I May Be Wrong: And Other Wisdoms From Life as a Forest Monk

by Björn Natthiko Lindeblad

What I value most from my seventeen years of full-time spiritual training is that I no longer believe my every thought. That’s my superpower.

A job, what we spend our days doing, has to nourish and stimulate some deeper part of our being. That type of nourishment is rarely derived from success. Rather, it comes from feeling connected to the people you work with, feeling that your work has meaning, that your talents are somehow making a difference.

‘The rational mind is a servant. The intuitive mind is a sacred gift. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.’

we all know how good it can be to open up to a person who gives us a bit of attention, who listens openly and with curiosity, right? A person who might even be capable of putting themselves in our shoes for a moment and walk by our side for a bit. That kind of listening is genuinely healing.

there’s wisdom in not expecting life to turn out the way we think or feel it ought to. There’s wisdom in understanding that we are essentially clueless.

‘Listen, if you don’t unquestioningly believe everything you think, if you’re completely mindful (and only when you are), if your attention is unfettered, you will discover a fundamental truth. That the universe operates according to this principle: You will know what you need to know when you need to know it.’

When we’re able and brave enough to let go of our vain attempts to control and anticipate the future. Then, something almost magical happens.

‘We learn in stillness, so we remember when the storm comes.’

The miracle of the little things. When we choose to be a little more patient, forgiving, generous, honest and supportive than what might have been most convenient or easy for ourselves. Life really only consists of the little things, and, put together, they become the big things.

What we send out eventually comes back. The world is not as it is. The world is as you are. So be what you want to see in it.

I don’t like to think of death as the opposite of life. More like the opposite of birth. And I obviously can’t prove it, but I’ve always had an innate conviction that there’s something on the other side. Sometimes, I even feel like a marvellous adventure is waiting for me.