3 Ways To Experience More Hygge

November 15, 2020

Have you heard about Hygge? If not, don’t feel bad, most people haven’t.  During this crazy year it seems a new self-help trend appears weekly.  If you’re wondering what the latest is, or interested in exploring new ways of bringing peace and contentment into your life, read on for 3 key ways to improve your Hygge.  

What is Hygge? (pronounced Hoog-uh)

Imagine lounging on a cotton hammock, eyes closed against a sunny blue sky, your favorite tea waiting on an old stump next to you, book resting on your lap as a bubbling brook bounces playfully by.  No need to go anywhere you’ve got hours to rest in the sunshine.  

This is Hygge.

Or, imagine the feeling when your cold hands first wrap around the ceramic of your favorite mug full of coffee early in the morning.  

This is Hygge. 

Hygge doesn’t need to be large moments either, according to the Danes who originated the term, Hygge is supposed to be accomplished in our daily lives and is more about small things that make up our every day than large events.  

Webster's Dictionary says Hygge is “the feeling of coziness and contentment evoked by simple comforts, as being wrapped in a blanket, having good conversations, enjoying food, etc.”.  

 

The concept and value of Hygge is embedded so deep into Danish culture they have begun using Hygge as an adjective.  “This is a very hygge-chair” or “I like your Hygge-Shoes dude”.  Comfort. Joy. Simple.  

Hygge is an intriguing concept amidst the chaos of 2020.  

We can all agree this year more than ever we could use all the help we can get when it comes to bringing more peace and joy into our lives.  If you want to read more about Hygge and how it might really make life a little bit better check this article out at Country Living: What Is Hygge?

What does Hygge have to do with Colony Cleanup ? 

Great question.  On its face it seems like picking up trash and embracing life’s simple moments don’t have a ton in common.  But there is a simple joy in cleaning up our earth which connects us to ourselves and helps us feel rooted. 


Colony Cleanup isn’t just a really cool trash bag, it’s the idea that when when we help each other and help the earth our lives are made better. 

Another massive trend in finding peace has been Marie Kondo philosophy on how to bring joy and order by organizing and prioritizing the “stuff” in our lives.  If you’re not familiar with her philosophy check it out here, you won’t regret it: Marie Kondo.  

In a nutshell (don’t take our word for it this one’s worth a deep dive) Marie emphasizes tidying up and prioritizing what really matters is a key way to bring order and peace into our lives.  It’s hard to have peace when chaos is all around us. 

Marie says that when we organize and prioritize our physical space “Not only will you experience the joy of living with objects you love, but you’ll also be on the path to establishing your ideal lifestyle.”  

Remember that feeling you have when you look around after cleaning the house on the weekend and everything is in its place, clean and tidy? 

I took this photo this morning...Not! This is not what my home looks like, as if any of us have homes that look like this for more than five minutes with kids and chaos running amok.

But, this picture does capture the feeling of organization and resulting peace that we can experience when we tidy up our space.  A warm moment like a deep sigh that confirms the world is ordered and it’s connected to your soul.  

At that point Hygge can happen.  

That’s what Colony is about.  

What’s the third key ingredient in experiencing Hygge? The first is don’t wait for big moments, embrace the soul connecting small things that happen every day.  Second, look for ways to order your world.  When our environment is organized, our soul is in order and Hygge can happen. 

Third is the simple philosophy that

Service warms the heart.  

I read this article Why I Pick Up Other Peoples Trash from Adventure-Journal about an interview with a leading environmentalist who is concerned with the macro view of global pollution and trash generation.  How do we solve that? Where do we start? It can be overwhelming to look at the grand scale of litter and trash and feel like moving that candy wrapper to the garbage bin doesn’t make a hill of beans difference.  

But, that’s not the only reason we pick it up and throw it away.  We do it for Hygge.  For Order.  For service.  Because service brings just a little joy to our lives.  As the article concludes we start where we’re at with what’s in front of us.

I really like how the team at Adventure-Journal (check them out Adventure-journal.com) put it, picking up trash warms the heart.  And it’s true.  We all know the feeling of doing something not about ourselves.  It just feels good to do something good for no reason other than it’s the right thing to do.  Even if it's something simple like picking up someone else's wrapper and putting it in the trash.

"Wrapping it up" 

At Colony we want everyone in our community to not only be effective at cleaning up our environment, but to experience true connection, joy and order.  Starting with Hygge, ordering our space, then extending that to the space outside ourselves.  Picking up after other people can be a moment of Hygge if we allow it to be.     

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