LAGOM
Move over, hygge. Sweden's answer to the good life has arrived, and it goes by the name lagom (pronounced 'lah-gom'). Linnea Dunne's charmingly illustrated guide introduces this distinctly Nordic way of thinking, exploring how a single untranslatable word might hold the key to a more contented existence. Sweden's placement at number ten in the 2017 World Happiness Report suggests the concept is doing something right. Lagom carries no neat English equivalent, though 'just the right amount' gets close. One popular theory traces it back to Viking custom, when a shared mug of mead was passed around a circle with precisely enough for each person to take a sip. The actual etymology, though, points somewhere more interesting: an archaic form of 'lag', meaning 'law'. Far from sounding restrictive, the philosophy turns out to be quietly liberating. It holds that anything beyond 'enough' is simply surplus to requirements, and it carries a genuine streak of collective responsibility alongside that personal simplicity. In practice, living lagom touches a surprising range of everyday life. It covers how you eat, how you work, how you organise your home, and how you tend your relationships. Growing your own food, foraging, reducing waste, finding balance between work and rest: these aren't grand gestures but small, considered choices. It's a book that invites you to do less, but mean it more.
- Author: Linnea Dunne
- Publisher: Gaia
- Genre: Lifestyle & Wellness
- ISBN: 978-1856753746
- Pages: 160 pages