In an age of instant entertainment, it is easy to find a new adventure or post to look at at the drop of a hat. However, there is a certain kind of beauty in silencing your phone, taking out the earphones, and simply being. For all you fellow book/movie lovers, I challenge you to remember a line from Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love: "Dolce far Niente". While this might just sound like some pretty Italian line, it is far more. The line roughly translates to "the sweetness of doing nothing". If you have not seen the movie or read the book, the context of the American character reflecting on the foreign phrase is when she is traveling in Italy, and realizes that work and social obligations have ruled her life. Honestly, I think most of us could relate to this. In a time when we are consumed by our smartphones and constantly trying to find the next event or hang out going on, it is extremely easy to schedule things back to back and end up leading a busy lifestyle. Ironically enough, with summer upon us, I've heard a lot of people - myself included - complain about being bored over the summer. With school friends going their own way for the summer, it can be easy to settle into the monotony of a summer job waiting for fall to approach. However, the summer can be an excellent time to enjoy something that rarely happens while at school, alone time. With this break from school comes an opportunity to reflect on the previous year, and lean on someone we might not often think of: ourselves. A great sense of independence can come from learning to enjoy this alone time.
This concept of doing less or living simply is nothing new. From a philosophical perspective, in the early 19th century the transcendentalist movement swept over the United States. Some of the time's most powerful thinkers embraced the idea that in order to understand human reasoning and even society and the world itself, we must first understand and be at peace with ourselves. Philosopher Henry D. Thoreau even went so far to live in the woods for two years to better understand himself and the world around him. He did so to live simply, and to better understand what life had to offer him. As a college student, I have hundreds of different things grabbing at my attention. It's so easy to get swept up in what other people say I should do and prior obligations. One thing that this summer can offer is the change of pace to allow for time to step back from the craziness that the school year has to offer. I'm not advising becoming a recluse or going off to live in the woods, but rather to embrace this loneliness that might sweep over you during such a long break from school. Enjoy this break, and relish in some of the new freedom that has come your way. So go on wild adventures, make new friends, and appreciate some of the last summers we will have before we enter the work force. But, when the pace of summer slows down and you find yourself wishing for the fall to come faster, don't forget to appreciate "Dolce far Niente".
