Winter like a Scandinavian

Perhaps it is my ancestry, I am half Irish, half English and German with a large percentage of Danish. But maybe it is my lifelong practice of turning my mind into positivity as a survival strategy, but I did take notice of the Hygge some years back. I am cosy at home today, with candles ready, a great Art Project ready to work on, supplies of water and canned goods, my chores all done, and a bunch of chili in the fridge and freezer, so bring on the SNOW.

We are all gearing up for the much hyped Big Snow Storm that was presaged by weather terms like Polar Vortex (my personal favorite) and Arctic Blast! Each day we get updates and weather maps in beautiful colors showing us the track of the ice blue storm. Today it hit Texas. Our own forecast here in New Jersey has gone from 12 to 20 inches, down to 4-6 inches. Whatever - I am ready. and as of this morning and my wonderful neighbors have checked in on me offering reassurance they will dig me out; my dog is walked, we have taken note that my heater exhaust is above snow level, and I am dressed in fleece lined sweat pants, thermal underwear, Columbia hiking socks, and a flannel hoody from L. L. Bean. I am warm and cozy. I have many blankets and quilts available as needed too. Living in a fairly urban place, Camden County, I doubt I will have very long to wait if we do lose power. Urban areas get the power up and running in no time, unlike places like where my brother lives in West Virginia! I willl call and see how he is but since we are of the same ancestry, I am sure he is facing the storm with apositive attitude.

Here is part of an e-mail article I saw today:

"Remember the late-2010s craze for “hygge,” the Danish concept of coziness and comfortable well-being? The Scandinavians, the rest of the world realized, might know a thing or two about optimizing for winter. They know from long, dark seasons, but still rank as the happiest people on the planet. Kari Leibowitz, a psychologist who moved north of the Arctic Circle to study how people thrive there during winter, wrote in The Times in 2020 that the secret is a “positive wintertime mind-set.” It’s possible, she found, to cultivate this, even if you’ve always associated the season with dread.

A mind-set shift involves changing what you notice, what you remark upon, where you place your focus. Leibowitz advises concentrating on what you like about winter (cooking, cozy indoor reading, the quiet after snowfall) over what you don’t (don’t get me started). “Appoint yourself a wintertime ambassador this year,” she advised, “and encourage everyone around you to notice what they like about the winter as well.” I imagine this self-designation might read as irritating to one’s shivering friends and family who would prefer to partake in the time-honored January tradition of complaining about the weather, but I’m already the unofficial publicist for summer, so maybe a new seasonal enthusiasm would read as refreshing.

Horowitz also advises people to get outside, to figure out the layering situation such that experiencing the Norwegian concept of “friluftsliv,” or “open air life,” isn’t excruciating. The Swedish author of “There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather” (I think that sentence usually completes with “only bad clothes”) told Horowitz, “There are some days when it’s harder to get outside than others, but I know that if I do, I’m never going to regret going outside.”

Happy Snow Storm Weekend my freinds and neighbors! wrightj45@yahoo.com