Frankie Frost/Marin Independent Journal

Are you feelin it?

Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel? Are you envisioning the thrill of parking in a public lot? Walking in both directions down a supermarket aisle?

OK, Im sorry I got your hopes up. Were all in this for at least another month, so I say we all just try a little hygge.

It seems that hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) has been going on in Scandinavia for generations. And it apparently is working just fine. So fine that in the annual World Happiness Report, a publication of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Scandinavian countries compose four of the top five happiest countries in the world. For the record, the United States comes in at No. 18, three spots behind Costa Rica but hey, we edged out the Czech Republic and Belgium.

Hygge, which began in Denmark, is described as a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or wellbeing.

The primary principles include atmosphere, presence (the ability to be focused on the now), pleasure, gratitude, comfort and togetherness. Or, as we refer to it here: Stay-at-home.

I pause here to tell you that Denmark is only No. 2 in the top five the actual winner of the happiest country in the world this year is Finland. However, I have eliminated Finland from our little discussion because the Finns idea of a great hygge is getting your body temperature up to about 150 degrees in a sauna, then running outside naked and jumping into a snow bank. I prefer my hygge indoors and with unshriveled body parts.

The word hygge itself is actually a derivative of the English word hug, and it can mean something different to everyone. When youre hunkered down as we all are, it can mean something as simple as a soft blanket and a good book, or looking through a window on a crisp, clear day and letting your face just feel the warm sunlight. The Danes say hygge is not about what it looks like, but what it feels like. And theyre feeling pretty good.

Lest you think this is just some feel-good sort of New Age mumbo-jumbo, I will tell you that there have been more than 30 books published on the subject of Denmarks cozy lifestyle. In fact, hygge was recognized in the Oxford Dictionarys words of the year back in 2016. The winner that year was post-truth, but hygge was a runner-up along with alt-right and woke. Hygge might not be Miss America, but it is Miss Congeniality.

In fact, the word has spawned several offshoots that further describe the cozy living concept. If you have a favorite old armchair, youd be sitting in your hyggekrog. Put your feet up wearing your favorite hyggesokker (socks) or old baggy sweat suit (hyggebukser) and have simple hyggesnak (chat) with friends or loved ones. Preferably via hyggezoom.

It all got me to thinking that if hygge works so well in Denmark and the other countries that compose the happy country top five (Finland, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway) why wouldnt it work here during these trying times of being homebound?

Denmarks contributions to the world have been modest but broad. Its given us Kierkegaard, Hans Christian Anderson, Hamlet and Legos. Beats the hell out of Timothy Leary, Beavis and Butt-Head, Emperor Norton and the pet rock doesnt it?

Oh sure, they also have free education, free healthcare for everyone and paid paternity leave; and they pay the highest tax rate in the world, but they make really great pastries.

I gotta go now. Its time for my hyggetini.

Barry Tompkins is a longtime sports broadcaster who lives in Marin. Contact him at barrytompkins1@gmail.com.

Read the rest here:

If ever there was a time for hygge, its now - Marin Independent Journal