Il Dolce Far Niente (The Sweetness of Doing Nothing)

Ok girls, lesson time. 

In reading Eat, Pray, Love, I learned that the Italians do not feel the need to earn pleasure. They do not have to deserve it or view it as a reward. They understand that pleasure and relaxation are God given rights. If they want to lay in the grass drinking lemoncello all afternoon, they do it simply because they exist and therefore deserve it. They do it because they understand that in order to have a balanced life, they must. It is simply what is done. Kind of like brushing your teeth. They tend to the health of their sanity just as we obsess about oral health. They don't rely on pharmaceuticals to get them through the day, they do it the way nature intended. With mandatory pause time. Hell, even my cat understands the importance of pause time.
Remember the old Janet Jackson song, "What have you done for me lately"? Well? What have you done for you lately? I'm not talking about rushing off to get your nails done or to get your hair styled or even to get that hot masseuse to rub you down. I'm talking about doing nothing. I think they call it sloth in the bible. I call it heaven. When was the last time you napped in the afternoon? Or took a nice hour-long bath? Or just laid in the sun and listened to the wind in the trees? I bet if you unplug your television, you'd find the time to do just that. Quit throwing mental daggers at me and be honest with yourself. Everyone has the time to do nothing. We just have a habit of filling our time with useless crap that we think is necessary. I do it, you do it, we all do it. Since fall is upon us, I have a great idea. Go make yourself some mulled cider or some hot chocolate, grab an old quilt and go sit out on your front porch for an hour or so and do nothing. Leave your phone, your books and your life inside and simply look and listen to the beauty of the changing seasons. You'll thank me later.