Hello,
Well, after our much-deserved Autumn gift of sunny days someone up there has started to turn the gas down (obviously saving money) and we on earth are reaching for extra layers and a little all-round warmth and comfort. I might rail against this change in temperature with true British moaning, but my Danish friends (I have many) have ‘got this’. They positively look forward to it, embrace it and even give it a word ‘Hygge’ which roughly translated means Wellbeing. Five years ago, due to ‘life’ and the disruption of Divorce in my 50’s I was ‘lost’, it’s the only word I can come up with because I’d wake up every morning thinking, when am I going to go home? Amongst a whole list of things I’d ‘lost’ one of them was my sense of belonging, this is important because it translates to home, warmth, comfort, stability, self-care, self-love, my wellbeing. Try as I might, I couldn’t pull all these ends together which is why I use the word ‘lost’ it’s a simple little word, but I think very appropriate, you might relate to it either now, or at times in your life when you’ve felt the same. Through this time I tried all the text book methods including buying books with titles that were jumping out from promising to fix my problem they went from Paul McKenna’s ‘How To Mend A Broken Heart’ to The Dalai Lama’s ‘Art Of Happiness’ Many have been passed on over the years but this one Meik Wiking’s ‘The Little Book of Hygge’ The Danish Way To Live Well has stayed with me, I’ll always have it in my home and bought it for friends who are in need of a little Hygge.
Hygge, originally a Norwegian word has many spellings, prefixes and interpretations but as the books writer Meik says, in the words of that great philosopher Winnie-the-Pooh, “You don’t spell it, you feel it” But how do you create Hygge in your life and home? I know in the magazine this week there are lots of Hygge ideas to inspire you to think the Hygge way but here’s my penneth worth. If you can put love, comfort and warmth into you, your home, your friends and family then watch the magic happen. It’s like the ripple effect, drop a stone into a pond the ripples go out, hit a bank then come back to you. Buy the book do your research (Pinterest amazing) and remember the Danes aren’t continuously one of the happiest nations on the world for nothing and Hygge stopped me feeling ‘lost’ now I know ‘Home’ is ‘me’ and its everywhere I am.
Love,
Anthea X