Food Studio

One of my best summer practices is to start the day with a swim and summer on P2. I think it was established in my early twenties when the sailboat was at anchor and you woke up to calm, still water before everyone else. A somewhat simpler starting point, just diving in and turning on the radio. When I tried to carry on the radio habit into my daily life earlier today, I met with full protest from my 5-year-old, who “hates summer on P2”. But on some holiday mornings, there has been time to sneak down for a morning dip and finish listening to an entire episode before the rest of the house wakes up. The ultimate luxury in my world.

One of the things I have noticed is how nourishing this form of storytelling is. When the themes are chosen so close to what concerns us as a society. Such a huge contrast to the daily news stream of stories with “news value”. Being allowed to dive deep together with another person into their history on an important topic is something completely different. It is no less relevant, considering difficult subjects like war, technological development, generational trauma, and human development. This summer, they have covered all the big things that concern me the most right now, just from a much closer place. I have cried myself soaking wet through the story of Lena Lindstrøm and her “summer on P2” dedicated to her mother for being a breakwater and for her non-violence work. I have laughed my head off at the stories about Maria Parr’s grandmother, reminisced about all the awkwardness of youth and being a rebellious teenager in the 90s with Maria Sand. And I have been so grateful to think that I don’t need anything more than a bit of radio, a newspaper, and a good book. So if I had needed to just disconnect from all the madness happening on the technology front. Which I have also caught snippets of via people I respect, like privacy lawyer Ida Thorsrud, who has used her summer to explain to us ordinary people what we think politicians and ministries should take responsibility for banning, limiting, and predicting.

When I finally got started this morning on making a photo album from our wedding, which was now over two years ago. I felt a longing back to the time when memories were stored on a roll of film, captured with care, printed on paper, and put into albums with careful selection. It is actually one of the things I like doing the most, one of my quirkier hobbies that I have even been in D2 for because I stuck to the analogue for a long time after everyone else went digital. Now I feel like I am longing for that time back. It was so much easier then; the number of snaps that have to be gone through, sorted, retrieved, and sent for printing feels overwhelming. By the 5th attempt to upgrade my iCloud storage with a 1-hour time delay, I have a breakdown. It feels so meaningless to spend so much time fiddling with the technical side of things. What was once enjoyable has become stressful, and even though the result is ultimately the same, the process to get there is completely different.

I do not think we have understood everything that smartphone life has stolen from us. The ability to leave work at the office, to decide for yourself when you should be ‘on’, to be allowed to be natural in the bubble you are in, regardless of what it is. My good friend and midwife Helene says that when she was in the toddler bubble, they had a message on their answering machine saying that that was what was happening right now. And then it was perfectly fine that it took a few days to get back to people. We are quite far out on the other side of the scale now.

What I believe is the medicine for fragmented presence is to pick out the things you really want to prioritise and put everything else away, clear space in your calendar and actively ensure your own nourishment. Nourishment that fills you because it meets completely fundamental needs like the experience of belonging. For me right now, it is the next FEAST with a creative collective at the National Theatre this Friday, a bonfire ceremony with Uma an Ayurvedic teacher this weekend and yoga + freelance work with Christina at Factory Tøyen on Thursdays. We at Food Studio also invite you to several lovely gatherings this autumn. First up is Community Brunch at Losæter on August 20th at 12:00, then there is RITER vol.1 on September 24th and vol.2 on September 30th, both also at Losæter. So just clear your schedule and note them down in your calendar already. Information and ticket sales are at foodstudio.no.