I live in a house in a forest about 20 minutes out of

The actor Kim Bodnia, speaking not of fame nor conquest, but of life’s quiet treasure, declared: “I live in a house in a forest about 20 minutes out of Copenhagen, with my actress wife Rikke and my four children—my son Louis, 20, from a previous relationship, and our three: Charlie, ten, Miles, eight, and Nomi, six.” In this simple confession shines the eternal wisdom of the ancients: that the greatest riches are not crowns or gold, but family, home, and the peace of nature.

To dwell in a house in a forest is to live as our forebears once did, close to the rhythm of the earth, where the song of the wind and the whisper of trees teach patience and strength. The city lies near, but the soul chooses the forest, for there the heart finds rest from the tumult of ambition. The ancients too sought their wisdom in solitude—prophets, poets, and sages who turned away from crowds to hear the voice of eternity in the stillness of the woods.

Bodnia names not only his dwelling but his companions upon the journey of life. He honors his wife Rikke, partner in both art and love, and his children, the branches of his lineage: Louis, the elder son, born of past paths, yet bound still to his father’s heart; Charlie, Miles, and Nomi, the young flames of the present, who carry forward the name and spirit of their house. In this naming lies reverence, for to speak the names of one’s beloved is to affirm the sacred bond of kinship.

The wisdom here is clear: the measure of a man is not in the applause of strangers, but in the laughter of children and the harmony of his household. The forest home, though modest to the world, is a palace to the soul when filled with love and the voices of kin. The ancients declared that the hearth is holier than the throne, for empires rise and fall, but a family bound in love endures through the ages.

Let the generations remember: to build a house is common, but to build a home is divine. To dwell in nature, to cherish one’s wife and children, to honor both past and present bonds—this is the true wealth, the legacy more enduring than fame. For when the world forgets the roar of the stage or the triumphs of labor, it will remember the lineage of love, the roots planted deep, and the sheltering branches that gave shade to generations.