This blogitem introduces you to the concept of Frilufsliv.
A fundamental understanding of men and nature.
A concept well known in Scandinavian countries, but becoming a trend elsewhere!
Enjoy what I gathered,
enjoy your compassion with and immersion in nature ;-)
Introducing
The following picture is a search on the concept in Google pictures:
Think you get an idea!
"What, then, is it? "
Mountaineering educator Nils Faarlund on Friluftsliv (in Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature and religion):
"“An unselfish I-Thou relationship
that tries to come away from the anthropocentrism of a
nature-dissonant society,” Faarlund concludes.
Inherently, friluftsliv, as Faarlund, Ibsen, and
Nansen want to define it, is a fundamentally spiritual
belief that simply getting out into nature, enjoying the
hike, the climb, the ski, the swim, is an essentially personal
religious experience that gives the greatest possible
meaning to human life."
Let's explore the concept more in two popular articles
MacsAdventure:
"Friluftsliv, a word coined by Norwegian poet Henrik Ibsen, literally translating to ‘free air life’ is the word used to broadly describe the connection to nature that is so strong in Norway. This article explores how a respect and love of the outdoors is developed. "
McLendon on Mother's nature network:
"The Norwegian word, coined in 1859, has come to embody Norway's cultural enchantment with nature. It doesn't translate easily to English, but the basic spirit of friluftsliv hides inside all of us."
Sit back and relax
Documentary by Charlotte Workman
"'Friluftsliv' is an ancient Nordic philosophy of outdoor life. It is an engrained philosophy in Norway and Sweden but relatively unknown to the rest of the world. This philosophy embodies the idea that returning to nature, is returning home."
See it on Vimeo, click here. It.'s 11 minutes long.
And finally if you want to go deeper I have some articles and a reference to a book:
Two articles if you want to read more..
Outdoor Recreation and the Nordic Tradition of "Friluftsliv": A Source of Inspiration for a Sustainable Society? by Klas Sandell
"This article starts with a discussion of outdoor life as both a consequence of and a reaction against the industrialized and urbanized society. Thereafter comes a short presentation of the Nordic 2 outdoor tradition of "friluftsliv" (open-air life), including its "allemansrtt" (everyone's right of access to the countryside within certain limits). Finally the complicated issue of interaction between environmental experience and environmental perspective is raised and a preliminary model of the interaction between outdoor life and environmentalism is presented."
Abstract:
This paper explores the roots of the Scandinavian outdoor
lifestyle of friluftsliv and its philosophical implication as well as
its applications for environmental education. Friluftsliv as a philosophy
is deeply rooted in Norway and Sweden but has lately
obtained a more a superficial meaning by the commercialization
of outdoor activities. The philosophy and biology of friluftsliv is
explored showing its importance as a means, in environmental
education, to facilitate a true connectedness to the more-thanhuman
world.
Nature First: Outdoor Life the Friluftsliv Way (Bob Henderson, Nils Vikander eds)
