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Sometimes, it will be necessary to use this platform to write about critical things.
The thing about hygge is that some people say that it’s a state of being in which you don’t talk about politics or topics that may be divisive.
I reject that.
I can only feel hyggeligt if I’ve addressed hard issues – if I’ve talked about them with others, read the news, made my voice heard, donated a little bit of money to effective causes – because, the thing is, hygge is something that you do that makes you part of the world and the world is a messy place, and we don’t get to hide away from the hard parts of it and exploit the cozy parts of it.
Because, the thing is, at any one moment, we might be the ones who can’t hide away and retreat into our cozy nests. We might be the ones who others – in their hyggeligt candle-lit dining rooms – are ignoring because we didn’t do our part to attend to them. Yin and Yang, my loves.
Hygge is not about retreating – hygge is about being human. It’s a fundamental feeling – happiness – that is at the heart of what I believe is the reason for our human life. Happiness is a human right – and the thing about rights is that they are granted to all – it’s an equalizer. But, where there is a right there is a duty and that means when governments – social constructs that we’ve created and have a responsibility to check – threaten them (happiness, freedom, dignity, due process), the duty falls to us – the rest of humanity – to make sure they’re fulfilled.
Sometimes, we need to put on hold our hygge in order to achieve it.
Do something. Read. Write. Call. Donate. Speak.
Mad About Hygge 
A wise person once said, “With great privilege comes great responsibility.” I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve said. It’s hard to be completely comfortable when we know that so many are suffering.
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