LISTEN: Norwegian concept of frifluftsliv offers insight to coping with pandemic

A foggy sunrise over mining ruins at Sandy Beach on Tuesday, October 4, 2017 in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo courtesy/Rashah McChesney)
A foggy sunrise over mining ruins at Sandy Beach on Tuesday, October 4, 2017 in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Rashah McChesney)

There’s a Norwegian term for deliberately embracing time spent outside, for both the mental and physical benefits.

It’s frifluftsliv (pronounced FREE-loofts-leev), something Alaskans will find familiar, in spirit if not in name. And some say it’s a way to cope with the many limitations on life during a pandemic.

One of them is Andy Meyer, a professor of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Washington, recently featured in a Seattle Times article about friluftsliv. Meyer says it’s a deeply rooted part of Norwegian culture, but it can be — or should be — for everyone.

LISTEN HERE:

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