Familiar with the Danish tradition of Hygge when the weather outside is frightful? It's that palpable feeling of restful coziness that pervades the home - crackling fires warming the tootsies while burrowing in to read a great book, or snuggling with your loved ones, sipping hot beverages and reclaiming your soul. Hygge. Contented restfulness - where all is calm, all is bright.
For Nature Lovers, creating Hygge in your home space can be just as adventurous, enticing you to explore AND rest deeply! If you love that hike in the woods, or natural mountain springs, deserts in bloom, ocean spray and snorkeling, or gentle strolls through pollinator havens, you, too can enjoy Hygge! With a little imagination and creativity, and a strong desire to keep your Love of Nature vibrant all year, you can enjoy what you love best about the great Outdoors.
Here are some ideas to stoke your WILD soul while enjoying the Winter:
Fresh Air & Scented Pine - First, go ahead. Take a hike! Make it your daily pilgrimage to go outside, rain or shine, frigid or tepid, to a place where you can hear natural sounds. Take a deep breath. Repeat. Repeat. Wait until you can hear at least two natural sounds distinctly. An app on your phone can help you identify bird calls. Keep a record of which avian-kin are hanging out in your yard/neighborhood, and learn one new name each week. Bring a pine bough, spent pine cone, dried leaves, a feather, acorn, or a scoop of soil or desiccated organic matter into your home. Anything that seems decaying or rotting is perfect. Notice its scent, fragrant or pungent, earthy or sweet. Is it hosting life at the microscopic level? Place your found natural kin in a bowl or in a place of honor for one day. Notice all you can. What is changing in your treasure, and what is changing in you as you observe? What seems to be decaying that might be hosting new life? The next day return your treasure outside to your compost bin, garden, or brush pile, and collect another natural tidbit. Repeat each day. Remember to breathe, listen, smell, touch, and observe every detail as you place each treasure in your "Nature Vessel" and gently return to Earth.
Stars are Out Tonight - Bundle up and get outside for 10-15 minutes at night. An app on your phone can provide a telescopic lens if you don't have a telescope of your own. An app can also offer maps of the night sky in your bioregion. Look UP! Cloudless winter skies offer Nature-Lovers endless opportunities for discovery and wonder. While you map the constellations and planets available for viewing, look up the mythological stories captured in their names. Not only will you be spinning new takes on ancient tales for your grandkids, you'll be everyone's favorite Trivia partner. The story is the key. If you have a star projector for the grandkids, have them participate in telling star stories by jump-starting them with easy ones like Orion the Hunter or Sirius in Canis Major - all about wolves and their kin, our canine-friends!
Sounds of Silence - Hearing loss is epidemic in our culture, and directly proportionate to cognitive loss. Losing the ability to listen like our Wild-kin is due to our over-saturated industrial soundscape and hyperactive central nervous system input. Quietude in a Natural Soundscape can be more healing for the central nervous system than sound deprivation. Tuning into Natural soundscape requires that we go outside, and if possible, once again at night when traffic abates and natural sounds can be heard more readily above the din of human-made noise. How acutely can we hear natural sounds when we focus on them? If we begin with listening for natural sounds, waiting until we can identify at least two distinctly, then we add scent, then touch, if possible (and safe to do so!) taste, then sight, we begin to recalibrate our sensory cortex to mediate perception, sensation, and behavior that is more in tune with the natural world. Observe what happens after two weeks of intensive listening to Nature, and use your new skill to create a Natural soundscape indoors by imitating those sounds with your kids/grandkids. "Whooo! Whooo! Who cooks for you?!?"
Creatures of the Cold - Begin with a book, podcast, or Nature documentary about creature-kin who thrive in cold climates. Learn everything you can about energy conservation, food foraging, nesting, hibernation and rest, gestation, rearing young, communication, mutual protection, and play. Good luck not being enthralled with wonder! I dare you not to learn something in the process that will inspire you to imitate the habits of your new friends! Then, bring a photo - even one downloaded from the internet - to your place of honor in your home and have a conversation about your similarities and curiosities. Make sure you introduce yourself, what is most important to you, your family and friends, the way you spend your time. And then imagine your friend does the same. What do you notice about your cold-loving friend? What can you learn?
