Wednesday 6 December 2017

Suomi 100

Dear Finland,

Today we are celebrating your birthday, and I want to add my voice to the chorus of congratulations from all around the world. Few countries deserve to celebrate as much as you do. Within 100 years, you have had to defend your existence through 4 terrible wars, you had to compromise, you had to work hard to grow into a modern state, and you did it all while building an incredibly strong sense of community. Your people are very proud of your amazing natural beauty, as they should. But they do not fully appreciate that what makes you unique is their own qualities: their strength, their resilience, their strong sense of the common good, their quiet independence of mind, their love for equality, their commitment to a fair society, their forward-thinking, their modesty, their honesty, and many other qualities that makes this country truly one of the happiest in the world.

I came to you by pure chance, and in retrospect it feels like stumbling upon a hidden treasure, a little-known corner of paradise. In these troubled times, the challenges that are shaking the world have not spared you, but if there is one country I trust to surmount them all and come out stronger in the end, it’s you, Finland. I feel incredibly blessed to be here and celebrate this important milestone in your company. You are AMAZING.

Love,

Your adopted daughter