I never expected to come across this sweet little book when I did a search via my library system for books about the Hygge lifestyle. If you are new to the term Hygge it is pronounced Hooga. You’d think they could just spell it that way to make it easier to remember! Ha!
Hygge is described as an ambiance as much as a state of mind based on Danish culture and design. Think chilly winter evening, candles lit, snuggled under a fuzzy blanket, with a good book or magazine, a cup of tea, hot chocolate, or glass of wine. Add to that perhaps some tranquil music. Or perhaps it’s a snowstorm raging outside your front door and you are snuggled in with your loved one playing a game, putting together a puzzle or watching a movie. There are many ways in which to accomplish Hygge!
But then again, it’s not about accomplishing, but rather about being in the moment, relaxing, letting your cares melt away, and enjoying the simple pleasures of home.
So what’s a sloth got to do with it? Well as I did my search for books on Hygge in anticipation of winter just around the corner here in Wisconsin, this sloth title popped up on the list of books on this subject.
Of course, it caught my eye because of my love for animals. But also because Sloth came up recently in an animal wisdom oracle reading I did for myself, and also a general reading I did for my followers. Sloth really does embody what I believe is one of the key messages for what 2020 has been all about. S-L-O-W down. Disconnect (from social media) more often. Be in the moment. Connect with nature. Hug a tree. Don’t rush. Rest. And repeat, repeat, repeat.
Author Jennifer McCarney of The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy has a delightful sense of humor also which pairs nicely with a creature who in the past wouldn’t have been viewed as cute and cuddly – though I do think that has definitely been changing. The illustrations in the book of sloth meditating, counting the stars, and hugging a tree – just to name a few – will most definitely make you smile and love Sloth even more.
My favorite chapter title is “Sleep in, take a nap, and then go to bed early.” Did you know that Sloths sleep up to 18 hours a day? I think I’m part sloth. Well, maybe not 18 hours, but I do need lots of sleep. I typically go to bed by 8:30 p.m. (even on weekends), am up by 6:00 or 6:30 a.m., and more often than not take a nap during the day. I sometimes give myself a hard time about that because I don’t feel normal in the sense so many can go with much less sleep than I can.
But then the next chapter is titled, “Or stay up late and embrace the night.” In other words, as Jennifer so brilliantly shares, “The sloth philosophy is about getting enough sleep whenever and wherever you want. The fact is, just like the sloths, some of us are programmed to stay up late and sleep in thanks to differences in our chronobiology – the natural internal clock that dictates when we sleep and wake.” This alone makes me want to run out, find a sloth, and give it a big hug and the teaching of just embracing what works for us individually.
This pocket-sized book is packed full of ways in which you can embody the wisdom of Sloth and incorporate more simple pleasures into your life, learn to slow down and be okay with it (despite what the outside world may try to convince you otherwise), and why I now see why this book definitely falls into the Hygge lifestyle category.
Sloth is a master teacher of Hygge! I love the Hygge lifestyle and now I love Sloth even more than before.
xo,
Barbara
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