AD | Most of us will be familiar with hygge, the Danish philosophy of living a simple, cosy life for well-being. But have you heard of friluftsliv? It’s another Scandinavian concept which focuses on getting outside and reconnecting with nature. This is something that I’m passionate about where Flora’s concerned and in today’s increasingly frenetic world, I believe it’s even more important than hygge.
What is Friluftsliv?
Friluftsliv (pronounced free-loofts-liv) literally means “free air life” in Norwegian and is all about our relationship with nature. And the value of spending time in natural locations in order to rejuvenate ourselves, mentally and physically.
Flora attended a Montessori nursery with a forest school focus from six months old and this fostered an early love of being outside and hands-on with nature. We’re very lucky to live in a village and have a house with a garden, so her opportunities to get outside have continued.
Ways to incorporate friluftsliv into your life
Trips out
As a freelancer, I’m very lucky that I can take time off during the day during school holidays. We recently caught up with some very dear and longstanding friends from Flora’s nursery days and went to Shearwater Lake for a play and picnic. Part of the Longleat Estate, this beautiful fishing lake is teeming with ducks, herons, geese and surrounded by numerous buggy-friendly walking paths. Some of the paths go off into the surrounding woods, which is heaven for children to run around, hide, and build dens in.
A walk on the beach
Sadly, our nearest beaches are a good two hours’ drive away but when we do make it to one, rock pooling and crabbing are some of our (OK, Flora’s) favourite activities. There’s something about hunkering down and looking at a tiny community of sea life in microcosm that just puts everything else into perspective. Not to mention the feel-good factor that comes from breathing in the ozone in the sea air.
Camping
What better way of getting up close with nature than in a tent in a field? And I don’t mean glamping, I mean a sleeping bag in a canvas tent with a billy-can stove. Flora is going camping for the first time with the Cubs in September and she can’t wait.
Visit a farm
A work colleague and her husband have a small farm with chickens, cows, sheep and goats. We’ve been visiting them ever since Flora could walk and she’s always taken great delight in feeding all the animals, cuddling the new arrivals, and carefully collecting the eggs. It makes me so sad to hear of children who are frightened by farm animals, or who can’t even identify them.
A walk in the park
Most of our cities and towns have parks and while you may not be able to get away from traffic noise, a 30-minute sojourn surrounded by greenery and birdsong can do much to restore your equilibrium.
Time in the garden
The wonderful weather has meant we’ve been loving spending more time in our garden during the cooler evenings. Flora has been an enthusiastic follower of the tadpoles’ and baby newts’ progress in our ponds too. And if you read my gardening posts, you’ll know I’m a big fan of solar and LED lights to help add some style and atmosphere to our outside spaces. I recently came across online retailer Festive Lights * who’ve also written extensively about friluftsliv, and I’ve earmarked some lovely lights that I want to add to our collection.
 |
 |
We have some dragonfly light ropes woven through the branches of three trees which look quite magical so I’d like to get a few more for our other trees, both in the garden and in our orchard. And for evening dining, I think some solar powered fairy lights wound around the inside of a parasol is a genius idea.
Although we don’t have any decking, I love the idea of using these solar lights to create a pathway in the grass down to our summerhouse. Because after a few glasses of wine, any help negotiating the way from the kitchen to the bottom of our orchard is welcome!
Mud and Bloom
If you have children but no easy access to outside space then something that might help ignite their interest are the monthly gardening, craft and nature boxes from Mud and Bloom. Flora has been a subscriber this year and has loved all the activities in each box: sowing and growing, wildlife spotting, hands-on nature crafting.
Getting outside in winter
And just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get outside in winter. So many studies have shown that a daily dose of fresh air helps to ward off the bugs. And, let’s face it, anything that keeps our kids happy and healthy has got to be a bonus. Leyla from Motherhood Diaries has some great suggestions for outdoor activities. As has one of our all-time favourite books, 101 Things For Kids To Do Outside* – something for every child, no matter the weather. We’ve given every single one of Flora’s friends a copy and they love it too!
Friluftsliv and me
While I’m very fortunate that I don’t waste hours commuting, I do spend the majority of my day online. Social media and digital marketing make up my world but it’s not one I want Flora to become immersed in at her age. So this is why I believe in friluftsliv, not just to benefit myself, but as an example for my daughter. Yes, she does enjoy using the iPad for research and a few games but, luckily, her continuing fascination for nature and love of being outside is a very happy counterbalance.
What do you think of friluftsliv? Is it something you agree with? How do you/would you like to incorporate it into your life?
* This is a collaborative post and also contains affiliate links (please see my Disclaimer).
