Imagine, for a moment, that it's high summer. The air is heavy and sweet. It rained this morning, a brief shower, but now the sun is out and the sky is a pure, shimmering blue. It's warm, bright with the summer sun, with just a hint of wind.
Come with me. I want to show you something.
Let's take the path through the meadow, where the grass is high and the wildflowers nod in the breeze. There's a patch of forest at the edge of the field - the ground is a little rough, so watch your step. It's not far now.
There - see it, that slant of light just ahead? There's an opening in the forest, a little glade. Let's stop here for a bit.
It's green, and cool, and so very still. So still, you can hear your own breathing.
Now, where are they? I'll have to bend down and hunt around a bit - here they are! I'll pick a few for you. So small, but rich and deep red - here, take them. Eat.
The flavor bursts in your mouth, incredibly sweet. Wild strawberries.
You're standing in a smultronställe - that's Swedish for a "wild strawberry place".
It's a lovely word, isn't it? But a smultronställe (smool TRONS tull uh) is more than that. A smultronställe is any place that you love - a beloved spot you come back to that's your own, a hidden, private place where you can go and forget about your troubles.
A smultronställe can be more than a place, too. It can be any moment or anything you love to do that lifts your heart and spirit, and where you feel most yourself.
Maybe for you it's the roar of the crowd at a touchdown, or the riff of the saxophone in your favorite jazz piece. Maybe it's holding a cup of coffee and laughing with your best friend, or standing at the window to watch the sunrise. The swish of skis on a winter trail, the hours you spend lost in your favorite hobby, the moment when your family gathers around the table for a meal, the relief of lying down at last after a hard day - any and all of these can be a smultronställe.
There's a moment in one of my favorite pieces of music where the notes of the cello start to climb, a little higher with every measure. Higher, and higher still, and the anticipation builds and builds, until it finally reaches that perfect high note. Then it moves on and ends with a graceful flourish that's so carefully crafted and brilliant it always takes my breath away. I never get tired of listening to it. That's one of my smultronställe.
What are yours?
Where are the safe places in your life? What helps you feel better when you're discouraged and stressed, and when was the last time you let yourself escape for a while into that pleasure?
We forget them too easily, those blessings. The dust gathers on the saxophone, the hobby ends up in the closet, we put off calling the friend, and over time our heart begins to starve for joy and release. Don't let that happen to you, especially not now, when life is so hard.
We'd better head back now, I suppose. The sun is starting to set, and the glade is growing cool. We'll leave this quiet place and walk out of this daydream into life again, with its urgency and demands - but stronger and calmer for having been away for a while.
So next time the world weighs heavy on your soul, don't forget: you have many, many ways to ease your worry and lighten your heart. Your own special smultronställe are always there, just waiting for you.
Wonder-full. THX>