Autumn is my favorite season. I associate it particularly strongly with coziness.
Nature displays a magnificent blaze of color. I like it when dewdrops still cling to the grass in the morning and the morning mist slowly lifts from our castles as I walk to the office. The forest around the castles slowly changes color.
What are the key findings here?
Psychologists and doctors would write about the importance of regeneration and resilience at this point, but for the Danes, coziness is an attitude, a feeling.
Not only are the Danes often the happiest people in research surveys, they are also the “world champions of coziness” and have their own word for it: “hygge”.
In the book Hygge1 – a way of life that simply makes you happy, Danish author Meik Wiking lists ten aspects that make up this attitude to life: atmosphere (no wonder Denmark has the highest consumption of candles), presence (just put your cell phone away😉), pleasure (the Danes relate this to culinary delights), equality (the opposite of selfishness), gratitude (enjoying the moment), harmony (life is not a competition), comfort (physical and mental resilience needs breaks), peace (Danes have a high level of trust in their government and therefore don’t always have to complain about politics😉), togetherness (building and maintaining relationships), and protection.
What do I do with it, when do I feel cozy?
On the one hand, external factors play a role in the experience of coziness.
My starting point here is ideal: I live in Weinheim, a city that is described by tourism as “excitingly cozy”😉https://lebendiges-weinheim.de/weinheim-aufregend-gemuetlich/
I can associate coziness with beautiful corners and places in my hometown and consciously seek them out. Alternatively/in addition, I can also create a cozy atmosphere at home.
If you are constantly stressed, worried, or have negative thoughts, you will hardly be able to relax even in the most beautiful living room. The ten aspects mentioned above therefore also attach great importance to inner attitude and help me to reflect and sort things out from time to time:
Lowering my own expectations, consciously planning time for friends and family, not chasing after every appointment – that’s a good start for me.
Reminding myself again and again that “faster, higher, further” is not what makes you happy. Lottery winners – just like people who have been paralyzed in an accident – feel the same level of happiness three years after their win/accident as they did before.
Investing a lot of time in positive relationships is important, because community and comfort also have a lot in common. In a convivial atmosphere, when eating raclette together or doing activities, a feeling of security often arises, supported by mutual appreciation and mindfulness.
And last but not least, I can also feel cozy on my own when I read the newspaper in front of the window with a cup of coffee in my hand or when I go for a walk in nature. It is therefore often the “simple” things that trigger feelings of coziness, inner balance (see https://dads-philosophy-blog.com/uncategorized/deep-dive-personal-balance/), and a sense of “being at one with the world” in me.
Translated from German with DeepL.com (free version)
1 https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Hygge-Danish-Secrets/dp/0062658808