About The Studio Journal
The Studio Journal was born during a sabbatical that became something much deeper, a turning point.
What began as a pause from routine turned into a journey of unlearning, rediscovery, and reconnection. I wandered, I listened, I wrote. I stepped into unfamiliar places, both on the map and within myself.
This journal is a space to share what I’ve gathered along the way. It holds reflections from the road, questions from the quiet moments, and the stories that shape how we travel, live, and grow. You’ll find pieces of my journey here, but also prompts, insights, and encouragement for your own.
Because transformation doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in the in-between. And this is a place for that.
What You May Experience Through Luontopolku — Back to Your Senses® method
✔ A renewed connection to your own nature
✔ Greater clarity about what truly matters now
✔ Deeper trust in your direction and inner guidance
✔ Courage to move forward with alignment and intention
What is your worth?
Standing by the river in Porto, I noticed my shadow stretching quietly along the stone.
It moved with me, but asked nothing of me.
No proving.
No performing.
Just a presence.
I was reminded that
perhaps our worth is not in what we do,
but in who we are when we simply stand,
and allow ourselves to be seen, even by ourselves.
What I am doing, proving all the time.
What is my worth?
Is it what I do?
What I achieve?
What I prove, again and again?
And what happens when I am no longer performing?
The Value We Learn to Prove
In Finnish culture, worth has long been connected to doing.
Preparing for winter.
Taking responsibility.
Being ready for whatever may come.
This way of thinking is not unique to Finland.
We grow up learning to prove ourselves to our parents, our supervisors, our organisations.
We show that we have done our share.
That we carry responsibility.
That we are capable.
We seek recognition.
Affirmation.
A sense that what we do matters.
And it does.
But somewhere along the way, another question begins to surface:
Who am I beyond all of this doing?
When Doing Is No Longer Enough
What is my value when I am not achieving?
When I am not producing?
When I am not being seen?
Would I still matter?
Would I still be interesting?
The truth is, often we become more interesting when we stop trying to be.
When we step out of constant doing, something else emerges.
A deeper layer.
A quieter voice.
Turning Inward
There is something within us, an inner movement, sometimes almost an itch, that asks to be noticed.
Not solved.
Not performed.
But listened to.
When we begin to turn inward, we start to understand:
why we react the way we do
what truly matters to us
what is ready to change
and what is quietly calling us forward
This is where clarity begins.
How Change Really Happens
We often change through:
powerful encounters
unexpected life events
intentional travel
I have lived through environments that force perspective, moving across cultures, witnessing instability, navigating situations where safety is not guaranteed.
Those experiences shaped me.
But they did not bring me peace.
It was only when I slowed down, when I travelled on my own, without performance or expectation, that something shifted.
For a long time, I performed.
I proved myself.
It is something I now recognise in many of the people I work with.
Finding Calm Through Nature and Reflection
There is another way.
A quieter one.
Through reflective nature experiences, we begin to notice what is happening within us.
Not by forcing change, but by allowing space.
On a trail, in silence, through observation,
we begin to hear ourselves again.
And in that, a sense of calm begins to emerge.
From Experience to Guidance
Through my own journey, and supported by my work as a certified transformative travel coach, I now guide individuals and teams who are seeking:
clarity
balance
direction
and a deeper connection to themselves
Because in the end:
Everything begins and ends with the individual.
And when we understand ourselves more clearly, we shape not only our own path but also the teams and environments we are part of.
A Final Reflection
Your worth is not only what you produce.
It is also who you are when you pause.
When you listen.
When you are no longer performing.
That is where something more honest begins.
Continue the Journey
If you feel the need to explore this further, you are warmly welcome to continue the journey with me.
Through Luontopolku Back to Your Senses®, I offer guided reflective walks, coaching, and small group experiences in Finland and Spain.
You can explore more and book your experience via the services section at the Journey Studio.
When Nature Becomes a Mirror: A Reflective Walk on the Ruta Ecológica in Benissa
Ruta Ecológica coastal trail in Benissa, Spain, with wooden railing overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and pine-covered cliffs on the Costa Blanca, a peaceful setting for reflective nature walks guided by The Journey Studio.
Have you paused lately, I mean truly paused, taking yourself out not to perform, achieve, or respond, but simply to listen within?
On the Ruta Ecológica in Benissa, the landscape quietly reminds us how time reshapes everything.
Walking along the cliffs, you pass old sandstone quarries. Places where stone was once extracted and landscapes were capitalized on. Today they are protected nature areas. We walk through them gently, observing rather than taking.
Time has shifted their purpose.
