Did you know that in some places in the world, people celebrate the Spirit of Wanderers and Adventurers? Dzień Włóczykija, or Snufkin Day, was celebrated last Sunday in Poland. Originating from the character Snufkin in “The Moomins” series by Tove Jansson, the day pays tribute to those who embrace a wandering spirit and a love for adventure. This character, admired for his wisdom and love for solitude, inspires us to find freedom in wandering and exploring, to seek new experiences and not be content with staying in one place for too long.

The celebration harks back to the days of medieval students in Poland known as “włóczykije,” who wandered from town to town, showcasing scenes or reciting poetry to earn money. As the character Snufkin does in the Moomins’ tales, they would leave, travel, and return with newfound wisdom to share.

I wouldn’t have known about this day if not for my oldest sister — the badass scientist and managing director of a scientific library I mentioned last week — (you’re welcome — dr Agnieszka Fluda-Krokos. While reading me, you always have a chance to improve your English). ? who thought about me because of Snufkin Day.

I didn’t know that this day was happening on Sunday, and the reasons are pretty trivial:

1. I don’t have to know everything.

2. I was actually wandering.

I was wandering in the beautiful woods, exploring the variety of greens, the sun glimmers, and the majestic possibilities of the unknown…

I’m unsure if you’ve ever experienced this: the sensation that nothing has visibly changed, yet everything has changed at the same time; everything feels simultaneously different. Perhaps I was just hallucinating, or as someone recently suggested to me, perhaps I wasn’t just entirely sane. Maybe the lack of caffeine in my veins made me exist between time and space that particular day. Or perhaps the world simply shifted, presenting itself in a new palette of colors and vibes and hence, possibilities. Who knows.

Something incredibly soothing about being in nature makes me feel as if my brain turns off, surrendering to the environment’s beauty.

While wandering in the Bernese woods, new visions of the future began to surface. Visions concerning us, individual humans fortunate enough to inhabit this planet, Earth. To explore, breathe, and express ourselves in the vast array of ways life can imagine. More specifically, I started contemplating the privilege of being myself and co-creating life’s scenes every day. Maybe I began envisioning a future where we’ll recognize our time here is so fleeting that spending it wisely — with whatever possibilities we have — is the only way to live, the only shot we’ve got.

My wish for myself and others is to co-create a world where our thoughts and actions are guided by the principle of an ‘I win, you win, we win’ economy.

Aren’t we all just exhausted from societal pressures, the never-ending pursuit of money, and the “life competitions” we experience when living with a scarcity mindset? Aren’t we weary of external expectations we can never fulfill, of never being “good enough,” whatever that means, or perfect, whatever that entails?

How about we individually and collectively change our foundations to ones of kindness, support, and understanding and start from there when we co-create something new in this world?

So, my friends, this is what a lack of coffee does to my brain.

As we stride forward, let’s carry the words of Albert Camus in our hearts: “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”

Ponder this: How will you embrace and express your absolute freedom today to make your existence a meaningful act of rebellion?