What does it mean to live in balance?

Some time ago I got a birthday present book in which I was caught by an article of Anna Brones. She is a writer, artist and producer and author of various books including Fika, the art of Swedish coffee break. During my trip with my son this spring in Norway, we learned what Fika really means. In the Nordics they take the time to really have conversations during coffee breaks. Not an in-between-meetings coffee break as we know from our day to day race but really take time to sit, have coffee and a nice piece of cake and enjoy each others presence and a precious conversation. It raises connection with yourself on what is really important and besides that it expresses our deep down need for connection.

In Sweden there is a concept of Lagom. There’s not really a proper English translation for the word but roughly it means “ just enough”. Not too much, not too little, just the right balance in between.

To have a lagom approach to the world around us is to navigate between the extremes, it is to find contentment in what we have and who we are today, and it is about thinking of how our own lifestyle impacts that of our community’s. So you could call Lagom the sweet spot where there is balance of individual contentment and community well-being.

We work long hours, rarely taking vacation, we strive to be the best version of ourselves, the one that looks great to the outside world, and we go from one task to another, reveling in how “busy” we are.

But that fast-paced lifestyle comes at a cost. We are stressed, strained and burned-or even bored out. So how do we make a change? How do we incorporate a more lagom approach?

For me it is about enjoying nature on a daily basis, it is about taking breaks and doing sports. It is also about creativity and focus on process over product.

We are curious about your lagom approach. Inspire us and the other blog readers with your comment.

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