31 century museum around the world

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Sorfinnset,
Norway 2013

22nd July 2013. Once again we arrived in Sorfinnset, Norway. It felt like returning home. On the way from the airport, we saw two moose, which made us in awe and excited. When we arrived at where we were going to stay, we met many of our old friends. Geir Tore Holme was cooking us dinner. In this trip, we stayed at the Youth House instead of Sorfinnset Skole, which we stayed at last time. The Youth house will be where we hold our 10th anniversary activities for the Sorfinnset Skole/ Nord Land Project.

The Youth House was very clean. The floors were so well swept and cleaned that we felt we had to take off our shoes to enter. Once a person took off his shoes to enter, the others followed. When dinner was ready, Kenneth and Yaya arrived. So we all sat down to have dinner together and started to talk about the days that started this project. The first thing we all thought of was the Sorfinnset Skole, which was the center of many activities. It was like our head quarter at the time, but now the municipal had sold it to a private owner. When speaking of this, we all felt a pity and sad that we won’t be able to go back and have those experiences again. It has always been the place where our hearts met in each activity for the past 10 years.

We came to talk about the old church that sits right opposite the school, which used to be a temporary shelter for some of us at times when participants that joined our activities were overflowed. But this year, we were not able to use it like we use to. For eight months now, it has been a shelter for a Congo couple that immigrated here to Norway. Kenneth told us that they illegally fled in. The police know about this, but they couldn’t set up an arrest because Norwegian law protects Holy grounds. The church abides as a Holy ground, when someone did something illegal and flees into the area, the police couldn’t make any arrest unless that person steps out from the area.

I was astonished with what I heard and in addition was very impressed by the beliefs and faith of the Norwegians that still hold high respect for spiritual aspects, that it emerges as a law to protect Holy grounds. This intrigued me to achieve more understanding of how the value of Holy ground came about.

Did it come from the values and meaning given by the refuge and ones who uses the ground for merit?

Or did we, as the observer or the participants, who accepts this meaning and value of the ground, make it happen?

Or has this space of Holy ground always been in our mind, which then recognizes the respect and values of the deeds done in that space?

I believe that this Holy ground exists in all our minds, which is love and compassion. It would only appear when we give value to truthful acts and embrace all happenings without self-attachment. It would appear when we prioritize other’s welfare before our own. Which then, others would also feel the holiness of nature in all.

Kamin Lertchaiprasert