Dark Delights
I’ve always been drawn to Nordic landscapes, design, and culture. My favorite vacation of all time was visiting Iceland in the depths of winter—that stark contrast of the cold, sometimes layered against the faint sunlight hitting the ice covered surfaces. That image stretched over sparse landscapes—it’s etched into my memory and something I’ll never not crave seeing and feeling again.
The Nordic culture and lands have an unmatched darkness and depth—eerie mythology, haunting folklore, starkly stunning landscapes, and design aesthetic that can be both grim and deeply symbolic. And let’s not forget, the Norse gods were said to roam these lands. Who doesn’t love a good beast?
But the real magic in their dark delights isn’t just myth or landscape—it’s also in the way that some of them think and behave.
If happiness were based on weather and social warmth, ironically, Nordic countries like Denmark wouldn’t stand a chance in hell. The skies are often grey, the air is cold, and the people tend to keep to themselves. And yet, when the United Nations started publishing the annual World Happiness Report in 2012, Denmark consistently ranked among the top nations. And in recent years, Finland has often topped the charts, with Norway, Sweden, and Iceland also scoring very high.
So what is their dark and dirty little secret?
At first glance, it’s easy to credit things like universal healthcare, free education, income, and strong social safety nets—and while those certainly play a role, they don’t tell the whole story. Researchers have found something deeper at work, something embedded in the Danish way of thinking and being, specifically. And no, it’s not just about delicious pastries.
The Danes, and perhaps even the other Nordic countries ranked, have a habit of psychologically “pre-accepting” the worst possible outcomes, often creating a mindset of realistic, well-rounded expectations. It’s not about expecting life to be perfect, or denying that hardships will come. Instead, this mindset prepares them. It’s in that preparation that the brain, in a sense, becomes conditioned to accept difficulty, often making them more resilient when challenges arise.
In this article, it further examines how Danes reframe hardship and even darkness as fuel for resilience—helping them prepare for life’s inevitable downfalls.
But this outcome isn't entirely a matter of geography, anyone can adopt this mindset, so that when things inevitably take a downward motion in our lives, we won’t crash and emotionally burn out as quickly or easily. And when good things happen, they will feel genuinely satisfying, but with the understanding that nothing is permanent.
Being resilient isn’t about sugarcoating shit—it’s about honest mental preparedness and facing reality head-on. Like the Danes, we should sharpen our blade before the battle even begins.
This unconventional mindset of considering the negative—which is often quickly rejected—might just hold the key to real happiness. By embracing life as it is—both the bitter and the sweet, the eerie and the exalted—we can find a more balanced approach to life and its many ups and downs. Instead of chasing endless highs and perpetuating those ‘shiny-happy’ optimisms, maybe Denmark has found something greater: By embracing life's low moments with wholehearted acceptance, it makes the highs all the sweeter!
Because at the end of the day, while sugar is undeniably tempting and tasty, an excess of the wrong type can harm our long-term health and well-being.
