People keep asking me:
How do you do it?
How do I live here, in Portugal, where the pace is slow, the air is warm, and every day feels like a gift?
The answer is simple:
I stopped waiting for life to begin.
I’m surrounded by people who notice the way the light dances on the water,
the conversations that start with what if instead of what’s next.
There’s an energy here, a quiet knowing that this is where I’m meant to be.
And yes, I’ll say it:
I’m happier than I’ve ever been.
Not because everything is perfect,
but because I finally dared to live by my own rules.
I see the cracks in the system,
but I also see the new world rising.
And that gives me hope.
We need to wake up collectively.
If we see it, if we choose differently,
there’s a brighter future waiting for all of us.
That’s part of why I’m so happy: I can feel it coming.
And in my own way, I’m leading by example.
I realized I don’t say it enough,
so I called my parents in the Netherlands to tell them:
I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.
And you should be proud, because this life is also thanks to you.
We forget to share these moments,
but they’re everything.
That’s also why I’m sharing this with you.
If you’re reading this and feeling that pull, that restlesness,
this is your sign.
The life you want isn’t out of reach.
It’s waiting for you to choose it.
So tell me:
What’s one thing that would make your life feel a little more like paradise?
What if we chose to see each other
Long have I watched as wedges are driven between us
by those with power, with influence, with something to gain.
They tell us we are different because of what we believe,
how we look, or where we come from.
They frame our differences as walls, not bridges.
But here’s what I know:
No one is born wanting to hate.
No one is born wanting to divide.
We all arrive here with the same instinct:
to be happy, to be seen, to belong.
We don’t have to be the same to make that happen.
Our differences are not flaws;
they are what push us to listen, to learn,
to find that middle ground where everyone can thrive.
Yet when we are made to feel small,
when we are told there isn’t enough for everyone,
some of us grasp at extremes, at anger,
at anything that promises purpose or protection.
But that is not who we are.
Call me idealistic.
Call me naive.
But what if we turned this around?
What if, instead of accepting division as inevitable,
we chose to make life more beautiful?
What if, together, we changed the narative?
I know this isn’t the easy way.
But I’m done going with the flow.
If I just drift with the stream, I drown in unhappiness.
I want something else for this world,
and for the generations that follow.
So I choose to swim into the stream.
To push back.
To ask: what if we created a world where everyone has a place?
We are not meant to be divided.
We are meant to see each other
not as threats, but as fellow travelers,
not as enemies, but as mirrors.
The world does not have to be this way.
We do not have to accept the frames we are given.
We can choose to look beyond them.
To reach out.
To build something better.
Because in the end, we are all here for the same reason:
to connect,
to grow,
to leave this world a little kinder than we found it.
The school system is preparing our kids
for a world that no longer exists.
I once thought Sweden’s approach to education
was paradise.
Then we moved to the Netherlands.
Six months in a “free school”
showed me the truth:
even the best intentions can’t escape a system
that sorts children by age,
pressures them to perform,
and turns learning into competiton.
It wasn’t bad—
but it was built for the past.
This weekend,
I sat with teachers at my son’s school in Portugal,
a school that receives zero goverment funding
because they refuse to compromise their vision.
They mix ages,
foster mentorship,
and focus on curiosity, resilience,
and connection to nature.
Is it perfect?
No.
But at least they’re designing an education for the future, not the past.
Their message was clear:
the future won’t reward memorization or compliance.
It will demand creativity, adaptability,
and the courage to think differently.
This isn’t about blame.
It’s about honesty.
The world our children inherit
won’t look like the one we knew.
So why are we still educating them
as if it will?
Question for you:
If you could redesign school for your child,
what’s the first thing you’d change?
What if right and left were never the point?
We are all unique, all the same, all here to see and be seen.
The old system is howling at the moon, trying to scare us out of #Bitcoin. But wolves don’t run from the night. It’s time to stand as a pack.
Life is too beautiful to give each other a hard time
Be thankful for what we’ve learned. Now it’s time for a new world. One that doesn’t divide, but unites us through our differences. Let’s let it coexist.
The world is clashing at every edge. Time to release the old and shape what comes next. Let’s unite.
