Where The Heart Is

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all slow down and have more time for the people and things we love? Embracing hygge (pronounced hooga), the Danish art of living well, might be the answer.

- Liz McLardy

Denmark is continually rated as one of the happiest and most contented societies in the world, so it’s no wonder we’re fascinated with their secrets to happy living. A big part of the Danish way of life is experiencing hygge.

You have probably already experienced some of the hygge “trend” that has been rippling across the world. Chances are you are attracted to the cosiness and closeness that’s central to this Danish-born philosophy.

While hygge is not new to Scandinavians, this way of living could not have been shared with the rest of the world at a better time — when we are all living such fast-paced and technology-overloaded lives.

Hygge offers us respite from the modern problems of exhaustion, adrenal fatigue and disconnection; from ourselves, our communities and where we live. It seems that hygge encompasses all the things that our minds, bodies and souls are craving.

Meik Wiking, author of The Little Book of Hygge and CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, has spent years studying the magic of Danish life. Wiking writes that hygge has no direct translation and has been called everything from “cosiness of the soul” to “the absence of annoyance” and, his personal favourite, “cocoa by candlelight”.

Hygge is a term that encapsulates our desire for comfort, simplicity and peacefulness. It’s not a concept that only the Danish enjoy but its power comes from their conscious choice to weave it into their everyday lives to such an extent that it’s described as a part of their DNA.

Hygge is essentially a philosophy for living that encompasses warmth, togetherness, safety, familiarity, peacefulness, simplicity and contentment. It’s no wonder the global awareness of this concept has taken off as so many of us are yearning to slow down and create more joyful, fulfilling and sustainable lives.