‘joy within – joy all around’

Sometimes we travel together and sometimes we travel alone. This time I went to Sweden while Boris stayed in the Netherlands. It all started with the idea of doing some volunteer work abroad and finally I gave it a try.

When I saw this place I just knew it was perfect for me and luckily my application was accepted. Mundekulla is a magical place in the South of Sweden, a retreat and festival centre surrounded by forest and lakes. It’s a big centre that can host a lot of people and so the property is large with several buildings and lots of beautiful nature. I lived in a cosy red house just behind a little hill together with my coworkers. We usually worked 5 hours per day, 5 days a week and so there was plenty of free time as well.

One of my first tasks was to help making breakfast during the choir festival. It was so beautiful to wake up really early, to walk over the hill towards the restaurant, to see the sunshine and be surrounded by a peaceful forest. After breakfast I was just in time to join the circle on the big lawn in front of the restaurant. Those circles are an amazing practice to connect with the people around you and with yourself. It involves, singing, dancing, holding hands, eye gazing and lots of hugging. If that sounds hippie-ish to you, then I can tell you it totally is, and it was certainly outside my comfort zone. But it actually felt great and I’m loving it now.

During our days off we would explore the forest, find a beautiful hidden lake, climb up the tower to see the sunset above the trees, do some yoga and just relax. In between festivals we had the whole place to ourselves and that was a magical experience in itself. During those days we worked on recycling old windows to build a new greenhouse, we learned about permaculture, created a path in the garden, went swimming in the lake, and prepared things for the next festival.

The last festival was the big music festival with about 250 people. Again I was part of the breakfast team and it was delightful to prepare breakfast for everyone. Even though the kitchen team was cooking for so many people the food was always super delicious. The meals were freshly prepared every day with lots of veggies and lots of love. The kitchen was so well organized and it was always a pleasure to work there. The music festival had so many activities, workshops and concerts every day and I was lucky to be able to join some of them. One morning after breakfast I participated in an incredible singing workshop. This was again quite a bit out of my comfort zone, but I loved it. And one afternoon I joined a workshop on intuitive dancing and it was such a remarkable experience, I loved every moment of it. By then my comfort zone had already stretched a bit and I felt perfectly comfortable dancing like nobody is watching on my bare feet that sunny afternoon.

As the weeks passed by some co-workers continued their journey and some new ones arrived. It was such an interesting experience to meet all of those inspiring people. Everyone I’ve met had their own special way of life and it inspires me to follow my dreams and live my life the way I want. I feel forever grateful that I was able to spent this time at Mundekulla and meet all those incredible people. I experienced so much love, warmth, confidence, care, joy, freedom, creativity, and happiness.

Everything comes and goes, so after another lovely circle ‘dancing-barefoot in the grass and hugging everyone’ the festival was over and it was almost time for me to travel on. On my last evening we had a heart-warming gathering on top of the tower, watching the sunset, making music, singing, watching stars and totally enjoying the present moment. Mundekulla and the people I’ve met there will always have a special place in my heart and I hope that I can come back again next year. Or maybe even organize our own Living Yoga retreat there. I would love to show you this place and be there together with you. Would you like to join me?

Much love, Sophie & Boris

Sweden, August 2019