February 1, 2021

I am slowly learning how to live life slowly..

I’ve lived in Italy for over a decade. The Italians (as a whole) pride themselves on being masters at slow living. There is a famous expression/concept: “il dolce far niente”. The sweet joy of doing nothing.

Slow living is exactly what it sounds like. It’s similar to all the other ‘slow’ concepts. Slow food is an Italian based movement that developed as a reaction to fast food (McDonald’s) and focuses on eating simple wholesome delightful meals with seasonal ingredients. Slow travel is sustainable exploring where you are getting lost in a place instead of trudging ahead frantically with a check-list in hand. Slow living to me means that your entire lifestyle is based on the understanding that we, as human beings, have time to enjoy the little things.

It’s February 1st. Life is strange and funny and magical and everything in between. Winter feels long but equally manageable. Today in Lazio we enter ‘zona gialla’ again. I am so appreciating the little things like being able to sit down at a restaurant for lunch or ordering a cappuccino from a bar and enjoying each delicious foamy sip.

What can you do this Monday to slow down? Maybe take an extra few minutes to savor your morning coffee. Maybe cozy up in your bed a few extra minutes. The possibilities are infinite. We can all slowly learn to take things a little slower