la dolce far niente
Another day, another beach, another sunset. Lifting my eyes, the contrails of jets crisscrossed the sky… people in a hurry to get somewhere. While we sit on the beach, enjoying another sunset, lost in the moment again.
Back in Day 52 of my countdown, I brought up “la dolce far niente.” We are conditioned to constantly push, use each moment for something productive, never just enjoying do nothing.
This morning my LinkedIn feed contained an article… people bragging about how extremely busy they are in retirement. A badge of honor. Our culture pushing people to conform to the puritan work ethic. Being busy, all the time, even in retirement, is viewed as morally superior.
Then the very next post, someone extolling the virtues of waking up at 3:30am every single morning, because that is the only time he could find… “while everyone else is sleeping”. He is doing it to be a role model for his young son, for those that depend on him. Now embracing sleep deprivation is a badge of honor.
The science is pretty clear, less than seven hours sleep per night and you risk catastrophic health issues. But that is our culture. Always push, never relax, get ahead while lesser mortals sleep.
Wherever you are in the world, I hope you take a few moments, watch a sunset, learn the joy of doing absolutely nothing.