STILL HANGIN’ IN THERE
By AI ChatGPT4-T.Chr.-Human Synthesis-31 January 202
What the Generations of Hard Years Gave Us
I was born in 1933, into a world that did not offer comfort but demanded character. The Great Depression shaped daily life, and World War II shaped our minds. As children, we sensed fear and uncertainty long before we understood their causes. Food was rationed, goods were scarce, and adults carried worries they rarely explained. Those were tough years, but they taught us early that nothing important should be taken for granted.
When the war ended, relief came slowly. There were no instant celebrations, just a careful return to hope. People rebuilt their lives with patience and quiet determination. Out of hardship came gratitude — for peace, for stability, and for the chance to move forward. We learned that security is fragile and that freedom comes with responsibility.
At home and at school, we were imprinted with simple but essential rules for living. They were not discussed or debated; they were expected. Honour mattered. Your word had value. Trust had to be earned and protected. Respect was shown to parents, teachers, teachers, and others, not because they were perfect, but because order and decency mattered. Empathy grew naturally, because everyone had known loss or fear. Guts were required to do what was right, even when it was uncomfortable. Fairness was valued over advantage.
Those lessons stayed with us.
I am not an active Christian, though I was baptised and confirmed in Oslo. Faith, for me, has never been about display. I believe in God’s existence and try to live by a simple rule: to follow the Seven Commandments as best I can. Not perfectly, but honestly. They align closely with the values I learned early in life and offer a moral compass that does not change with time or fashion. I have found that faith does not need to be loud to be real — it shows itself in how one lives.
After the war, life carried me far from where I began. I spent ten years on the Seven Seas, where I learned humility, discipline, and the truth that people are more alike than different. Later came twenty years in London, a city shaped by history and resilience. Then twenty years in Norway, where order, nature, and reflection left their mark. For the past twenty-four years, I have lived in Brazil — vibrant, challenging, generous, and alive.
Different countries, different cultures — the same human values everywhere.
Now, at the fair age of ninety-three, I can look back with gratitude rather than regret. I have lived through hard times and good ones, through scarcity and abundance, through change that once seemed impossible. The world has become faster, louder, and more complicated, but the essential rules for living remain the same.
We did not grow up in perfect times.
We grew up in formative times.
And for that, I am grateful.
Still hangin’ in there.
