Well there’s always something trending. No “fake news” there! It’s not surprising to hear that this or that is the new “it.” What is surprising is the idea that something so simple and so automatic could be re-labeled and re-branded and tossed to us as an actual new thing and that some of us will actually buy into it. Yes, you know who you are!
Hygee pronounced ‘hoo-gah’ is the latest trend coming out of Denmark. The country boasts proudly to be the happiest place in the world. The concept of “Hygee is the absence of anything annoying or emotionally overwhelming.” Which oddly enough actually sounds like my home. The types of activities that go along with this mindset are also real familiar too. Like the people who are actively “practicing” this trend are said to light candles, check, yep I do that. They are said to drink tea and sit with their cats and watch t.v. with little to no remorse with themselves for having taken a break. Check, do that too! They are said to sleep in and drink wine and restrain from electronics while eating, and enjoying others company. Checkity check. I do all that already. So what is “new” about hygee? Why is it getting all this hype?
I’ll tell you why I think it’s suddenly the new “thing.” We as a society have become too informed. Each day we are without wanting given more and more information and we are on overload. The “idea” of having a safe space i.e. a home where no one can bombard us with annoying crap is quite appealing. The old ways of communicating face to face, and really listening and holding someone’s hand and watching a sunset are days to live for and when they come to cherish. A hygee lifestyle is about going back about 100 years and shutting out on purpose the world. It is about placing in our homes things that we cherish that remind us of trips we have taken and memories we have made. Our homes should always reflect who we are and be filled with things that make us cozy. But NOTHING about this is NEW!
At my house there’s a few cats that will at any moment requested cheerily climb in to your lap. There’s art in every room that either the children or I have created. The chairs are worn and torn and look like they came out of an old house and the kitchen smells like whatever I am cooking. When my friends come they usually ask what’s for lunch and then promptly take a nap! It used to surprise me that I would find them so comfortable in what they call “the country” i.e. my house that they would fall asleep! I suspected though that my house had it’s own hygee vibe. I just called it comfortable and home. With the pool dripping into the water, and the birds singing and the cat’s purring…what in the world would make anyone want to leave? Perhaps like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz you will be pleasantly surprised to discover that you too are living a hygee lifestyle and that you are hip and trending too!
Take Care of YOU!
