The Art of doing nothing

The Italians have a piddling concept known as "La Dolce Far Niente," meaning "the sweetness of doing nothing." I learned about this concept while watching Eat, Pray, Love the other day as Elizabeth Gilbert 's masterpiece. The scene is set at a Rome barbershop. Julia and her new friend shoot down the Napoleons while the men of Italy educate them about the Italians' ways.

As one of the male characters begins his diatribe of how American "relaxation" ideas work on the bone all week just so that they can lay down on weekends in their pyjamas, drink Miller Light 's six-pack, and watch other people live their lives on TV, he presents the concept of la dolce far niente or the sweetness of doing nothing to the audience.

The character goes on to explain that after a few hours of working to take a little nap, Italians may wonder at home, may be inspired by a nearby cafe and sit down to have a glass of wine, or may just go home and make their wife love. While for some of us it might be a little impractical to just drop out of our work in the middle of the day to go and take a break, the scene was still convincing.

The belief that "doing nothing" is in fact an action of its own making. The idea that we don't run on a treadmill of activity anymore, from getting the kids ready for school, brushing our teeth, conference calls, picking up kids, setting up dinner, and bed- just to start over. The belief that our everyday acts are guided by our impulses and not by rituals, shoulds, and musts any more.

Thoreau spoke of this in Walden when he said, "When I go out of the house for a walk, uncertain as yet where I will bend my steps, and submit myself to my instinct to decide for me, I find, strange and whimsical as it may seem, that I finally and inevitably settle in that direction south-west, towards some particular wood or meadow or deserted pasture or hill."

How different will your quality of life be if you had time to experience la dolce far niente during the day? Instead of using your free moments to catch up on what housewife bought what SUV on Hulu, instead of checking your email one last time to see if someone else needs you to do something, instead of using your free time to check your bank accounts or pay that cell phone bill — what if you don’t do anything?

Fighting the desire to do exactly the, the puritan work ethic instilled into us all at an early age, is just as much effort as going to the gym and ascending the stairs. Yet the outcome of our restraint is well worth the trouble.

The kind of relaxation we seek, and we all yearn for, doesn't exist on the side of a volcano, in a rare flower, or far away on a desolate island. That kind of relaxation exists within each one of us and is ours to take if we are willing to put the effort into that. All the noise — the Facebook, the reality TV, the latest and greatest restaurant no-one-can-get-in-there-without-call-a-month-ahead — it all fades away when we can do nothing. What surfaces are life — our feelings at the moment (whether it's grace or desperation), our ego is gone and our true self is emerging.

What if you really didn't do something, instead of Texting, emailing, DVR catch-up or video games tonight? What if, instead of saving seven holiday days out of 365 for the supreme enjoyment of life, you spread those in hours between every day? What if you didn't look at Saturday / Sunday as your only day to cut loose and chill out? You could sit down and read a book. You might look out the window or balcony, listening to your favorite musician. You 're probably learning how to whistle, meditate, stretch, lounge, or (gasp!) nap. What would you do to get off with nothing today?  Tell me in comments.