December Catch-Up from Your Friendly, Local Gal
Cosy up, learn about 'hygge', and get your inspiration fix...
Firstly, if you celebrate Christmas then I hope it was a merry one! I know for many their Christmas plans were pulled from underneath them; that seems to be a pattern of 2020, where what we expect and believe to be in the future is not as certain as we once thought. It kinda makes me want to appreciate the beautiful moments that I do get with the people whom I love. I am all too aware of how privileged I’ve been this year and I’m also aware of how lucky I was to have the opportunity to spend Christmas with my parents. I hope that you also found some love and positivity amongst the difficulties this year!
Despite not feeling festive, I have still thoroughly enjoyed all the moments and features of the build-up to Christmas. I LOVE
cold, winter walks, hot chocolates, hot water bottles, and Christmas lights.
Whenever I think of those things, I get reminded of hygge
.
As soon as I started learning about hygge, I knew that it was something that I kinda did: I just didn’t know that there was a word for it! Examples of hygge include; roaring fires on a stormy night, being present with your loved ones, reading in bed, and drinking tea whilst wrapped in blankets.
But it is not exclusive to those events. It’s an experience; an atmosphere; a cosiness and a warmth that you simply have to feel
.
One of my favourite easy-read, coffee table books is, ‘The Little Book of Hygge’ by Meik Wiking (CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen). He explains the origins of hygge in Denmark and all the components of this word, which is quite hard to fully explain in all its glory (and also hard to pronounce).
Denmark is said to be one of the happiest countries in the world and hygge is attributed as one of the main reasons for this. We all want a little more happiness in our lives. Whilst I believe that you can’t have light without dark, the feeling of hygge can help to medicate those negative feelings. I love how the hygge atmosphere can be simply created with the right activities/items/decor.
Personally, I love to spend a cosy evening in my bedroom. I decorated my room with fairy lights, cacti, and my favourite items. I light a candle, make a peppermint tea, jump into my bed, and watch a cosy video. Sometimes I even have a candlelit bath beforehand. This routine is very hyggeligt (the verb for hygge) for me but perhaps your hygge experience will be slightly different. Sometimes the simplicity of a black coffee in bed gives me a hyggeligt feeling.
On these cold, dark nights (that my fellow northern hemisphere pals will know all too well), why not take a leaf out of the book of hygge?
Some writing…
A short and sweet section where you can take a quick read of my writing from this month so far. I’m all for a little self-promotion!
My 4 Wildlife Tourism Regrets, published in Farewell Alarms
How I Reconnected With Myself at 25, published in Live Your Life On Purpose
A Creative Idea
Seeing as Christmas Day 2020 has just passed - and it’s a season for giving - I figured why not find a way to share some more?! Any time of year is a good time to give and to show that you care about your friends and family. This year I’ve started trying to do that with one of my favourite creative outlets; writing. So this month I’m recommending that you use your creativity to put a smile on someone’s face (or make them cry… but only out of positivity and love, of course!)
Perhaps bake a batch of cookies for your grandparents (a friend shared this fab recipe, which is super easy), write a little note to your partner, buy a thoughtful present for a friend, or paint a picture for your parents. Obviously, that’s not a strict template about what to do for whom - it’s just an idea. The basis of this is to share a random act of kindness if you feel like it.
Even better, why not give yourself a little love (because, as self-compassion has taught me, you’ve gotta be a friend to yourself too). I know that I’m going to be making a self-doubt jar full of reasons not to doubt myself in my creative endeavours. Maybe you could make a jar full of messages to help inspire yourself or feel more loved for when you’re feeling a little down?
An Adventure Idea
Some of my best adventures have happened when I’ve gotten lost
. One of my Croatia work colleagues (and all-round awesome scuba pal) reminded me about the time that we went in search of a beach - that should’ve been a 5-minute walk away - and it took us 45 minutes to reach it, through dense Croatian bush. At the time we were bloody, sweaty, and tired… but looking back, I have fond memories of that day.
During the pandemic I have been on several walks, exploring my own local area right outside my front door, where I have discovered paths that I never knew existed. In order to find them, I had to actively get lost and stumble down dead-ends. As we’re still in the depths of the pandemic here in the UK, I figured this is something that anyone could do wherever they live around the world.
And how does one get lost*? Perhaps there’s a walking route you’ve seen and never had time to check it out - make time and go for it. Or you could take a look at Google Maps and see if there’s anything intriguing in your local area. Alternatively, just set out on a walk and see where you end up: take a few different turns that you usually wouldn’t take and see what you find… and if you do so, send me a picture of your discovery on your mini-adventure. Below is a picture of my favourite find back in the first lockdown.
*Please be careful and use common sense when actively getting lost*
Some Things to Entertain or Inspire You…
Read
A stand-out piece that I read this past month was, ‘When The Love Is Good You Wait’, by Megan Minutillo. It’s basically a love letter to all the singletons out there who are on the brink of giving up hope in finding an “imperfect person” with whom to share their life alongside. Megan urges that she has been there and knows how it feels. And she’s a living example that you will eventually find that person too. From the other side she writes, “if your heart longs for love and hurts from loneliness, waiting can feel painful”, but “when the love is good you wait”.
After scrolling through a flurry of engagements on my Facebook newsfeed in the days leading up to Christmas, this is quite a comforting read so I highly recommend it for any of my fellow singletons… (and maybe those coupled up too?!)
Listen (Podcast)
Despite how serious and curious I might seem, I do love a good laugh. If you’re looking for a conversational podcast, featuring some guaranteed laughs, then JaackMaate’s Happy Hour might hit the spot. His podcast originally focussed heavily on Youtube and Youtubers but he is slowly moving more into the mainstream with guests from traditional media too; the likes of Ricky Gervais, Liam Payne, and Daniel Sloss, to name a few.
This episode dives into Simon Wilson’s life; a YouTuber who found a niche within the travel-vlogging space through his tough, yet inspiring, no-money challenge series. Check out the podcast below (and if you want a little extra reading then flick through an article that I wrote inspired by Simon Wilson and his no-money challenges).
Listen (Music)
As soon as I heard A Little Bit Yours (by J.P. Saxe) on Spotify discover, I dropped everything and just… listened
. I love music for its ability to transport us to a moment in our lives. It’s so magical when a songwriter can succinctly articulate an experience that so many listeners might be able to relate to.
Listen to the song and see who pops up in your head (and if you’re brave, let me know who you think of…)
Watch
On Christmas Eve I offered to help out a stranger who’s looking for help in his world record attempt - that’s the kinda random thing I like to do. Nothing is definite yet, but I fancied giving you a little reward for reading this newsletter in its entirety. If all goes well, I will hopefully explain more in a newsletter next year…
After messaging back-and-forth with this stranger, I somehow ended up stumbling across his friend’s incredible world record attempt: Carla Molinaro is a long-distance runner and she ran the length of the UK in less than two weeks, beating the previous record by 10 hours and 36 minutes.
Give this inspiring documentary a watch, and I’m sure you’ll feel motivated to go out and achieve some of your dreams!
That’s all folks!
Thanks for reading this little December newsletter. I hope that you enjoy the rest of the holiday season (should you celebrate it) and I hope you have an even better start to the new year! 2021… here. we. come.
To keep up-to-date with my activities (on a more regular basis), check out Creatively Adventurous
on Facebook or Instagram.
Don’t forget to share what you think I should include in future newsletters…
Otherwise, check your email inbox on the last Sunday of next month for another catch-up. I’m already looking forward to it!
See ya next month friends,
Katie (aka Creatively Adventurous)
Yasss Another great newsletter! :D