Lagom: Not Too Little, Not Too Much

Lagom: Not Too Little, Not Too Much; The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life by Niki Brantmark                  Audio Book:4 hours,   Hardback Book:  288 pgs                             

I love this book.    I want to go over this book, cover to cover every day until I memorize it and live it.    What a great way of life the Swedes have.     Noted to be the 3^rd happiest place to live in the world (o.k. now I have to google who number one and number two are), the Swedes tend to not over indulge nor under indulge their lifestyles but they do their best to hit that mid-mark and find balance in all they do.    In family life, parents want to achieve enough playtime with their kids as well as teaching time.    Adults teach by example.    They work hard but then they take 4 weeks off a year usually in July, to spend having fun, enjoying family time, and leaving the work cares for August.     Swedes know how to relax.     They eat well and enjoy their food, savoring rather than simply consuming.     They work hard to have enough things that please them in their homes, but, they know how to live within their means and wanting more means giving something up to achieve it.    They are resolute in appreciating the earth and water and enjoy it while conserving it.    They do believe in indulging but only so far as they are not wasting.     They do not let water run while brushing their teeth or shaving, they wet their toothbrush or face then turn off the water until they are ready to rinse, even there there are thousands of lakes, rivers, streams and endless coast line.   Still they respect it and do not over use their resources.    They compost their food scraps so as not to let anything go to waste and are known for coming up with inventive recipes for leftovers.   So much beauty and ideas are shared in this book that I just wish I could keep them all in my mind at all times so I could live that lifestyle.    The writer is a Brit who married a Swede and is now living in Sweden with her husband and children.    She has a delightfully entertaining way of presenting the Swedish customs and culture and has adapted amazingly to her new home.     I loved this book from beginning to end and it explains a lot to me as I have Swedish ancestors and received many new understandings of how things have been handed down and perhaps the reasons for many of the behaviors and thought processes for so many of relatives even to this day.    This book is full of smiles and laughter.    Niki Brantmark shares the good, the bad and the in-between as she learned and adapted to her new family, friends and job.     I give this book ten stars and would love to do a mental mind weld to keep all the good teachings I found her in my frontal lobe at all times.    What a lovely way to live, not too little, not too much, just right there in the center where we all would be happy to be.     Excellent book.