Small yellow flowers grow through dry soil and rocky ground. Fragile yet persistent, they slowly reclaim the terrain. Spring approaches quietly here. Nature does not rush, but it always finds its way forward.
Watching this, it becomes difficult not to reflect on our own inner landscapes.
Just like the land, our inner nature also moves in cycles. Some seasons are productive and outward-facing. Others ask for restoration, protection, and listening.
We have learned to protect natural environments: to leave them as they are given to us.
Perhaps we need to offer the same care to ourselves.
Pausing, keeping ourselves close, staying in conversation with our inner voice. Noticing what might be quietly sprouting within us again; an idea, a direction, a courage that had been waiting for the right season.
Nature has a remarkable way of reflecting what we carry inside.
When we walk slowly and intentionally, the landscape begins to mirror our own thoughts. A question carried quietly in the mind often finds unexpected clarity along the path.
This is the foundation of my Luontopolku® reflective walk practice: creating space where nature becomes both guide and mirror.
Along the Ruta Ecológica in Benissa we slow down, observe, and listen, not only to the sea breeze, the pine trees, and the rhythm of the waves, but also to what is stirring within.
You may arrive with a question, a transition, or simply the feeling that it is time to pause.
Nature has a way of answering in its own quiet language.
I offer guided reflective walks at the Ruta Ecológica in Benissa for individuals and small groups through The Journey Studio.
If you feel the need to pause, listen, and reconnect with your own direction, you are welcome to walk with me.
Reflective Walk Experiences
📍 Ruta Ecológica, Benissa – Costa Blanca
Solo sessions or small groups
Read more and book your walk through The Journey Studio.
Space, Time, and Clarity
Space.
Time.
Conversation.
This is where clarity begins.
When Vision Returns
A friend of mine had eye surgery this week. Finally, after gathering courage for a long time. It was high time; his vision had greatly deteriorated. As the procedure is done one eye at a time, he removed the bandage with hesitation. What would he see? Would he see?
And he did.
He saw colors. He saw the world in hues he had forgotten existed. He was so moved by his restored vision that he wept. Now he cannot wait for the second eye to be treated and prefers to rely only on this newly opened eye in the meantime.
We cherish what we regain — especially something as precious as eyesight.
When Life Comes Back Into Focus
There are moments when I feel the same way about my own life. Sometimes I have tears in my eyes from the simple happiness of where I am today. I feel I have my life back; no longer waiting for vacation, for a break, for “someday,” but living fully in each moment.
There is a life waiting for each of us. We sense it. We work toward it. Or we quietly feel that something more is possible.
Things are not always clear. But when we pause, truly pause, and begin listening, reflecting, and gently examining our thoughts, a path starts to appear. When we voice what is within us — to ourselves, to a friend, or to a coach — we begin building forward movement.
The Power of a Pause
There are many ways to pause and reconnect. To understand what brings us joy. What we might release. What we might refine. What we might add.
I believe in slow movement, not performance but presence. Nature helps. So does stepping into new environments. When we expose ourselves to unfamiliar surroundings, we step out of autopilot. We become someone without roles to perform. We see more clearly.
For me, living part of the year in another country creates that space. I cannot control everything. I do not master the language fully. I move through daily life with curiosity rather than certainty. I follow selected news, chosen podcasts, and the rhythm of the place.
Years ago, when I lived in Bangladesh, we experienced long hartals; citywide strikes when driving through Dhaka was not possible. At first, I felt frustrated. Then something shifted. I had no power to change the situation. I could not fix it. I could only stay. And in staying, I relaxed.
There was a profound calm in simply being present with family and neighbors. No urgency. No movement. Just time.
I experience something similar at my Lake Saimaa villa during summer. Days stretch. Nothing demands. We sit on the pier. Time hangs. There is nowhere else to be.
Bringing the Island Home
When I coach people, they often mention Bali, the feeling they had there. I gently ask why. And then why again. And again. What exactly did the island give you?
My intention is not to send them back to Bali. It is to help them bring that feeling into their everyday lives. The calm of the summer cabin. The clarity of a faraway island. The surrender of a moment when you are no longer in control — and it is enough.
To make that clarity last.
To integrate it into daily living.
To return to it whenever needed.
A Gentle Invitation
Clarity does not arrive through force. It arrives through space.
If you feel that something in your life is waiting to come back into focus, perhaps it is time to create intentional space for it, whether through a reflective walk, a slow travel experience, or a structured pause guided by Luontopolku Back to Your Senses®.
Sometimes all it takes is one clear step to begin seeing differently.
Walk gently. Listen deeply. Return to your own nature.