Looking back to see the way forward

A single step on earth doesn't form a new path, a single thought doesn't form a new mindset, and a single emotion doesn't spark a new connection to the heart.

To create a visible path, we must take many steps. We must have many of the thoughts that we want to live our lives by. And we must keep training the connection to our heart, over and over again.

That's why we've published the second book in our series about our cultural journey. How many we'll publish over time is an open question. We see this as a journey without a final destination.

Every chapter contains the essential steps we've taken, year by year. They remind us of what we stand for and that taking many small steps can become big along the way. As long as we stop occasionally, get a sense of our next important step and keep moving in the same direction.

In our case, each step is guided by our purpose; to encourage and inspire people to embrace themselves and take brave steps of their own—towards a better balance in life and Nature. Equally, we walk with our values of ease, love and understanding—and the stones we get in our shoes when treading new paths.

Why is looking back a priority?

In recent years, the world and the market have thrown significant challenges at us, such as the pandemic, war and inflation. Our journey has been paved with obstacles, and we have occasionally been overcome by feelings of not going anywhere or even going down a dead end. But we have also been overwhelmed by hope, courage and drive to replace 'more' with 'better'; everything the world needs.

A group of scientists once created an isolated ecosystem to find out whether Nature could grow there. Things were going well. Shrubs grew, flowers blossomed, and the trees stretched their crowns—until they snapped. That puzzled the scientists because the trees were growing in the right environment and getting all the nutrition they needed. And then the scientists realised what the trees weren't getting:

Wind.

The lack of swooshing and whooshing in the treetops meant that the trees couldn't support themselves once they were of an appropriate size. So, resistance was an essential and overlooked source of nutrition for survival and development.

Looking back is a priority during working days full of new tasks. But a written cultural journey is an unsurpassed means of seeing what felt like an obstacle at the time as a stepping stone to move towards better.

When we choose to write 200 pages just on last year's cultural journey, it's also because it allows us to focus on what our next steps should be. Many people often feel they're lagging behind and need to do more faster.

Does forgetting what you achieved along the way sound familiar? Overlooking everything that you're already giving just by being you?

Simply being is giving. Let's remind each other of that.

Life can only be understood backwards—but it must be lived forwards.
Søren Kierkegaard