Bel Far Niente

Alabama croons, "I'm in a hurry to get things done---I rush and rush 'til life's no fun. All I really gotta do is live...and...die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why."  Isn't it the truth?!  Every day there seems to be more and more "list" and less and less time.  What happened to us? When did we forget how to slow down and relax, enjoying life without regrets.

If this is what is expected of us as adults, then I wish to resign.  "I don't wanna grow up..."

However, there are so many wonderful things that we can do as adults, that maybe---instead of resigning, we should simply recapture the lost art of relaxing every day.

The Italians have a fabulous phrase for it: "bel far niente," which means "the beauty of doing nothing!" Now that's what I'm talking about!

I have always loved to sit outside, on the porch (life's better on the porch) and simply watch the world go by. However, sadly, most of those hours were spent alone.  But, God (wonderful, loving God) had other plans. Even though He enjoyed my company, He wanted me to have someone to share the porch with, someone who wanted to be there, too. You see, He cares for us so much that He tends to the details! So, along came my Jerry. It really is a wonderful life.

Now here's the catch. It isn't "bel far niente," unless we can do it with gusto, you know, without a trace of a guilty conscience. That can be hard for some of us. AND, we must not allow others to make us feel guilty, either.

The first time Jerry fell asleep on the couch one evening, he spent the next three days apologizing.  It was crazy. I saw that I had my work cut out for me---LOL. It has taken quite a while, but I think I have him convinced that it is just fine to simply relax a bit. Especially when we're not really doing anything! (naps, for example---doing nothing, and loving it)  I never feel like he's ignoring me because most of our time spent relaxing, we're together.  We try and spend some time on the porch or outdoors every day. These past winter months have driven us inside, though, and we find new ways of relaxing, unwinding. I have discovered this, too---even when he is working on his model cars and I am curled up on the couch with a good book, it's all good! We're relaxing in our own way AND we're still together.

Life's good and up in His heaven, God is smiling! After all, on the seventh day He invented "rest," glorious REST---bel far niente...the beauty of doing nothing!