more pastoral areas. Also, the fish. Its’ their #1 industry and you saw the coastline. Who remembers what “cold water” fish and Omega 3’s are about? They are fish caught in the coldest artic waters with the right kinds of fats that people need to be healthy.

A friend in need is a friend indeed. Who doesn’t need more friends. Welcome- to all my Norwegian friends, whether you speak Finnish or a germanic language, I think we can understand each other at the basic levels. Your country looks lovely and your culture seems inviting.

No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking. — Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet), French author, wit and philosopher (1694-1778)

My daughter likes to tease me on “too much thinking”. I like to think of it as “sustained thinking” now that I have read F. Arouet today. And, to think, I am not the only one who treats my friends to lasting relationships interspersed with spicy remarks. How nice!

She also wonders why I take pictures of roof lines and window trim. I might forget them or need them, if I didn’t.  This is a very charming look and I’d like to use it one day.:)