Il Dolce Far Niente, Italian for "sweetness of doing nothing". I think we should all strive to achieve this state when such opportunities come along. Why on earth do we get agitated and uneasy each time we've got nothing to do? When in actual fact, we are supposed to feel relaxed and happy? We should bask ourselves in the pool of nothingness, without boredom looming in. Just like the Italians for they have perfected this so well.
Oh who am I kidding? I wrote a post previously on the importance of mobility. But going further than that, it is the social encounters that make up the foundation of human experience living under this same canopy we call earth and sharing this home alongside others. To the first moment babies acquaint themselves with the world, having the first touch, hearing the sounds of a laughter, whimper, sigh, silent smile, and modelling on the external world to distinguish safety from danger, right from wrong, norms from exceptions. It is the everyday social experiences of walking out on the streets and seeing people doing their own thing - the mother reprimanding the child, the young man awkwardly fishing his pockets at the entrance of the bus, a fragile old woman taking her time to walk up the stairs, the sound of aggressive haggling at the market. And then there are those two close friends insisting they each want to pay the bill for the other, a group of boisterous teenagers disrupting your ...
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