The Nordic Philosophy on Living a Simple Yet Satisfying Outdoor Life
This 5,000-year-old philosophy emphasizes fresh air and freedom
Imagine a world where our bosses urged us to get out of the office early on a Friday and gave us an extra two days off, just so we can take a skiing trip down to his cabin. This idyllic scenario is a reality in Norway, one of the happiest countries in the world.
Norway was ranked third in the world happiness index in 2019 and is currently fifth as Finland shot to the top. It’s no coincidence that 4/5 of the world's happiest countries are Scandinavian. Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland are all in the top five. This is partly due to the large emphasis placed on living life outdoors, in nature.
The Norwegian philosophy on experiencing the outdoor world is called “Friluftsliv” (pronounced FREE’-loofts-liv). This translates to:
‘A life in the fresh air’.
The word isn't as complicated as it sounds or that hard to pronounce either. Breaking it down, it actually has three key components.
- ‘Fri’ means ‘free’.
- ‘Luft’ means ‘air’
- ‘Liv’ means ‘live’.
