Norway 4: Kristiansand + Peep Vid + Dawn Pisturino’s Poem of Hope

The power of writing and stories that use personal experience to spread wisdom always blows me away. It’s why I write (about my books here) and it’s why I blog. Along with great literature, travel is another of my passions — so let’s get to the rest of our recent visit to Norway.

(Note: all posts about our visit to Norway are here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here.)

Make no mistake, my husband and I are indebted to Rick Steves, whom I regard as much of a print/TV/radio reporter as a tour guide. His European vacation videos, which turn fancy names on a map into stories of flavors, colors, personalities, and art, are now synonymous with the excellence of PBS. Absolutely, his travel books are the best! They’re totally on-target and easy to use. His book, Travel as a Political Act, completely aligns with my philosophy: travel should be a priority for everyone. It’s essential for people to understand and care about the rest of the world.

But he’s got Kristiansand, Norway, underappreciated. Thank goodness we didn’t take his advice to consider it only worthy of a whistle-stop. For us, like everywhere else we visited in Norway, Kristiansand turned out to be absolutely worth spending a good amount of time in.

The bus trip there, about five hours south from Oslo…

Was comfy, verdant, and watery…

Once we got there, our walks were rewarded with historical sights, like this World War 2 bunker that housed Nazi soldiers during Germany’s horrific occupation of Norway…

Grand architecture like their noted historic cathedral…

Interesting outdoor sculpture, including here, where we’re reflected in this creature’s eyes…

Art for all ages…

A local park, Ravnedalen, offered great hikes…

And the park included these adorable ducklings — turn up the sound!…

This week’s guest blog post is by blogger/poet/author Dawn Pisturino, who has achieved #1 Amazon New Release status for her poetry. A retired registered nurse living in Arizona who is also a member of the Mystery Writers of America, she’s guested here before, as well as contributed a post to Happiness Between Tails here. When she noted at her blog that an important new poetry anthology, Social Possibilities: Poetic Voices of Hope (published by Prolific Pulse Press) included her work, I knew readers here would want to congratulate her, as well as check out her great writing again. Of the collection, she explains, “…was compiled to instill hope at a time when the world is in chaos. Wars, riots, political divide, noise, hysteria, screaming voices, violence, hate, and conflict feel overwhelming, crushing our hopeful spirits. This critical anthology, alive with the voices of love, hope, charity, faith, and inspiration, raises us above the pandemonium to give us strength and inner peace.”

Here is her poem of hope featured within the anthology…

Common Ground by Dawn Pisturino

The politics of fear,

The politics of hope.

Political pundits play both sides,

Talking a good game

And telling people what they want to hear.

But people, one to one,

Relate to each other on a different level:

Common ground.

Family, struggles, obstacles, money,

Love, faith, conflict, resolution.

Sharing giggles and tears,

Enjoying a meal together,

Swapping stories and jokes.

The human experience.

Everyone has hopes and fears.

All people struggle to survive.

Black, white, brown – no difference.

Inside, we all bleed red,

From conception to dissolution.

Life is too short to spend it on hate.

Embrace one another in the spirit of love.

How do you get through troubling times?