The Danish people are considered to be some of the happiest people in the world, and now they export their happiness in the form of hygge:

Hygge is as Danish as pork roast and it goes far in illuminating the Danish soul. In essence, hygge means creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people. The warm glow of candlelight is hygge. Friends and family – that's hygge too. There's nothing more hygge than sitting round a table, discussing the big and small things in life. Perhaps hygge explains why the Danes are the happiest people in the world?

I just ordered some used copies of the following books to find out more about my neighboring country's secret to a happy life – "The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well" (2016) by Meik Wiking and "Say Ja to Hygge!: A parody: How to Find Your Special Cosy Place" (2016) by Dr Magnus Olsensen.

The author Meik Wiking is the CEO of the think tank The Happiness Research Institute that published "The Facebook Experiment", a study that came to the conclusion that people got happier, more productive and less stressed by not using Facebook for one week.

35-year-old Ultra Romance works as a guide and fisherman, and sells bicycle parts on Ebay, but he only works a total of six months a year, enough to make a living. The rest of the year, he travels with his bike and do whatever he feels like.

"The more you learn about human history, it reveals that in a hunter-gatherer society, say in New England 400 years ago, it took nine hours a week to procure everything you needed to live for that week, and the rest was all leisure time. This is what's natural to us. We've only been living the way we are now since the Industrial Revolution, and it's not for me."

…

"I like to romanticize the ideals of being out on your own and that ultimate freedom of not having any ties. I understand that you need to have some ties — we can't go directly back to that. At this point we've gone too far. And I'm not one to get held up in a mountain like a hermit. I like my internet and I love Instagram and all that stuff — I love Whole Foods. There are plenty of modern conveniences that I love."

For more, read Ian Dille's longer piece about his meeting and re-encounter with Ultra Romance.

I met the man who is also known as Poppi, Bolty, J.B., and a variety of other names (but who, for the purpose of telling this story and out of respect for what he says are "tax reasons," we'll refer to as Benedict) in Austin in 2006. He was a bike messenger and a Cat 5 road racer with the persona of a vain Euro pro: his bike accented with gold parts, his muscular body rippling under white spandex. Despite holding a license that classified him as belonging to the lowest, most inexperienced level of amateur bike racing, he regularly dropped everyone, including me (a former pro), on the weekend hammer ride. He was dating a female bike racer from San Antonio, a woman with soft green eyes and long dark hair, and the words Fuck and Y'all tattooed on the back of either thigh. They fell in love and moved to Benedict's boyhood home on the mouth of the Connecticut River, and I never heard much about him after that, never really thought about him except during those occasional times some of us would swap stories about the characters who'd passed through our local cycling scene.

Photo credit: Via Ultra Romance's Instagram account.

Via Metro (SE).

At the end of the day, in most workplaces, our efficiency and productivity levels tend to drop. Nothing unusual about this, we're only humans and we get tired. So, I think it's a bit strange that a 32-hour workweek (or 6-hour workday) still seems a bit controversial and odd.

Ryan Carson and his company Treehouse prove that you can grow your company, and at the same time cut down working hours. They have done this since 2006 with great results.

The Light Phone is the antidote to today's so often compulsive need to check your phone constantly. It will easily fit into your wallet, and do the one thing phones are primary intended for – to phone with.

This Kicstarter project will start shipping the phones in 2016.

"Minimalism: A Documentary" is the forthcoming documentary from The Minimalists by filmmaker Matt D'Avella.

Watch an excerpt with Leo Babauta:

Via @BriGleissner.

In the well-produced Channel 4 production Scandimania, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall sets out on a journey to find out why the Nordic countries Sweden, Denmark and Norway get voted the happiest countries in the world.

The series starts off with a visit to Sweden:

Here are the episodes with Denmark and Norway.

Featured image: Via Orelia.

Related:

• Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall investigates the good life in Scandinavia
• Channel 4 sends Hugh on a Scandinavian adventure
• Scandinavia: Scandimania, takes hold

In George Clarke's Amazing Spaces we got to see artist Stephen Turner´s environmental friendly houseboat The Exbury Egg, which took 6 months to build with the use of 8km of cedar:

This giant floating egg on the River Beaulieu could well be Hampshire's quirkiest living space.

It may look like it comes straight from the set of a low-budget science fiction movie, but the giant wooden pod cost £40,000 to build and will in fact be the home and workspace of artist Stephen Turner, 58, for the next year.

Interior and hammock:

The 40ft self-sustaining structure, which is registered as a boat, floats up and down with the tide and is designed to have minimal environmental impact. Stephen hopes to highlight climate change while living there.

Images via FWD Home.

Spent some time with my wife earlier today sitting by the city water canal. The water is such a calming element, could sit there for hours. This short article written by Dulma Altan gives you some suggestions about how to incorporate nature into your daily life.

That rejuvenation you feel after a weekend trip to a national park? That’s your body rejoicing. Does gardening in your backyard leaves you a little more refreshed and grounded? Then perhaps tending the soil is, on some level, your body’s way of healing itself. Its intelligence always knows what serves your being best, and those impulses you get—to go hiking, surfing, gardening, or bird watching—are manifestations of that inherent wisdom.

Featured image: Shows a waterfall in Norway named The Seven Sisters via All That Is Interesting.