I love listening to the Italian language. It has a lyrical quality that makes even the most mundane phrase sound beautiful. It’s always spoken with such passion, I cannot help but be riveted. I was first introduced to the phrase dolce far niente in a book – Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, which then became a film where I could hear the words spoken aloud in that scintillating, sultry way. As beautiful as it sounds, its meaning is even more enticing: the sweetness of doing nothing. Dolce far niente is more than a simple turn of phrase for Italians; it is a way of being, a way of living, a way of connecting to the joy and brightness of each moment. To me, dolce far niente is the epitome of mindfulness, as it embodies one of the pillars of our practice: non-doing.
So much of our time is spent ‘doing’. We make plans, we complete tasks, we check things off our to-do lists – that’s DONE, I’ve been productive, good for me! While, of course, we need to do things – our very survival depends upon it – I have come to believe that it is equally vital for us to incorporate some healthy doses of non-doing and undoing into our daily life. To live mindfully, we invite awareness into the tasks we complete each day, and this helps us stay connected to the present moment rather than becoming mired in past regrets and future worries. That same mindful awareness can also ground and connect us when we are doing nothing in particular at all. For example, your lunch break arrives and you head outside to sit on a park bench and enjoy some fresh air while you eat. You eat your food mindfully, noticing its taste and texture in your mouth, the feel of it in your hands, the transition from a sensation of hunger to one of fullness. As you savour the last bite, you might be inclined to reach for your phone to clear out a few emails, or you might have brought a book to read or a podcast to listen to. These things can certainly all be done with the same mindful awareness you practiced while eating your lunch – but what if you decided instead to spend some time doing nothing at all? What if you simply sat on that park bench and allowed each moment to unfurl before you, in its own time and its own way, without judgment or attachment or expectations, without self-talk telling you to ‘do’ something with your time?
In a previous post, I touched on the healing benefits of finding stillness, of allowing ourselves the opportunity to simply do nothing (check it out here, along with the video of a wonderful TED Talk by Pico Iyer on the art of stillness). When we let go of the need to always be ‘doing’, we open ourselves to the limitless possibilities that each moment brings. We luxuriate in the moment, we experience it fully without any ideas or expectations about what it must be. Releasing ourselves, even briefly, from our incessant need to do and accomplish and produce, enables us to be truly and profoundly present. We can bask in the glow of each moment as it unfolds, we can feel its warmth and its joy, we can savour the sweetness of doing nothing at all.
Wishing you a day filled with simple joys and quiet moments for dolce far niente.
The present moment is a gift. Unfortunately, it is one we often neglect as our thoughts rush headlong into the future, planning and worrying, or they get mired in the past, reliving and regretting. When we allow ourselves to connect fully to the present moment, something magical happens – we open ourselves to its possibilities. Our kind attention gives us new eyes through which to experience the world around us and we awaken to all that moment has to offer.
mushrooms of all shapes and sizes were peering out from fallen limbs and leaves. The forest floor was alive with these little gems, and had I been hurrying along lost in thought, I would have missed their marvelous show.
This was the sublime view from my meditation cushion this morning. I am on holiday, so my ‘cushion’ was a rolled towel set upon the rocks by the lake. Meditation doesn’t require any special tools or circumstances – all that is required is a willingness to show up and explore the present moment, with an open mind and a compassionate heart. I was serenaded by birdsong, felt the cool morning air on my skin and the texture of the rocks beneath my seat – such a simple yet beautiful way to begin the day with mindful awareness.
After a week of sun and heat, it is rainy and cool today. I love days like this. Soft days. Days where we can be quiet and simply listen to the rain falling outside our window; days where we can soften the edges of our expectations, give ourselves permission to slow down and savour each moment as it comes. What treasures will we find when we pay attention to the present moment? What joys await us when we pause our busyness long enough to appreciate the simple beauty of raindrops, the way they nourish the world around us, the symphony they play as they land upon our rooftops? Sir Francis Bacon reminded us that “We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake.” Let yourself pause today to appreciate the simple joys that surround you, the stars in your hands and the raindrops falling softly on your head.