I have been excited this week to see some people's nooks/ private spaces they have created. This is a private safe space where you can just be you - a space perhaps for devotions, a prayer when you feel upset or alone, a space to feel relaxed, complete, your thanksgiving spot etc. It is a positive thing and comes from the Danish idea of Hygge which is not an airy fairy load of rubbish, but a way where we touch base with the natural, which is around us, and an opportunity to focus on ourselves, God and where we are at on life's journey.
Last week we thought about five of the most important things we can have around us when creating a nook or private space - we thought about a nook and where it might be in our home, a source of heat especially a fireplace, candles, wooden items and natural things around you, like wool, cotton, stone poetry etc. Think about when you could visit a friend or family members home why did it feel welcoming and embracing? Did they have any of the above items around?
Today we are looking at the second series of five things which create a sense of security, safety, well being in your nook or home.
The sixth suggestion is to have books around you, novels, poetry, picture/photographs and of course a Bible. In your nook there may well be little space so you just might keep one book or it might be that your shelves in your living room are crowded with all types of books. Books are so important as an item of faith, a way to escape from routine, an exit into something different, direction and help for the body, mind and spirit. What are you presently reading and where do you curl up with your book to enjoy reading it? A kindle or iPad doesn't provide the same thing as part of the relaxation and discovery is about the handling of a book, to feel its pages in your hands, to smell its pages, to smooth its jacket etc. We have to be sensitive to those who can not see to read and who might find something of a type of solace in hearing Talking Books and feeling the paper pages of a book.
The next suggestion is the use of ceramics, you know the mug you prefer to drink from. The one you always get out of the cupboard if you feel upset or anxious or even joyful. You know the one where the china is fine, or the shape is great or even that the colour is important and that coffee or tea tastes so much better. Equally a vase on the table in front of you or in the corner of your nook has the feel-good factor about it; it looks and feels just right there. Advertisers play to this, a stone vase, which is no doubt porous containing Catkins, or Pussy Willow or flowers perhaps, on your coffee table or the dining room table. Think of what is around your home, nook or living room? Does someone else have that feel good factor when you visit?
There will be no surprise then that the next one is about feelings of things - whether something is tactile or not. Your throws feel cosy and inviting when displayed upon a chair or settee, but especially if wool, cotton or other natural fabrics. Equally, how we are drawn to natural wall hangings, embroideries and tapestries is no accident, we feel rested by seeing them displayed on our walls. We need the textures of our suites/sofas etc to feel right so we are hugged by them almost. Think when you feel poorly, you wrap yourself up in a rug maybe with a hottie and take comfort from what is about you - a painting, a woven hanging, a cushion or two etc.
Think about old things as well. The wood of an old clock case or picture frame, the old table in the corner from maybe your Grandparents home, the box which is a genuine antique. Think about silver or brass candle sticks which maybe just having their outings at Christmas, but which make us feel comforted and relaxed. the old vase, the old flannel blanket, the photograph in an aged frame etc. This all speaks to us of the past and that even in present we are comforted by the past and that the past shapes the future. The past is memories, the past can be beauty. The past can be painful but open to that allows healing to take place.
The final thing is adding richness to our nooks in the form of extra layers, colours/tones and more blankets. You can layer the throws on the back of the chair or perhaps the arms as well in different fabrics, and using different textures. The wool one the crocheted one, the patchwork blanket an old pram blanket for knees or chilly feet perhaps? The cushions can be many of differing sizes and shapes, on the floor or chair or behind you head or to raise your legs etc. Again, differing colours and textures mean so much and makes our seat not clinical but real and welcoming. It isn't about a regimental splendour of arranging but rather awhich is warm and inviting and maybe even seasonal.
No we haven't mentioned God much today but God is in everything including hygge. God is in the all, not just the sense of well being and in a prayerful moment. We do not need our horse hair shirts to draw closer to God and perhaps we are closer when we are relaxed and at peace?
It "is about giving your responsible stressed out achiever adult a break. Relax. Just for a little while. It is about experiencing happiness in simple pleasures and knowing that everything is going to be ok" in the fullness of time.
It is about acknowledging time is necessary for us all, as is time for ourselves. I seriously worry when I see so many clergy colleagues run down and not able to create self-time, too many breakdowns and stress-induced health issues. God is in it all and we need to accept this and return thanks for it in all we do and especially in our self-time in the comfort of our homes and in our nooks and prayer spaces. We need to consider hygge and its message for our spiritual as well as mental and physical well being.