Looking back – being thankful!

Switzerland – Germany – Göteborg. Those are the places where I have been these weeks. Everything went so fast that I did not have time to reflect or “digest” all the experience and impressions. Now I am sitting at UNF Congress, following the discussions and having lots of time for thinking.

IOGT Switzerland was an experience.  Sleeping on a farm, in straw but being at the Congress in a nice fancy place. Nice combination. My Switzerland experience is actually full of combinations – young and old together, local and international focus, serious discussions and fun. I was happy to see this organisation a bit closer. To understand it a bit better.

Germany was a nice holiday. Very short. Lots of kilometers spent in a car. But still energizing. Doing something what I do not do so often – watching a graduation party. Walking a bit around Berlin and Munster. Realizing that I understand more German than I thought. And almost no responsibilities.

And now UNF Congress. More than 100 delegates gathered for 5 days to discuss and plan and devote their time (it´s summer holiday here) and energy into making the world better. Congress sessions start at 9.00 food breaks are pretty short, now it´s 20.00 and the debates are still going on. People here gather during breaks to read through the papers, discuss them, prepare for the comming sessions. I like this culture. It makes me happy to see it! So eventhough I have not really a lot to do , I really enjoy following the whole process. It will give me strength for the days when I will sit in the office and feel very alone in what I do. I will try to remember that I am not. 

 I am very thankful for being able to see this!

What heading is needed to get the attention and action?

Those who understand slovak, can read here, that in Russia, alcohol kills 500 000 people per year(!!!!).  I call alcohol a weapon. The harms it causes are perceived the same way as harms summed up after a war. And still – alcohol is a present, is a symbol of celebration, is there to handle happiness or sorrow, is there to encourage and to calm down and it is a norm. Like there are no other ways.

There were news that passed the world some weeks ago about the war in Sri Lanka. The war started in 1983. That means 25 years of conflicts and  fighting. UN have counted that round 100 000 people died in this war.

How much does the formula give us applied on Russia? Alcohol in Russia for 25 years means 12 500 000 dead people. Silent catastrophy going on for years without getting any attention.

One has to go through different tests to be able to have a permission to own a gun. But one gun – with the most sensitive trigger is enjoying the free market in most of the countries. 

How can that happen?

Alcohol – where does it lead us

THANK YOU! A study in USA shows that prohibiting alcohol by parents at home does not neccesserly lead to a concept of “forbidden fruit”  and alcohol abuse by teenagers. The other way around – the more alcohol parents offer to their children – the more they drink and binge drink (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/ps-zta061009.php)

I am thankful for this study. I think it is important to make the adults aware of their impact. In spite of all the needs of independence and rebellion young people can experience, they are still influenced by the behaviour, opinions and attitudes of their parents and of adults in general.

Drinking alcohol at home to a Sunday meal having children at the table, celebrate birth of a child with alcohol, offer alcohol to children (just a little bit so they feel included) and the first thing to give the youngsters when they graduate a high school – just think a bit – what kind of message is that? What kind of behaviour does it foster? And what kind of consequences has that behaviuor?

No! Alcohol with all the harm it causes is not a thing to celebrate or to celebrate with. A new born child should not be welcome with a drug and a weapon. A freshly graduated student should not end up sleeping in a street or park next to own vommits. The town should not be full of beer cans after a friday evening. And a child should feel that s/he belongs to the family because of the way s/he is treated 24 hours a day 365 days a year and not because it gets to consume the same junk as the parents do.

Otherwise the celebration of life, success and relax becomes celebration of trash, violence, stupidity and lazyness and not rarely ends up in unconsciuos and death.

They say that youth is not responsible and reliable. But where is the responsibility of adults then when they pour alcohol into their childrens throats?

Greatness

I love watching people´s greatness. It does not really matter in which field. I have recently watched interview with Elton John. He has never been my favourite. I remeber how people made fun of him because of his wigs and that he was gay. It has all passed (seems like) or I am just not following the “news”. Anyway that is approximately all I registered about him. However I am happy I watched the interview and could see that he is more than a singing machine. It´s great to hear people´s stories to understand a bit better. Not only them but life.

I also enjoy watching sports because of the greatness that shows there.

I enjoy meeting people who hide their greatness in their modesty. Or in their understanding. Or in their sharp mind. I really like being impressed by people.

There is so much greatness around.

About sobriety

Intereseting enough but while I was zapping between TV this morning I got to hear two messages on two different channels related to sobriety. One was a study made where a person´s sleep after  alcohol consumption at a party was tested and compared to a sleep after an alcohol free night. The result: In spite of the feeling that one sleep very good after after a night  filled with alcohol, the body is very stressed, the puls is round 77 and one skips the dream phase of the sleep (pretty important part of our sleep). The same person but sober had puls 60 and dream phase. The conclusion – the body is very stressed which can then lead to increase weight, heart problems etc.

Another programme showed an intreview with Elton John who said that he was sober 15 years now  and it was the best 15 years of his life.

Was nice to hear!

Thoughts from Travnik

As promised in the previous entry, I am here publishing small picture collection from Travnik (Bosnia and Herzegovina) where I was some weeks ago. The visit gave me new energy. We planned and wrote an application on starting the process of  designing and implementation of alcohol policy in Bosnia.

I just felt happy to be there. I liked the people and their personalities. It was kind of warmer and more lively there at that meeting. Jokes and seriousness were shifting during the working time. I really enjoyed the motivation and enthusiasm of our partners from Travnik. It was pleasure to be there,  work and get to know the people and the place. 

Walking around I got to see that the time left its traces but it does not stop. Life goes on no matter what. And people adjust to the conditions. They find their happiness and they find things to complain about. Always.