Child's Play - Nothing is more comforting, invigorating and creative than stoking the imagination. Children in our lives keep us young for this reason. While we are burrowed in for long winters, how can we celebrate play? Nature lovers will get out their wild personas by pretending - make-believe - and incorporate all they can in their play about their favorite places, plant- and creature-kin. Board games that are fun and learning-based, and story-times that are not meant to be "productive," but wildly imaginative, are great. Even better, move the body! Get outside, if possible. Energy flows unabated in rhythmic movement. Children and creature-kin do this naturally; movement is fluid and sometimes jerky. As adults, we can become stiff and carry ourselves as though we're afraid of straining/breaking or otherwise compromising our health. Begin small. Flex toes, fingers, legs and arms. Notice sensation in the lower back, up the spine, all the way to the crown. Learn a bit of tai chi/qi gong movement. Dance. Move gracefully, gently, or herky-jerky if you want. Just play and pretend! Kids and dogs are great teachers if you've forgotten the art and science of playing in the snow.
Soulscape Design - A perfect way to enJOY time rather than waste or "spend" it is to create a Soulscape. Soulscapes are sacred spaces - either outside or in your home - that celebrate your special love of Nature. Work with your imagination, a piece of construction paper, some markers, crayons, or colored pencils (refrain from graphic computer design for this part), and sketch your favorite Natural scene. You do not have to be an artist; this is just to stoke your imagination. Or, retrieve a photo of a Naturescape that attracts you, and observe it closely. Whatever it is - water, trees, creatures, mountains, beaches, deserts, caves, fire, gardens - you can create a space that pays homage to what you love best about creation and feed your soul. Check out a few samples of Soulscape designs right on my website. The opportunities are endless, and you will have designed a sacred space that feeds your own soul while enjoying some Hygge rest!
Secret Garden - When we peek through an open gate into a gorgeous garden, lush with plant-life, pollinators, avian-kin, and water features, how does it make us feel? Some might dread all the work that attaches to a Secret Garden, but almost everyone would love to linger for a few moments to enjoy the quiet breeze, the fragrant flowers, or blossoming trees. The Garden is a liminal space, a place of transition where everything is growing - becoming something fuller, more complex, more itself. The Garden connects our inner world of poetic imagination with the full sensorium - the colors, sounds, and aromas that awaken a powerful attraction to the present moment, suffused with the dreams of our past and the potential of our future. Make a Secret Garden of your own design. Now is the time to sketch your plans for a spring Garden that will awaken your senses and stoke your imagination and desire for playful rest. Don't wait until the soil is ready for turning! Do it now! Sshhh. Go deeper and plan your Secret Garden. Your dreams will be ignited, your soul delighted.
Sand Mandalas - Sand particles are basic to Earth's composition and to our own. Water, wind, and time create natural wonders from sand's rudimentary particles. Why not work with this natural element to create something beautiful, fragile, transient and limited only by your imagination? Ancient circles of light that help heal imbalance and over-exertion, anxiety, disquiet, or pain, sand mandalas stimulate creativity, wonder and joy. They require patience, planning, and delicate work, but once you begin, either on your own or with the assistance of others, sand mandalas become a happy practice of centering, grounded creativity, discipline, and fulfillment as you complete the circle of color and light with story, laughter, and quiet. A sand mandala kit is all you need - and a little imagination.
Nature Photo Parade - A happy practice that requires only a Beginner's Eye is collating your Nature photos from your phone's camera and projecting them onto your t.v. or computer screen. Nature photos are best with captions, either supplemented by your own humorous taglines or anecdotes, or supplied by family members or friends guessing their location, context, and meaning. Be prepared for "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" and as host or hostess, provide a slice of pie/cookie/sweet or savory treat for the one (or team) with the most creative captions. Be sure to reward yourself by having everyone who's gathered select the "Best of the Best" photo and have it blown up for your Soulscape niche. Or make it into a calendar page for the coming year. Or, try your hand at Haiku or Nature poetry. The photo will speak more than your words, so don't worry if it doesn't rhyme. Just give it your heart!
Reflection Pool for Dreaming - A vessel of water near a dancing flame, whether it's a pillar candle or a cozy fireplace, is the antidote to long winter nights. While you're relaxing to soft music, the sounds of Nature, or doing any one of the quieter activities of the season, let your gaze fall upon the shadows and images of water reflecting the light of the flame. The experience is mesmerizing, and will help slow your respiration and heart rate to prepare you for slumber. Pair with your favorite cup of nighttime tea, your favorite book or podcast, and plug in your favorite Grounding/Earthing bedsheets for a night of unparalleled slumber and dreaming! Be sure to have your dream journal available at your bedstand so as the sun is rising, the meaning of your dreams will "dawn" on you as well.
Hygge for the WILD Soul: Breathe. Connect with Nature. Relax. Go deeper. EnJOY!
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