The Sweetness of Doing Nothing: Live Life the Italian Way with Dolce Far Niente

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A saying comes to mind that I came across when studying the Italian language: ‘the sweetness of doing nothing’. For many years, leisure was thought to be the golden promise of prosperity, the prediction according to research suggests that leisures comes naturally without any sort of practice or experiment, it’s a natural thing and also essential as well, there are many instances where this type of idleness had lead an individual to create something unique, unusual or rather we can say something historic which a busy person can never think of it. Idleness had led a person to achieve greater things in life, Issac Newton would have not been able to discover the law of gravity if he would have not been sitting idle under the tree when the apple fell on him or if Wright’s brother must not be thought of developing some machine which can be able to reach above the sky which we now call it “ Aeroplane” in modern days. Several types of incidents had taken place and great discoveries had proved to be taken place just by sitting idle and doing nothing. This is what is the essence which creates the environment of “Dolce Far Niente” which is the “ Sweetness of Doing Nothing”. Think of Niksen and Dolce far Niente as the art of plunging into an ocean of relaxation, where your mind is free to float about and wander, liberated from all its cognitive duties. All too often, when we are too busy rushing through life, we fail to notice the simple pleasures and certainly don’t make time for them. Italy is a country of contradictions. It’s passion and idleness. It’s having fun now and paying later. It’s carpe diem, followed by Catholic guilt and some quality time in the confessional booth. “There’s a sense that our work will come,” says Chiara – just like her mother’s rolling pin – and someone’s always cooking. “It’s just that when you’re experiencing dolce far niente it’s not you having to do it. Not yet.” There’s probably a bit more snoozing to do first. And perhaps a glass of Prosecco. HOW TO EXPERIENCE DOLCE FAR NIENTE

Eat Pray Love” fans will remember the scene, but for those who have not seen the film or read the book, I will paint you a picture. Whilst we often talk about getting things done more efficiently, part of this is so that you do have time to yourself. A girl can never have too much chocolate, and a guy who gets a girl chocolate obviously knows the way to her heart. 🍫As a nation, Italians are proud of their heritage – from the Roman Empire to the philosophers. Children are schooled in both of these growing up, but in adulthood, there’s just one ancient edict that Italians swear by: carpe diem. “You still hear this Latin phrase a lot in Italy, and there’s a sense that tomorrow might never come, so you should live now – and, more importantly, spend now,” says Chiara. This is hard to explain. Literally, Dolce far niente is doing anything without getting bored. It’s a particular kind of ‘me time’ when you don’t do anything in particular: no massage, no reading, no sleep – just observing the buzz of life around you and recharging your batteries. It sounds like idleness, but it’s actually something different. It’s more like a break from the rat race. It’s a moment to reorganize your energy. It’s a way to unwind and to put some distance between you and your life and, magically, to see it better as a whole. Maybe, in forcing documentable and auditable productiveness, we are stifling creativity and losing our ability to work intuitively—and the end product is suffering as a consequence. For professional athletes, overtraining is a recognized condition, one with destructive implications on health and performance. For creatives, creators, artists, and writers—the very people whose line between work, play, and passion is often nonexistent—over-indulgence in the creative process can lead to creative burnout. It is also critically important for our brain’s health that we embrace doing nothing as an important piece of “personal development,” as it is crucial to us tapping into our creativity and intuition.

Dolce far noente не означава “да не правите нищо”; по-скоро е свързано с това да се освободите от тревогата и от натиска да бъдете винаги продуктивни.” That is the message of the book as a whole. Sometimes, you need to slow down and savor life. There are three pillars to the Italian lifestyle: Food, Family and Friends, and Leisure. There might be more, but those are the ones Minchilli highlights. Lost souls are not that different from those in the zone. The zone is enjoyable but when that joy becomes an obsession, one becomes disconnected from life.” And this is just an established side effect of dolce far niente? That someone else will be doing all the work? “Pretty much” is the response. “My mom is a grandmother now," says Chiara, “and she still has the rolling pin from her own grandmother. She tells me, 'This is the tool! One day, this will be yours!’ Our grandmother lived with us and cooked for us growing up, and some of my best memories are with her, waiting for dinner as a child when she’d take the crust of the Parmesan that she wasn’t using for cooking and dip it into the flame on the gas stove until it became chewy then wrap it in paper for us to eat … ” she tails off and we both take a small interlude to compose ourselves, mouths watering. And when your time comes around to be a grandmother? “Then it’s accepted that you get to be the boss but you also have to do some cooking and childcare,” says Chiara. “It’s just how it is – but I wouldn’t change anything!”Take a day off, midweek, to do nothing. Don’t tell anyone, lest they fill up the hours with plans (or worse: chores), and enjoy some dolce far niente. Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in. She talks with a look of disdain toward herself for this and her delivery is edged with guilt—for not being more productive. A local man intervenes and proclaims that in Italy, you do not beat yourself up for this; in fact, it is celebrated—it’s a way of life. A memory comes to mind when you mention il dolce far niente. When I was a child, my parents used to send me to stay with my grandmother while they were at work. She was a warm and caring woman who spent all day doing housework and taking care of her grandkids. In other words, we must do our best not to allow the joy that we experience through doing to disconnect us from life—our innate nature of being. The Importance of Doing Nothing and Simply Being