Sitting outside

Udesidning (Norse: útiseta) means ’sitting outside’. It is an ancient nordic hobby, which was the first thing the Christian laws forbade in Scandinavia. But still, generations before and after generations went outside at night for example on the burial mounds, megaliths or to the holy places in the nature to gain wisdom.

You see, if you want to see the essence of the world, the soul of the very being – you have to go outside when it is dark and you can’t see any forms or colours of the world. In fairytales the trolls always turn into stone when the Sun comes up. Therefore one can only see stones and surfaces in the daylight, whereas in darkness there is a different living world filled with magic and wisdom.

There are many things, connections and feelings one cannot see or feel in the light. Only in darkness under the peaceful stars one opens to the hidden secrets of the life.

There is no words for describing how beautiful the world is in the darkness. Everything smells different, no lights other than the stars, no sounds other than grasshoppers and bats. The presence of the Mother Earth is overwhelming around me. The darkness of my daylight sorrows disappears from my heart in the darkness of the night. My tears become twinkling jewels under the glance of the distant galaxies. My mind becomes one with everything and with nothingnes. This isútiseta.