On Thanksgiving, try a new idea: Lagom

Let's face it folks - the pendulum has swung too far and now its coming back the other way, accelerating on its way back down. We've over-reached as a society and now we're in the midst of a pull back. How long or how far this political /economic / societal correction goes is anyone's guess. But one thing that is not up to guessing is that this correction is now unavoidable - there's no way out, it's time to pull back in our lives, time to do what we know is right - moderation has replaced excess as the guiding principle.

I use the term Cake 2 Bread to name this blog because it describes what we are now facing to correct what happened in so many parts of our society over the past several decades. We've piled on in every aspect. If one teaspoon was good, then a tablespoon, a cup, a gallon were even better.

The fact is, more is not always better. There is indeed such a thing as "just right" - in Swedish, they even have a special word for it - "lagom." It's the word you use when you push away from the table after a good meal, content that the meal hit the spot and it's time to stop before you get too full. As you rub your stomach and ponder the meal and all its nuances and specialness, you turn to the host/hostess and say, "Det var lagom!" - "That was just right!" It's the ultimate compliment for a host/hostess to hear, and it's a new guiding prinicple that we all can start to put into practice starting tomorrow. Lagom - Just Right.

Cultural significance

The value of "just enough" can be contrasted to the value of "more is better". It is viewed favorably as a sustainable alternative to the hoarding extremes of consumerism: "Why do I need more than two? Det är [It is] lagom" (AtKisson, 2000). It can also be viewed as repressive: "You're not supposed to be too good, or too rich" (Gustavsson, 1995). The lagom mentality has been fingered as a challenge to economic growth and the reason for Sweden's apparent lack of outward patriotism.

In a single word, lagom is said to describe the basis of the Swedish national psyche, one of consensus and equality. In recent times Sweden has developed greater tolerance for risk and failure as a result of severe recession in the early 1990s. Nonetheless, it is still widely considered ideal to be modest and avoid extremes. "My aunt used to hold out her closed fist and say, "How much can you get in this hand? It's much easier to get something in this [open] hand" (Silberman, 2001). "It's the idea that for everything there is the perfect amount: The perfect, and best, amount of food, space, laughter and sadness."

The concept of lagom is similar to that of the Middle Path in Eastern philosophy, and Aristotle's "golden mean" of moderation in Western philosophy.

Let's give thanks for the bread we enjoy that gives us sustenance. Let's not mourn the loss of a daily diet of cake and champagne. Too much of a good thing inevitably becomes a bad thing, after all. So dialing back to "just right" from "too much" is not really something to grieve, rather its a cause for celebration. Let's give thanks tomorrow for this wake up call that we're experiencing, and let's give some thought to what this ongoing crisis and the pending inauguration really mean.

It's time for change, at the government level, at the economic level, at the society level, and at the individual level. Thank God!