The Sweetness of Doing Nothing (In Order To Succeed)
John Williams Waterhouse Dolce far niente, 1880
The only thing I took away from 'Eat Pray Love' was Julia Roberts learning “dolce far niente”. In Italian dolce far niente translates to the sweetness of doing nothing. In theory it is the ability to completely enjoy and savor a moment. The Italians invented this concept of how they live their everyday life. And if you have traveled to Italy, any part of it, or live there, then you have witnessed what dolce far niente looks like and envied it.
It is sitting in random streets at a cafe table, sipping on espresso and watching people go by. It is stopping to have conversations with friends and acquaintances without having to look at a smartphone, much less your watch. Time can stand still, because Italians can appreciate the preciousness of it. See, we all have this perception of time wrong, completely and utterly wrong. We live by minutes and days, and not moments. I can only speak for Americans, in that we depreciate time and let moments pass us by, whereas Italians simply value it.
The notion of doing nothing can be interpreted as being lazy. And the act of laziness tends to imply that you have no goals or tasks to achieve. Well, I think it all depends on who is doing nothing and how they are doing it.
Credit; Thomas Lelu
Being lazy can be a part of being productive. The only way to recognize that is to rid yourself of the guilt of being lazy, having that one day of doing absolutely nothing. Once you can understand and believe that you deserve to enjoy the sweetness of life, that is part of being successful. It’s just that nobody (at least in America) ever talks about it.
