April 9

Il dolce far niente. The Italian phrase meaning "the sweetness of doing nothing." I have become a lot more mindful of noticing how Italians practice the art of doing nothing at all. I admire it! Take for example a woman I saw in the Boboli Gardens. It was a Sunday afternoon, she was alone, and had perched herself on an overlook of the city with the newspaper. She seemed to have no care in the world, no place to be, no weight on her shoulders. I am not suggesting that the Italians do not have their share of stress, problems, or the senseless knocking of the big-bad-world upon them; rather that they know better how to cope with these things. It truly is sweet to be completely immersed in the moment in front of you.