At our Beach House, we start off every New Year with a different theme and focus. Last year, it was Awakening 2017: A Year With Intention, which provided us with the perfect opportunity to look within to find our inner calm. We explored our minds and searched our souls to uncover versions of ourselves that we never knew existed. For 2018, we are harnessing all the lessons we have learnt and applying them to our daily rituals by discovering the secrets to everyday happy living with Kinship 2018: A Year To Get Consciously Cozy.
We were inspired by the Danish concept of ‘hygge’ (pronounced “hoo-gah”), which is a quality of presence and an experience of belonging and togetherness. It is a feeling of being cozy, warm, comforted and safe. It’s a feeling of engagement and relatedness, of belonging to the moment and to each other. Hygge is a sense of abundance and contentment. Hygge is about being, not having.
The Beach House team had the pleasure of visiting Ms Tatum’s 1st grade class at Cayman International School to talk to her students about what makes them happy. They excitedly told us all about a happy memory and even drew us pictures! It took us back to the 7-year old version of ourselves and we loved reminiscing about how it was to be young at heart! Their innocence and appreciation for simple joys also humbled us and reminded us how our perspective of everyday happy living has changed over the years. It was no surprise that their enthusiasm was so infectious that we left leaving school with a huge smile on our faces!
We asked the kids three questions: What makes you happy, describe a recent happy time and what do you want to be when you grow up. Read on to hear what the kids had to say!
Rosco:
“Parties make me happy! Last Christmas, we stayed here in Cayman and it was a happy time. I got a lot of presents from Santa. When I grow up I want to be a builder – I want to make houses and buildings.”
Zimmie:
“My family makes me happy and celebrating my birthday. It is my birthday today! I am turning 7. I am having a pool party and a puppy cake! I want to be a yoga teacher when I grow up.”
Maximus:
“Dragons make me happy. I have lots of books about them. I have a LEGO dragon. I don’t know know what I want to be when I grow up.”
Tessa:
“When I get cuddles I am happy. I get a lot of cuddles from my mom and sisters. I have two sisters who are 10 and 8. A happy memory I had was of my birthday last July. And I don’t know yet what I want to be when I grow up!”
The Kinship Kids interviews will be showcased in a series of four instalments. Make sure to watch this space for the third part of Kinship Kids – when we feature more heartwarming words and drawings from our beloved 1st graders!
Note: Interviews with Ms. Tatum’s 1st graders took place in the 2017-2018 school year at CIS.