Please say yes when wondering if you should go Italy.
At least for learning what dolce far niente is.
Kindly quoting Wikipedia: “Borrowed from Italian dolce far niente (literally “sweet doing nothing, sweet idleness”).”
The sweet doing nothing has no schedule.
Here an example of it in the morning, when there is rush only if I would have chosen it to be.
Otherwise it was a mere indulgence in being in the moment.
I understood that we are rarely encouraged to just… be. Breathing in, being present and enjoying: a coffee, a friend, the chance for being present for a new day.
Nowadays almost everything is rushed up… from a simple meal to life itself.
Multi tasking is the killer of dolce far niente.
Meals are such an example of dolce far niente. Savoring the food with all the senses, without wondering what time is, what the prices are, what to see next.
Allowing a cold vino to wash out the passing day and preparing you for the next episode of Italian sweet life.
And that might be a delicious nap or the refreshing jazz music from Piazza San Margo from Venice.
What’s similar between these two?
Let’s take the nap behind the shades :
On fresh washed linens one can find peace when taking a nap while a sneaky summer breeze enters through the slightly opened doors, and invites to a sweet surrender in the pleasure of doing nothing.
Simple and amazing as that.
And if not sleepy but in mood for some nice music, this is where one could emerge feeling within himself .
Oh Italy, you never rush things up, you always slow us down, inviting us to love ourselves more, to talk to ourselves more, to be more kind .
Italy taught me that we need time to reconnect with ourselves.
I hope you will experience the dolce far niente next time you go there because it simply puts life into a new, different perspective.
Andreea Radu 