Summer Hygge Challenge: Pandemic Edition

Last year (also known as b.c. or “before corona”) I created the August Hygge Challenge to help cozy lovers everywhere learn how to make the summer months more hygge. (STILL don’t know what hygge (pron: hue-guh) is!? JEEZ. Click here then here.)

I began that post with what I now think is a hilarious statement: “So it’s the middle of summer; the cozy-lover’s nightmare.” If I had only known then what I know now. It seems 2020 has given the word “nightmare” a whole new terrifying definition, and summer all the sudden doesn’t seem like such a burden.

Things look a little different these days. Last year’s challenge had things like “Have a Potluck” and “Go to a Farmer’s Market” which are now deemed “risky” activities. So regardless of how you feel about the current state of things, I thought it’d be helpful to create a new challenge:

SUMMER HYGGE CHALLENGE:
PANDEMIC EDITION

Catchy, huh? 😉 Let’s get started.
1) Go for a bike ride. Don’t have one? Rent one! Or find one at a Garage Sale or Facebook Marketplace. Ride around the neighborhood, or on a trail. You’ll be amazed at how freeing it is.
2) Run through a sprinkler, any one you find will do. Have someone take a pic or video so you can watch it later. It’s fun to see the joy on your face when you do something carefree and child-like.
3) Read a book about something unfamiliar. Hygge, Lykke, Ikigai, Fika. Don’t know what those things are? Your life will change once you do! Do some digging about foreign concepts that make life great, it will open a whole new world. If a book is too time consuming, read a magazine or article, or A BLOG! *wink wink*
4) Make a s’more on the fire. Or the microwave, or the oven, or the BBQ. Simple, sweet, & slightly labor intensive. Just like when you were a kid! Get your face messy and your fingers sticky, and enjoy. (wow that was kind of naughty, get your head out of the gutter)
5) Jot down a few things each day that you’re grateful for. If there was ever a time to start counting your blessings, 2020 is IT. Don’t try the whole 10 things per day.. That turns it into a chore. Are you grateful that you got to listen to your favorite music on your way to work this morning? Write it down! Did you sip wine in peace on your patio when you got home? Jot that shit down.
6) Take a day (or two. or three.) and just veg out. Life is SO busy, and sad, and scary. You need to take some time to just, be. Lay out in the sun with a spray bottle of water to spritz yourself every 20 minutes. Find a big tree with shade and lay under it. Go to the park and just chill for a few hours. We don’t always have to rush to the next thing.
7) Ditch Facebook for ONE whole day. Yeah, I said it. At least 25% of what you see on Facebook is upsetting, negative or triggering. Especially if you’re one to enter the comment’s section. So ditch it. Spend an entire day (or more, if you want) without scrolling through Facebook. Be present, and make note of how you feel at the end of the day.
8) Go swimming! When was the last time you jumped into the lake? Cannon balled off a cliff? Floated the river? Dove into a pool? Soaked in a hot spring? And ladies: When was the last time you went to a body of water and fully submerged yourself – hair, face, and all? Swimming is such a fun, nostalgic activity. I dare you to do it.

The future is hazy right now. No one really knows if or when things will get back to normal. But as long as we find fun, comforting, exciting activities to keep us busy, things will work out. I challenge you to embrace this summer hygge challenge before the season changes.

xoxo, Lo