‘Slope to New Equilibrium Coming’

‘Twice a month I lay in the dune tub for two hours. At the very least. I enjoy peak experiences, pivotal moments. I worry about the connection between nature and myself. Through that connection I have better, natural connections with the people around me.

“I’ve never been like this. I am trained as a Business Economist. I worked in finance and was busy with company acquisitions. I was ambitious, wanted to make a lot of money, a big separate house, luxury vacations. I thought it would make me happy, but it didn’t. I focused on money and left a stressful life.

“In early 2019, we went on a world trip as a family. Our boys are three and six. This trip was a turning point in my life. After this trip I resigned from the bank where I worked.

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Name: Jasper Bertels (43)

creations: As the funding specialist for Commonland, a foundation dedicated to restoring landscapes

Want: For the new generation and nurturing nature

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“In New Zealand we took a trip to Franz Josef Glacier. Along the way we found a marker on a barren, rocky landscape: ‘Seventeen years ago the ice came this far.’ Now it’s another hour to go to the glacier and at such a moment it hits you hard what causes climate change.

“In the Netherlands, I got a job with a foundation that works around the world on large-scale restoration of nature, combined with economic and social development. These are long-term, one-generation projects. Funding is an obstacle here. Most investors want to see financial returns as quickly and as much as possible. To finance the restoration of these landscapes I am working on creating new ways.

“We are living in a time of drastic changes: energy and raw materials, agriculture and food production, climate and biodiversity. The tilt towards a new balance is imminent, with sustainable ways of production and consumption. Studies indicate that systems change when 20 to 30 percent want something different. We are now 10 We are in the top 20 percent, I feel. I think we will have reached the critical threshold before 2030. I would like to contribute to that card.

“One who lives now takes responsibility for the heritage of seven generations of descendants. This rule of life can be found in tribals. When you live close to nature you also get such insight.

“My motivation is to give our children and grandchildren a more beautiful world. I want to do the same in my personal life. I want to create a beautiful nature reserve. Like a food forest, sustainable forms of recreation. I work with my children to feel this with our shoes in the clay: your head, your heart. And we live by your hands.

“It would be nice to find this land in the Netherlands. Maybe abroad. Anyway, I think it would be a good experience to be away from the hectic Dutch society for a while – to live slowly and closer to nature.

“I hope I can let my kids experience early on what I’ve discovered in recent years: live more from your instincts and less from your head.

“When you relax in nature and stop rationalizing everything, your brain slows down. Then you get rid of the overstimulation. Survivalmethod. Then you will be freed from the compulsion to control. You gain access to your subconscious mind. You will see and smell more. All your senses are suddenly activated.

“This is what I take with me from nature when I have some time alone: ​​to spend the night in the open air, to lie for hours on a surfboard in the sea, to ski and hike in the mountains. .

“It makes me feel insignificant, it connects me more to the world and the people around me. Then I have a clearer vision of what I want to live for.”

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