The white stones all around remind of the conflicts that grew big. Conflicts that in ones mind have no logic. Have no relevance and could be solved by a short conversation. Conflicts that in someone´s else´s mind had the highest meaning and have just one and only solution. Yes..that´s how it is between people. We have the gift to see another possible perspective  but we use the gift very rarely. Unfortunately.

Travnik

Out in the world

I have been out in the world these days. First I have picked my birthday present and headed to London to meet my other me =) The present was the meeting and not the journey to London but OK when already being there, me and my other self went sight – seeing as well. I think we managed to see everything what one can see in 2,5 days. The weather was perfect, the sky was like painted so my camera got some pictures to take and our feet got some meters to walk – LSE, London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster, Buckingham, Notting Hill, Little Venice, Hyde Park, Piccadilly circus, Covent garden, St.Paul´s Cathedral, Gherkin building and all the other places in between.

2.5 days in London

Then there was the meeting of IOGT International AC and later on of the Active board. Both were held in Örebro, but one´s thoughts are taken into the whole world at those meetings. I enjoyed. The IOGT meeting was the best we have ever had and I think it will cause several changes in our work.

Right after the Active´s board meeting we went to see  Eurovision song contest which I did not watch. I planned to, but then I got to talk to my friend Matus instead and I am happy I did.

The next three days after the weekend were about Bosnia. I went to Travnik – a lovely lovely town where we planned an alcohol policy implementation strategy for the coming three years.  It feels good to be at the start of something that is important to me. So let´s hope it will work out. Thinking of the guys from the meeting, I have no doubts.  It was great to work with motivated people who also have knowledge. It´s easier to believe in some results.

As mentioned, Travnik is lovely. I will publish some pictures as well but first I have to go through them. Have not managed yet.  So far you can just imagine mountains around, mosques and churches close to each other, old and destroyed buildings next to new and fancy ones, graves from the war reminding that peace is not a given status and that one should appreciate it every day…

Double moral – no moral!

When I need to raise the level of adrenaline or when I need some laugh of irony to spice up my day, I go and check the webpage of Brewers of Europe. Recently I have had much fun reading their Press release in which they are proud to be number one contributors to Alcohol and Health Forum with 1/3 of all commitments. The commitments are mostly connected to education programmes that are proved to be one of the most inefficient tools to reduce the harm caused by alcohol. But the top of the message was to read how they clap they shoulders for the Belgian Brewers project “Respect 16″ – related to reducing alcohol sales to minors. Yeah one could be happy for that initiative if one did not have TV and other media that around the same time inform that Carslberg (member of Brewers of Europe) literally encourages young people in Malawi to drink on friday evenings. An European could even think like: “Do not be hysteric here. Young people will either drink or not. They have information about alcohol. They know what the consequences are, they have heard about concepts like “drink smart” etc” BUT this drinking promotion is happening in Malawi, the country where this awareness does not exist and alcohol policy is an unknown term which means – open playground for Alcohol industry that does not need to respect any rules when it comes to sales and promotion. A baby could get alcohol. Brewers of Europe are in their press release celebrating their approach which is locally based and “not pan-European – one size fits all”  They tackle different issues in Slovakia than in Germany and they tackle the same issues by different methods adjusted to the culture/country. Carslbergs action in Malawi just confirms that – open market with no restrictions and no demands to reduce alcohol related harm – makes them to sell to everyone.  Their “concnern” about binge drinking of young people, drinking during pregnancy, at working place and concern about alcohol abuse stops at the borders of law.

I am so happy that I do not contribute to this mess.

About importance

I have been thinking about what is and is not important. The initiating situation for my thoughts was a moment when I walked Dante close to a sport hall where my team was right about to warm up for an “important” match. I was outside in the park, with my dog, some people passed by, winter was still around but sun was predicting a nice weekend and I felt like standing there between two worlds. One world was in the sport hall, where the nerves were tested, excitement in people – audience and players was like the heat above a desert. Expectations, hopes, wishes, worries – that all was speaking about the importance of that moment.

The other world was outside in the park, behind the walls of the sport hall, where everything was calm, weekendish, filled with joy about the coming free days and preparations for saturday lunch. The importance of the moment was not highlighted by any drums, clapping or shouting.  It did not seem like there was something “big” going on just a few meters away.  The walls of the sport hall clearly divided the moment into “significant” and “insignificant” and the important handball match was not existing out there in the park.

That moment made me think about the importance we assign to our jobs, roles, experiences, to situations and events.  And some of them feel ridiculous.  For example a career feels incredibly ridiculous to me. If someone wants to have a position just as a sign of a career or just to feel good about him/herself, and not for the reason to be able to do the job connected to the position great,  then I am losing respect for this person.  If a person does not enjoy his/her job but his/her position, I just smile. At that moment in the park I felt the relativity of importance. It was very relieving moment.  An important moment. For me =) It changed my view at people who surround me, who were or have been in my life. It changed my attitude and somehow gave me distance I am very thankful for.

Each moment is important. Each second we decide who we want to be, what we want to be like and whether we want to act important or just to act sincerly for the cause we consider is important.

Beautiful feeling…

…when the day gets a bit darker but one can still see, the street lights are already on but not really needed yet, the time is getting late, people are gathered in their homes, it´s silent outside, not really cold, you can already smell the warmth but some more clothes are still good to have…

…it´s great to put on roller skates, pick some favourite music and just roll down the streets then…

…It feels like I am the only person in the world but not lonely, it feels like the moment will last forever and eternity is just a second, it feels like time stands still but all my thoughts move in harmony

Dynamics of that moment creates amazing calmness in my mind