I’ve never actually heard of friluftsliv so this is really interesting to learn about. I love the idea of spending more time outside in nature and wish I could do it more often. I’m similar to you and spend a lot of time glued to a screen indoors. I try get out and walk to the park sometimes or just sit outside in the garden for my lunch and I always feel the benefits straight away. Your garden lights look so pretty Lisa, I imagine it’s lovely sitting out there in the long summer evenings. Thank you for sharing <3 xx
TBH I only heard of it quite recently too but it’s something that we’ve always tried to give Flora, albeit without realising, haha. I think I sometimes take our garden for granted but when I write posts like this I realise just how lucky we are 🙂 xx
Reconnecting with nature sounds so good. While we were on our vacation we visited Olympic National Park for a couple of days. It felt very good. My time also is always indoors staring at the screen. I like that you have a beautiful garden where you get to spend so much time and those lights are great. 🙂
Via | http://glossnglitters.com
Oh, the Olympic National Park sounds amazing, I hope you had a lovely time on holiday? Thank you so much for your lovely comment about our garden too, so kind! xx
I love walks and strolls! fresh air is so great and if i had a garden, i’d spend all my free time there! i had never heard of friluftsliv but quite liking the concept!
Fresh air – especially sea air – makes me feel so good! I hadn’t heard of friluftsliv either but I’m glad to realise we’ve been practising it anyway, haha! x
I had never heard of friluftsliv before, but I do love the whole idea of it and spending more time outside with nature. I remember as a child going out quite a lot with my family, but obviously as got older it has become less but since we’ve got Casper, it’s lovely spending more time outside and wish I had done it sooner! I love taking him out for walks and enjoying the scenery 🙂 it sounds like Flora has had an amazing upbringing so far too! Love the photo’s you have shared, and your garden lights look so pretty!
Amy,
https://creativenails.uk
Aw, thank you! Flora was lucky to attend a Montessori nursery with a mahoosive garden so she’s always been a fan of outdoors and nature. My challenge is to keep that going though, as the dreaded iPad is beginning to exert a stronger pull these days! xx
This was such an interesting post to read and with such an important message. In this world where technology is constantly evolving, it is definitely different to when I was younger. I love being in nature. I enjoy going to the zoo, the beach and we try to go out on trips as much as we can. That is incredible lucky for you to be able to take time out in the holidays and enjoy these moments with Flora! Thank you for sharing lovely! ❤️Xx
Thank you! Yes, I am very lucky to be able to take time out to spend with Flora but the downside is I have to work in the evenings, haha. It’s all worth it though, days out at the beach or Shearwater are experiences to be treasured! xx
Love this post. It’s a bit of a mouthful but great concept. I tried to find a forest school near us, but there doesn’t seem to be one.
It is a great concept, isn’t it? Forest schools are not that common, I believe, but you could try looking for Montessori or Steiner schools, that might help? x
Looks so interesting, I love spending time outdoors and it looks like you had a wonderful time!
We had a lovely time at Shearwater, it was a great reminder of how much good getting back to nature can do for you! 🙂
I love the idea of friluftsliv! I’ve never heard the word before but I definitely think that getting outside more is something that we should all be aiming for. It’s slightly embarrassing how many hours a day I spend looking at my screen! I need more of this x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
Oh, I know, I spend far too much time in front of my laptop or on my phone but at least I have the incentive of getting out with Flora to push me out the door, haha. Friluftsliv for summer and maybe hygge for winter then! x
I’ve never heard of this, but I love the idea of it, and your suggestions for making it a part of our lives! 🙂 I love being out at the park or the beach, but it’s something I need to do more. This has inspired me to maybe a take a walk this afternoon if the sun stays out 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Lisa! x
Oh, Ruth, that’s great to hear! I hadn’t heard of friluftsliv either but it’s such a great philosophy, we all need more of it in our lives 🙂 xx
I absolutely LOVE this concept! I’ve heard of Hygge before but not this but I love them both. I’m also desperate to visit both Copenhagen and Scandinavia! I definitely want to get outside more – working from home and not having kids doesn’t really allow me to get outside an awful lot to be honest! Also factoring in anxiety on top of that.
It’s a great philosophy, isn’t it? I’m lucky to have Flora and a garden and to work from home. It’s very hard to break away from the laptop sometimes but I do try to go for a walk around the garden (deadheading!) every so often. Just breathing fresh air does wonders to clear my head 🙂 x
Yes! Yes! I need Friluftsliv in my life! I love nature walks, and whenever I am stuck or in need for inspiration I head out just walking along in pace with the nature!
Such a beautiful post, Lisa! xx
– Aditi
Ah, thank you so much, Aditi, that’s so kind! I loved writing this post, it’s something I’m really passionate about, I’m so glad it came across 🙂 xx
I’m familiar with the Japanese version of this – shinrinyoku – so it was really nice to see that even the Scandinavians have their own take on it. I suspect most cultures have a similar outlook on spending time in nature as being good for a person!
Oh, I didn’t know about the Japanese version of friluftsliv, that’s very interesting, thank you! And yes, I agree, it’s really good for us 🙂