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| © Illustration by Tischenko/Getty Images |
By Sarah Schmelling, Real Simple
Maybe the secret to happiness isn't coming from Denmark. It's right at your feet, shedding on your slippers.
[post_ads]You’ve tried to achieve hygge like the Danes, to find what “sparks joy” with the Japanese art of decluttering, and to parent your bébés like the French. But why keep turning to other cultures for tips on how to live when there’s a guide closer to home? Try living the Feline Way! Enjoy your life more by looking to your cat for inspiration (just not directly at your cat, because that will really freak him out).
Maybe the secret to happiness isn't coming from Denmark. It's right at your feet, shedding on your slippers.
[post_ads]You’ve tried to achieve hygge like the Danes, to find what “sparks joy” with the Japanese art of decluttering, and to parent your bébés like the French. But why keep turning to other cultures for tips on how to live when there’s a guide closer to home? Try living the Feline Way! Enjoy your life more by looking to your cat for inspiration (just not directly at your cat, because that will really freak him out).
Home Maintenance
Clutter:
It’s everywhere! But that won’t matter to you from now on. With the
Feline Way, you can just ignore everything around your house most of the
day, then, when everyone else is trying to watch a crucial scene in
their favorite show, race around at high speed knocking down stacks of
magazines and rolling around on them. Attack shoes like they’ve given
you a grave insult. Somehow wrap your entire body in the cord for the
window blinds, then run away with the string still attached to you and
yank the blinds from the frame. Don’t bother to clean up anything behind
you.
Time Management
Life
is short. You need to make the most of it—not waste time “picking out
clothes” or “wondering where that bouncing red light on the wall is
coming from and why all the people in the room are laughing at you.”
Don’t plan anything. Stop to take a bath mid-conversation. Depend on
others to prepare and serve your food. When you’ve finished a meal,
immediately forget you’ve eaten and ask for more.
Attitude
Some
people choose a mantra to live by and let everyone know about it. But
you revel in mystery, in keeping others on their toes (sometimes
literally, because you “accidentally” try to trip them). How to stay
mysterious? Stare at your loved ones ominously, then walk away without
saying anything. Find the person in the room who wants nothing to do
with you and promptly sit on her lap. If you suddenly want to go outside
even though you’ve never gone outside before, just stand in front of
the door screaming like you’re outraged that no one has opened the door
for you yet.
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Relaxation
Your
new way of life won’t be complete till you remember to embrace exactly
who you are. Turn your ears backward just because you can. Have no fear
of vacuum cleaners, but become inexplicably terrified when someone holds
an orange jacket. If somebody gives you a present they think you’ll
love, ignore it and then get really excited about a roll of tape. Make
your own schedule. Don’t overthink things. And when the world becomes
too much, go walk around in some spilled apple juice, find the lovely
black skirt someone laid out for a dinner party, and take a nap on it
for 7 to 16 hours.
