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The Book of Hygge

the Danish Art of Contentment, Comfort, and Connection
Oct 16, 2018ryankegley rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Unintentionally, “The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Contentment, Comfort, and Connection,” is the third in a series of books I’ve read over the past month (“The Art of Peace” and “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck” being the other two) loosely connected around the idea of “getting more from less.” If our modern age is defined by anything, it’s surely immediate access to an overabundance of everything — from cheap wear-for-the-season-and-toss fashions and inexpensive home goods to nearly inescapable media feeds and the unlimited streaming of just about anything we can think of. Bruce Springsteen’s 1992 single “57 Channels (and Nothin’ On)” seems positively quaint 25 years on. Whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual decluttering, there is definitely a movement to push back against the onslaught of pervasive everythingness. If you haven’t heard of hygge (pronounced “hoo-ga”), chances are you’ve been living under a rock: an Amazon.com search of the term “hygge” turns up over 1,000 books, and, like me, your Goodreads feed has undoubtedly turned up one or another on the subject, whether read by a friend or simply as a “Popular On Goodreads” promo. Despite (or in spite of) the zeitgeist, neither this nor anything else hygge was on my radar, but it was recommended to me by our new business partner as it falls squarely in line with the brand positioning we have been strategizing and defining over the past couple of months. As John “Hannibal” Smith often says on The A-Team, “I love it when a plan comes together,” and it’s an inspiring feeling when you’ve unexpectedly tapped into something that, though trendy now, transcends trends, dates back to cultural ideas from the nineteenth century, and actually mines universal truths we all seem to be trying to reconnect with. “Hygge” is a Danish word meaning “to give courage, comfort, or joy,” and in our current context refers to “a form of everyday togetherness.” What it’s all about is, honestly, best summed up by the book’s back cover: “Hygge is a universal feeling of being warm, safe, comforted, and sheltered — an experience of belonging to the moment and to each other. Hygge anchors us, reminding us to slow down, to connect with place and with one another, to dwell and savor rather than rush and spend.” Hygge is not rocket science. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. Its principles are uncomplicated. It can happen anytime in any place, alone or in groups, while relaxing or doing chores. When you are present in the here and now — in this moment, in this place — whether curled up by the fire with a blanket, having a meal with friends, acknowledging the sacred in the secular, or focusing on people rather than things, that is hygge. An invitation to welcome abundance and contentment into your life, Louisa Thomsen Brits’ pocket-sized “The Book of Hygge” is that rare book that actually embodies what it espouses, and you will savor the time, however brief, you spend with it.