Welcome! My name is Sari, and I am a 50-year-old mother, wife, professional educator, and singer living in the serene beauty of Northern Finland. My journey through life has been filled with twists and turns, moving from town to town and encountering incredible people along the way. After overcoming many challenges, I am now happily living with the man of my dreams, and together we share our lives with our wonderful seven children, two cats, and a dog, along with a grown-up daughter. Let me tell you something about myself and the roots of the echoes that speak through me.

There Speaks an Echo of a “Fathercator” in Me

Professionally, I am an educator specializing in music. During my career, as a class teacher and an early education and care teacher, I have raised children from ages one to twelve. In addition, I have taught music in junior high school (ages 12 to 16), sixth form (ages 15 to 19), andto students training to become teachers or children’s instructors. I have also been a music instructor/teacher in continuing education (ages 20 to 60) and for adults with disabilities (ages 18 to 80).So, I have witnessed continuous learning in music and how its development affects people of all ages. However, my biggest challenge as an educator has been motherhood. After my divorce in 2006, I was a single mom for ten years, during which time I often felt like I was playing the role of a father as well.

There Speaks an Echo of a Child in Me

While being a “fathercator,” my most challenging duty in life has been educating myself. In 2005, life put me over a barrel when my firstborn son, who was four years old at the time, suddenly fell into a deep unconsciousness. On Mother’s Day morning, after keeping us in despair for 10 days, he opened his eyes, and the purest connection between humans was there again—or so I thought. This was the beginning of a journey that led me to both hell and paradise, through big lies and deep truths. I will share more of this story as the blog goes on, respecting the will and viewpoint of my son, who is now a charming young man. Most of what I learned, I learned by living alongside this mysterious illness that no one else in the world has (as far as we know) and observing how it affects those around it (the one who has it, parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.). Ultimately, as I lost the connection to the greatest love of all, I realized that the most important learning from this horror was not found in my son or conventional medicine, but rather in a mirror and holistic medicine.

Both Echoes of Theory and Singing Lead to the Echo of a “Whoman” in Me

In 2015, after going through a deep journey of self-knowledge and seeing my son still going strong and alive (despite conventional medicine giving him only four years to live), I encountered the three men of my life. With them, I have deepened my understanding of the masculine side within me. First came Lauri Rauhala (1914–2016), a Finnish philosopher who specialized in the holistic conception of human beings. He provided a theoretical foundation for my ten years of searching and experience (“Echoes of  Science”). Secondly came Eino Leino (1878–1926), a Finnish poet whose poems began to sing to me, inspiring me to compose 40 songs that dive into a man’s deepest feelings (“Echo of Singing”). Although I never met these men, they led me to meet the man of my life, with whom I now live out these theories and discoveries about being human. The love between us, our shared love for children, and our common desire to understand each other holistically made me a mother once again at the age of 48!

The Echoes Are Also Speaking in Finnish

In this blog, I will share my thoughts on being a developing holistic woman in Finland—the happiest country in the world. My hope is to offer insights, share experiences, and connect with others who seek to find a pure connection between all humans (or “whomen” ;)). Most of the time, I will write in English, but there will also be echoes in Finnish. I may find the deepest roots by using my native language, or I may sometimes feel the need to express in Finnish what we have discovered in English. Who are we?

You and me. You, my dear reader, are the Echo of purity. You are a mirror who, by joining this journey, shows me the truth simply by being there—whether you reflect on what my echoes have found or challenge them to go deeper or see more widely. Thank you for joining me on this path. I hope my story and reflections can inspire and uplift you as a holistic human being.