| Simply Sisu
Sisu defines the Suomi race. Sauna takes Sisu. So what is this thing we Finns call Sisu? Read on and learn something about the Finnish people and their abundant Sisu!
"It is not surprising that sisu is a word that can't be translated. No other language has a word which quite conveys the meaning, possibly because no other country has ever had such a need of this quality.
Sisu refers not to the courage of optimism, but to a concept of life that says, "I may not win, but I will give my life gladly for what I believe." It stands for a philosophy that what must be done will be done, and it is no use to count the cost.
This feeling has sustained the Finns in fighting forty-two wars with Russia and losing every one. It's the quality that lets them laugh at themselves in the face of disaster. It's the hard-jawed integrity that makes them pay their war debts when wealthier nations repudiate their obligations. In short, it's the indomitable will that sets Finns apart and explains many of the incredible things they do. Sisu is the only word for the Finns' strongest national characteristic."
Kiitos to Aini Rajanen in her book "Of Finnish Ways" for this fine excerpt, borrowed gratefully by Ulla & Urho. (Now Available for $17.95 at Finnish Friends!)
(Much more to come on sisu and other Suomi culture, traditions, & history.)
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