How to find your own Hygge:
Hello, there dear Wanderer! New year, new start!
It’s such a great thing to anticipate a great future and to have amazing goals but sometimes we have to just stand still right where we are for a bit and experience the moment.
If you do it will surely make all your today’s and tomorrows much more memorable as you adventure through this year and smash ’em goals.
In this light, we want to share the Hygge concept with you. There has been a lot of buzz around the Danish way of living and the philosophy of Hygge (Pronounced Hue-Guh).
What is this Hygge? For the Danish, it is a way of living in the present and being content in the little moments.
We like your thinking there Danes!
We here at Wanderlust, however, believe that the Hygge feeling, or what creates it won’t be exactly the same for everyone. So you kind of have to figure out what your ideal state, environment or feeling for Hygge is.
Our opinion is that you can deliberately choose to have more Hygge moments or experiences in your everyday life.
We say “yeah!” to that, let’s live a little and a lot!
How many moments of each day pass by that you’re not consciously part of? We’ve even created a word for it: “Autopilot”. What will you remember from your autopilot moments or days when you look back?
You can definitely be more present and “here” during your day even when you are busy with work or everyday tasks, and especially in the moments, you have for yourself and the people you love. In fact, you will be much happier to be a part of the human experience. It’s all about comfort and being content.
WHAT IS HYGGE?
How do I create my own Hygge? How do I embrace this philosophy or way of living in a practical way? You will be surprised to find happiness in the most simplistic things, so we’ll say it’s actually pretty easy.
For instance, a great way to be more present is simply to become aware of your senses and what they’re experiencing. Deliberately tuning yourself into the environment to hear the sounds around you and be aware of the texture of the thing in your hands etc.
Here in the Wanderlust Leather studio, we enjoy the smell of coffee and fresh leather, touching the materials and noticing the different hues of brown is a Hygge sensation making us feel that we are inspired and comfortable to create and discover. We are genuinely part of the process. It’s not always easy to take it all in, there are days that we have to move quickly and days that are stressful, but the idea is to create an environment that takes you back to breathing and enjoying the moment. Press the pause button while you still remember how.
The point is to make it part of your everyday life, to celebrate the ordinary. To create an intimate experience where you are, to be content and alive.
Now that you have a feel for what Hygge entails we will give you some real-life examples to make it a little more real. It might sound a bit too mystical and philosophical, stay with us and you will see how incredibly easy it is to make a huge difference in your life.
Maybe you can relate to some of the things on our Hygge list or maybe it will remind you of something completely different that makes you feel that same sensation and comfort.
Here they are:
The List of Wanderlust Leather’s Hygge-ish things:
(we do know that Hygge-ish is not a real word, but it should be okay?)
1. Opening a window on a rainy day to let the fresh air in, enjoying the smell and the little hairs on your arms standing up.
2. Candles instead of electrical lights, just because for every occasion or in any environment. Treat your sense of smell and get a scented one.
3. This is one of our favourites and so very important: Have Technology Time-Outs, this means having meals, wine or chats with loved ones and friends without your phone or any other electronic device. Listening to the voice of real people, watching their expressions and mannerisms, enjoying them and caring for their well-being by being there.
4. Enjoying a good book or music without interruption. Start up your playlist, put a record on and listen to the music without doing anything else, sing along, dance a little or just zone out, whatever makes you enjoy the moment more.
5. Walking in nature, to be outside. Collecting things as you go, seashells, flowers, stones, feathers, pine cones are the names of birds, there are endless treasures around if we only look. Be it mountains, the beach or your backyard, get out there!
6. Browsing through art galleries, thrift stores, museums and libraries. Enjoying the smells, the visuals, the stories. If going to a second-hand car dealership or grocery store makes you feel this, go there, embrace it!
7. Creating! We obviously love this more than anything. You can quickly produce something or you can actively create something, we try to do the latter. Cutting, drawing, dreaming and using your hands to craft new things, this makes us feel awake and alive and connected to what we are doing. Involve all your senses and your thoughts and attention to detail will come much more naturally.
8. Slowly waking up, a good breakfast, better coffee and being grateful for the opportunity to open your eyes and to be able to start a new day. Write down some thoughts, things to be thankful for, to do’s or goals, contemplate them and stay relaxed. (Check out our post on journaling for a few ideas) Do whatever makes you smile when you wake up, this will set the tone for most of your day.
9. Making your living and/or working space a place you actually like to spend time in. Let the things that surround be both functional and beautiful. Get that awesome pastel pink stapler or put up your Dr Seuss poster, let your Lego’s hang out on your desk and use them to lower the stress levels while taking a break. Have things that make you happy to look at, no clutter.
10. Having your dog lay on your feet while you work or on your lap while watching a movie or working. Hanging out with animals, in general, is a great feeling and instant mood booster, observe them and their actions or just enjoy some time with them.
11. Having a meal or a cold beer on your porch or in your garden. In summertime find a nice tree to sit under or in winter a cosy spot in the sun.
12. Mowing your own lawn, we bet almost everyone likes the smell of freshly cut grass. We also guarantee that planting things like flowers and herbs and then nurturing them for life and growth will make you feel alive and responsible for being part of this planet. Using them in your food and in your home will add so much to the Hygge atmosphere that you are creating.
13. Fireplaces and Friendly Faces; basically again creating a super cosy and comfortable environment. Fireplaces or fire, in general, is so hypnotizing, the colours, the sounds and the smell. We recommend that you add a glass of good red and a good friend for total comfort.
14. Documenting special things/events; draw it, write about it, film or photograph it keep it alive in any way you can.
15. Wearing really comfortable clothing and shoes. Have your own style, express yourself and make sure you are comfortable in the process. Clothing has a big influence on how we feel and how we see ourselves. Choose fabrics, prints and colours that you like and styles that allow you to move freely. When it comes to shoes, we’ve got you covered. Taking them off after a long day and putting them on the coffee table is also a Hygge moment for us.
16. Fresh and clean nice bed linen and towels. This will make a bigger difference in your comfort than you would expect. Trust us, it will make you feel cared for and super satisfied if you allow yourself to sleep in comfort.
17. Cooking, baking and sharing. Start from scratch and create something delicious to share with friends, family or strangers. Smell the Rosemary or lick the chocolate from the spoon. Your senses, stomach and spouse will be happy and happy is very Hygge.
18. Writing letters by hand or gift wrapping something yourself. Putting effort into making something for someone else will always make you feel happy.
The list goes on and on. What’s on your list? What makes you happy to be here? It’s not always the big things but mostly the small things in our humble opinion that makes life feel good.
Do them more regularly and intentionally and they will become the rituals rhythms and routines that bring you joy. This is creating a happy life by just being.
Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” – Omar Khayyam
