Sunday, November 21, 2010

Il dolce far niente - 'the sweetness of doing nothing'

While I haven't read the book, I saw the movie adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's 'Eat, Pray, Love' this week.

I loved the advice given to the frantic and unhappy American by her new Italian friends - who advocate and appreciate 'the sweetness of doing nothing'.

This is a learned art for many of us, who rarely sit still and just 'be'.

I took my daughters to a fete yesterday and decided that - for once - I didn't care how long we stayed. We ambled around, tasted different foods, then sat on the ground and watched a friend's little one queue for 45 minutes for her first pony ride, while we just talked, and picked blades of grass off the oval. I didn't look at my watch and, in the end, we were at the fete for nearly four hours - far longer than I would usually stay, when thoughts would race through my mind of 'everything I need to do at home'.

The result? A wonderful sense of relaxation and another happy memory to chalk up together, rather than a car-ride home with complaints of 'Why couldn't we stay longer? Why are we always in a rush?'

Start today

If you're in the habit of always being busy - if you 'can't relax' and you are constantly armed with a 'to do' list a mile long - give 'the sweetness of doing nothing' a go. It might feel uncomfortable at first to be still with your own thoughts, but it's an effective and inexpensive 'treatment' for the stress of modern life.

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